Category: Legislative & Regulatory
News relating to the state and federal politics of beer and regulatory structure
News California Bill Would Allow Spirit-based RTD’s to be Sold Alongside Beer and Wine
A bill in California supported by the Distilled Spirits Council (DISCUSS) would allow retailers with a beer and wine license to also sell spirit-based RTD’s, a move which would further blur the line that has traditionally existed between spirits and beer and wine.
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News Important Craft Beverage Modernization Act Changes for Foreign Producers and Importers
Starting January 1, 2023, changes to the Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) will require foreign producers of beer, wine, and distilled spirits to register with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) before their US importers can take advantage of reduced tax rates or credits on the imported products. CBMA tax benefits are limited in quantity, and foreign producers may only assign a certain number of benefits to their US importers for each category of product imported.
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News UK Reverses Planned Freeze on Alcohol Tax
The UK government has cancelled a plan to freeze the duty tax on alcohol, less than a month after announcing the policy. Just last month the UK government said it would abolish a proposed increase in duty rates for beer, cider, spirits and wine and instead proposed a temporary measure to reduce the duty on some types of alcoholic beverages. The freeze had been due to take place in February 2023.
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News New Jersey Brewery Sues State ABC Over New Restrictions
Last July the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) released new restrictions on breweries in the state such as limiting the number of events a taproom can host annually, placing a cap on the number of special events a brewery can hold and prohibiting food trucks at breweries among other restrictions.
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News Washington Brewers Sue Oregon to Allow DTC and Self-Distribution in High Stakes Case
In what could be a pivotal and landmark court case, three brewers in Washington state have filed a lawsuit against the state of Oregon seeking to ship beer directly to consumers (DTC) and self-distribute to retailers in Oregon.
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News Back to the Past – New Jersey ABC Sets Harsh New Restrictions on Breweries
The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) has released long-awaited new restrictions on breweries in the state, shoving craft brewers back to the past by imposing new restrictions on their businesses. The new ABC ruling places restrictions on the number of events a taproom can host annually, puts a cap on special events a brewery can hold, prohibits food trucks at breweries and even prohibits a brewery from selling coffee at taprooms. There are a total of 18 new restrictions that breweries must now comply with.
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News TTB Proposes Time-Saving Changes for Brewers
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is continuing its effort to streamline the licensing and permitting process for alcohol beverage industry members. The latest TTB rulemaking proposal would streamline much of the qualification requirements for Brewer’s Notices as well as cut back on the requirements for reporting certain brewery businesses changes.
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News Minnesota Passes Bill to Give Brewers and Distillers More Retail Allowances
After years of failed attempts to modernize some of the state’s restrictive alcohol laws, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law yesterday the ‘Free the Growler’ bill that will allow breweries up to 150,000 barrels in annual production to offer growler sales, up from the current 20,000-barrel cap.
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News TTB New Online Portal Goes Live
The new TTB portal page is now live and can be accessed here. The new site provides a preview of the “one-stop shop” experience to access TTB online services and is another step towards myTTB, the agencies new integrated and personalized online system for industry members to transact business with TTB.
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News Spirits Industry Ramps Up Effort to Allow Direct-to-Consumer Shipping
The American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA), American Distilling Institute (ADI) and Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), three trade associations representing distillers large and small, joined forces to launch “Ship My Spirits,” a coalition with the goal of modernizing the spirits marketplace by allowing direct-to-consumer shipping of distilled spirits, specifically targeting New York state where the New York legislature is currently considering two bills, S4245-A/A3275-A and S556/A2513 which would permanently allow distillers to ship their spirits products directly to adult consumers.
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News Survey Reveals Consumers Interest in Direct-to-Consumer Beer Sales
The interest and enthusiasm for direct-to-consumer (DTC) beer shipping has not waned in 2022, even as the past year has brought some relief from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report by Sovos ShipCompliant. The report included a survey by The Harris Poll and was conducted in partnership with the Brewers Association.
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News Spirits Industry Goes After Beer Market Share in Effort to Lower Taxes on Canned Cocktails
The spirit’s industry has mounted an organized lobbying and marketing campaign to take market share from beer by expanding distribution rights and lowering taxes on canned cocktails, according to an article in the Washington Post.
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News A Trend? Washington State Proposes Legislation to Lower BAC to 0.05
Posted by Tom McCormick
In a trend that may be picking up momentum across the country, Washington state legislators are considering a bill that would lower the blood alcohol limit from 0.08 to 0.05.
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