Craig Ford introduces bill to extend alcohol retail license to nonprofit special events
Gadsden-Democrat State Rep. Craig Ford has proposed a new bill to change the existing laws on beer, wine, and liquor sales at non-profit events. Currently, state laws allow a retail license for beer, wine, and liquor at special events, and allows manufacturers of those beverages to donate their product to charitable events, given that both they, and the event, receive the proper approval from the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Ford’s bill, HB414, seeks to change the law so that charitable events are not the only ones who have the opportunity to receive this benefit. HB414 would also allow non-profit organizations who hold special events to be able to receive the same benefits as charitable events. The bill will also authorize donations of beer, wine, and liquor by non-licensed persons to non-profits and their special events provided that they apply for license with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and meet these requirements: a. Operates without profit to the organization’s members. b. Is exempt from taxation under Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. c. Satisfies at least one of the following requirements: 1. Has been continuously in existence in the state for a minimum of three years. 2. Is affiliated with a parent organization that has been in existence in the state for a minimum of three years. 3. Has reorganized and is continuing its mission under a new name on file with the Secretary of State and with a new tax identification number after having satisfied the requirements set forth in either subparagraph 1. or 2. HB414 is scheduled to be considered Thursday on the House special order calendar.
State alcohol regulator’s website gets facelift. Should agency operations?
The state’s ABC Board’s old website was beyond just dated in a visual way. It also included some questionable content including mixed drink recipes. But no more, according to Dean Argo, Govt. Relations and Communications Manager at the Alabama ABC Board, the site was updated on Jan. 1, 2018 for that among other reasons. “The previous site was extremely outdated, hard to navigate, had little to no ability to interact with a visitor, a limited search function and provided little information about the Board, its mission, or division functions. Obviously, it had not been updated in several years,” Dean said in a statement. Dean said the board worked off the state contract for professional services and through the State-managed service provider network (ACRO). The State-managed service provider submitted to us resumes from qualified vendors and they evaluated those resumes and then interviewed individual candidates. From those interviews, they chose a web developer by the name of David Connerth to rework the site. “While we are still working on a couple of areas of the new site, including a section for our public education/awareness program about the dangers and consequences of underage and binge drinking called ‘Under Age – Under Arrest,’ our contract with the web developer was about 6 months in length and will cost approximately $85,000,” Argo added. What’s the purpose of the ABC Board? According to the newly update site, the purpose of the ABC Board is: The ABC Board controls alcoholic beverages through distribution, licensing, and enforcement. The Board operates a chain of retail stores selling the majority of liquor purchased in Alabama. The ABC Board also licenses commercial firms to sell alcoholic beverages. These range from restaurants and nightclubs to small stores selling beer for off-premise use. Applicants for a license are examined carefully to ensure the individuals involved are of solid moral character and will ensure the laws of Alabama and rules of the Board are obeyed. The proposed site for selling or dispensing of beverages is checked through neighborhood survey. After a license is issued, the ABC Board continuously inspects operations of licensees. The Board also conducts audits, collects taxes, and disburses revenue obtained from those taxes, and disburses revenues from the ABC Stores. Recipients of these funds include the Department of Mental Health, Special Education Trust Fund, Department of Human Resources, and the State General Fund. Controversial Role in Alcohol Sales But the board’s work isn’t without controversy as Alabama remains one of the last states in the nation with such strict control over sales and licensing. Legislation to change the structure operations has been introduced for years by State Senator Arthur Orr trying to do away with the portion of the Board that runs package stores. Orr has refiled the legislation this session, SB98, in an effort to privatize ABC stores. Cameron Smith, Vice President and General Counsel at the R Street Institute, took on the issue noting its fiscal sense in a 2015 AL.com post saying, “Orr’s bill would eliminate the cost of more than 600 employees and the expense of leasing ABC stores from the ABC Board’s operational cost. While the move would undoubtedly incur one-time costs associated with eliminating those positions, those costs are far less expensive than the ongoing salaries and benefits of those state employees.” Alabama Today’s own Apryl Marie Fogel wrote a piece on the subject and website, noting you could get some fun recipes there. Those have sense been removed from the website. The conclusion of the post according to her remains relevant today new website or not, “The fact is the prohibition days are long behind us and so should be the days of state-run liquor stores.” BEFORE: AFTER:
New law stops Alabama alcohol regulators from playing ‘big brother’
At the end of the legislative session, without fanfare or a press release, Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill that will protect the personal information of Alabama consumers for years to come. SB234, sponsored by Madison-Repubican Sen. Bill Holtzclaw rolls back an Orwellian rule adopted by the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board (ABC Board) last September requiring local breweries to record the names and addresses of buyers purchasing beer for off-premise consumption. “I appreciate Governor Ivey signing this bill into law. We need to protect the privacy of consumers in Alabama, and there is no reason in this instance for state government bureaucrats to step between a private citizen and the company he or she is doing business with,” Holtzclaw remarked. The regulations first came into effect following Holtzclaw successfully co-sponsoring legislation that took effect last summer allowing the state’s craft breweries to sell six packs, growlers, and large bottles of beer directly to consumers. In response, the ABC Board proposed the rule to collect the name, address, age, phone number, and date of birth from anyone who purchases beer at a brewery for off-premise consumption. While the initial proposed regulations were ultimately amended to collect only the names and addresses of buyers, Holtzclaw introduced SB234 to correct what he calls ABC’s “regulatory misstep.” “We have at least nineteen craft beer companies in the state now, and more are coming online soon. Each year, tens of thousands of Alabamians responsibly enjoy some of the best craft beer in America, brewed in places like Huntsville and Madison,” Holtzclaw continued. “Going forward, those customers can enjoy great beer from microbreweries across Alabama, without having to fork over personal information to fulfill a burdensome government regulation.” For tax purposes, existing law requires breweries to collect information from restaurant owners and gas station proprietors, who purchase from breweries in a manufacturing capacity. SB234 specifies that the business owners shall be deemed the wholesale and retail purchaser, and consumers purchases will now be considered traditional sales that don’t need to be reported.
‘Brunch bill’ would let Alabama restaurants serve alcohol on Sunday mornings
Alabama restaurants could soon have the right to serve alcohol on Sunday mornings starting at 10 a.m. under a bill filed in the state House of Representatives. Dubbed the “brunch bill,” House Bill 353 would allow Alabama counties and municipalities the ability to give restaurants, bars and hotels in their jurisdiction the opportunity to serve alcohol for on-premise consumption two hours early on Sundays. ABC stores would remain closed on Sundays. Currently, under Alabama general statute 1992, § 4-29.1, it is illegal to purchase alcohol between 2:00 a.m. and Sunday and noontime Sunday. Introduced by Birmingham-Democrat Juandalynn Givan, the bill is currently pending a reading from the House Economic Development and Tourism Committee. 11 additional states have some variation of Sunday alcohol restrictions: Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
Alabama business round up: Headlines from across state – 3/29/16 edition
Who’s helping connect early startups with angel investors? What company is joining the Mobile Aeroplex to support Airbus? Who’s pledging $500k to a UAB football building? Answers to all of these questions and more in today’s business roundup: Birmingham Business Journal: ZipCar coming to Alabama The City of Huntsville is set to welcome the popular car sharing service ZipCar this week. Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle is scheduled to join ZipCar executives and other local officials Tuesday to welcome the company. In February, the city approved ordinances allowing services like Uber, Lyft and Zipcar to start offering rides within Huntsville city limits. Uber began operating in Huntsville on March 4. Zipcar, a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group, offers monthly membership plans allowing consumers to drive cars billable by the day or hour. The company has more than 500 urban locations worldwide. AL.com: Gulf Shores to extend Spring Break booze ban beyond this year Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft “has no second thoughts” about a beach alcohol ban hastily imposed 11 days ago amid soaring arrests during Spring Break 2016, which was fast getting out of control. Craft and Police Chief Ed Delmore, following Monday’s City Council meeting, both said they support a similar spring-break-only ban of booze on the beaches next year. This year’s ban ends on April 17. “I know this was the right thing for this community,” Craft told AL.com. “Next year, we’ll do the same thing and we’ll continue to do this. We had too many issues with it not to do it on the front end.” Added Delmore: “Everyone needs to know this was a group decision and it’s nothing that none of us are looking back on.” Delmore said the situation on the beach is much more “manageable,” although police have made further arrests. According to Delmore, there had been 461 arrests since March 5, a majority attributed to underage possession of alcohol. This month, the Gulf Shores Police Department has received 3,100 calls for service. The key trouble spot was March 12-18, when police logged 288 criminal charges. Nearly 60 percent were for underage drinking. Last week, when days were damper and cool, and fewer spring breakers came out to the beaches, police filed 129 charges. Of those, 44 were related to underage drinking. Delmore and Craft credited the City Council’s March 18 decision to immediately ban alcohol on the beaches for the decline. The ban came as angry locals were taking to social media to document unruly beach crowds and trashy parties. Craft, himself, witnessed one of the gatherings outside the San Carlos condominium. “You couldn’t see the water and neither could our paramedics or beach attendants. It was a mass of people,” he said. “There was a climate in there for conditions that we were not willing to have happen on our beach.” ‘Manageable’ situation Very little was said about the alcohol ban during Monday’s council meeting. Only Delmore spoke about it as he thanked the council for moving ahead with the ban. “We are still making numerous arrests every day but not nearly at the level we were being forced to prior to that ordinance,” Delmore said. Last year, Panama City Beach, Fla., implemented a spring break booze ban after wild parties sullied that city’s image. This year, reports indicate that the ban drove spring breakers away, to Gulf Shores and elsewhere. This week, national media have described a throbbing spring break scene at Daytona Beach, Fla., where arrests have soared by 327 percent. Very few colleges or universities are on spring break after the end of this week. The Gulf Shores ban ends on April 17. Baldwin County Public Schools are on break this week, with Mobile County Public Schools taking its break April 11-15. The University of Missouri is out this week, but classes have resumed at the University of Alabama, Auburn University, Texas A&M University, University of Texas, the University of Tennessee, Louisiana State University and the University of Arkansas. Read more here. Alabama News Center: Logistics giant Miller Transfer joins Mobile Aeroplex to support Airbus On the day the latest batch of major component assemblies made the trek from the Port of Mobile to Airbus’ U.S. Manufacturing Facility, the Mobile Airport Authority inked its latest tenant agreement with a service provider integral to the operation. The office, which currently employs one person, is responsible for the logistics of physically moving the major component assemblies required by Airbus to assemble A320-family aircraft at its $600 million campus, also located at Brookley. The facility is slated to deliver its first Mobile-assembled A321 to JetBlue soon and reach production of four aircraft per month before the close of 2017, and as many as eight per month in the years following.Pennsylvania-based Miller Transfer will operate out of the second floor of the authority’s Ninth Street headquarters, known as Building 11, at Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. “We believe that (Miller Transfer’s) decision to join us at the Aeroplex is another byproduct of our commitment to a well-thought-out and deliberate aerospace incubator strategy and adds just one more world-class capability set to the Aeroplex and Mobile,” said Roger Wehner, the airport authority’s executive director. Thursday’s announcement comes less than one week after Germany-based aircraft seat manufacturer Recaro confirmed plans to occupy renovated space on the second floor of the former fire station in the heart of the former U.S. Air Force base, now home to a thriving aviation and aerospace cluster.The airbus incubator strategy offers low-cost, flexible solutions to attract suppliers to Mobile during Airbus’ initial low rate of production. Wehner called the logistics announcement a “big piece” of the broader Airbus and Brookley strategies. Praising Miller Transfer as a “great company,” he said the firm expects to employ as many as five in its large 9th Street office, while also operating a small truck yard and potentially taking advantage of exterior storage options. “Miller Transfer provides world-class, specialized logistics solutions that could serve many large, high-value applications well,” Wehner said. Founded in 1968, Miller Transfer was
Nanny state of the week: No sipping and selling for Alabama winemakers
Imagine, if you will, the following scene. You’re at a wine festival along the Gulf coast of Alabama – OK, sure it’s not the same as doing a wine tasting in Napa Valley, but just go with it – sampling sips of wine from more than a dozen of the state’s small wineries. The crimson tide is rolling across your palette and you’ve just got to take some of that fine vintage home with you to share with the family. Here’s how that conversation might go: “Can I buy a couple bottles of that Saban sauvignon?” “Sure. I’d love to sell it to you, but you’ll have to drive across the state to get it.” Your wine tasting just became a wine adventure because of Alabama state law, which forbids wineries from offering tastings of their products in the same location where those products are for sale. That means wineries can sell their products on their own premises, but can’t offer free tastings to curious visitors. And they can take their wares to events like the Orange Beach Wine Festival, but they can’t sell the products there. The Alabama Wine Trail, a group of 14 wineries that have joined together in the hopes of changing this nonsensical law, say the rules keep small wineries from being able to compete with larger ones. “Most people who taste want to buy,” Jahn Coppey told the Associated Press. “They don’t want to have to be sent to a store.” Coppey owns the Willis Creek Winery, one of the members of the Alabama Wine Trail. The group believes that law hinders the ability of wine producers to get their products in stores and out before the public. They might have some hope that things will change. The Alabama legislature this session is considering a series of bills that would reform decades-old liquor regulations, including the prohibition on tasting and selling at the same location. Wineries say they would be willing to pay for an additional license to do tastings — which means they are literally offering to give the state more money, if only they were allowed to do it. Those regulations date to the immediate aftermath of Prohibition. They were created along with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in 1937, and changing them is not easy. The ABC Board says it does not have a dog in the fight, but there are groups that prefer keeping these kinds of rules on the books. “Alcohol is an addictive and mind-altering drug,” said Joe Godfrey, executive director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program, a group that is opposing liquor reform in Alabama. “It destroys homes, it destroys families.” He’s not wrong, necessarily. Alcohol does contribute to social ills — but then, so do cars, and you can take a test drive and buy a new one at the same dealership. And making it easier for Alabamians to buy a bottle of wine from a small winery is not going to increase alcohol consumption by any significant measure. The people who are going to taste wine at the Orange Beach Wine Festival and then buy a bottle likely are not the same people who have let the ravages of alcoholism destroy their homes and families. Easing those rules will, in fact, make it easier for those wineries to turn a profit, and that’s a good thing for Alabama families. Nannies will always be out there, annoying but ultimately harmless. People like Godfrey are entitled to their point of view, but they are not entitled to use the levers of government power to enforce that point of view, at the expense of good economic policy and common sense. • • • This article originally appeared at Watchdog.org. Eric Boehm is the national regulatory reporter for Watchdog.org. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
House committee approves two bills to loosen Alabama alcohol restrictions
The House Committee on Economic Development and Tourism approved two measures Thursday aimed at loosening alcohol restrictions in the state. SB219 from Sen. William Beasley (D-Clayton) would allow state and retail liquor stores to conduct liquor and wine tastings on premise. The measure would allow 10 percent of stores to do so in the first year and eventually move up to 28 percent within three years. The bill allows for two quarter-ounce tastings of liquor and four one-ounce tastings of wine. Joe Godfrey, Executive Director of the Alabama Citizens Action Program, was on hand to oppose the legislation, urging lawmakers to make it more difficult to get alcohol. “Alcohol is an addictive and mind-altering drug,” Godfrey said. “It destroys homes, it destroys families.” Gina Dearborn, who represented the Distilled Spirits Council, was in favor of the measure. Dearborn noted that 40 states already allow such tastings, and Alabama’s laws would be stricter than most – tastings must begin before 6 p.m. and manufacturers would oversee the tastings at no cost to consumers or retailers. The committee gave the legislation a favorable report by a unanimous vote. HB325 from Rep. James Buskey (D-Mobile) addressed a specific issue concerning Lake Patti Sue in Slocomb. The 160-acre property straddles a wet and dry county and the owner is hoping to sell alcohol at the recreational spot. Buskey’s legislation would allow him to do so, even on portions that sit within the dry county. The bill would make the lake a “commercial development district” and have no bearing on the parts of the county outside of the property. Similar bills have already passed. Again Godfrey objected, asking whether such a move is constitutional. “You’re imposing something on people who have not voted to go wet,” Godfrey said. “We keep inching and, eventually, the plan is for the whole state to be wet. I don’t believe that’s fair to the citizens of that dry county.” Rep. Tommy Hanes (R-Scottsboro), who lives in a dry county, concurred with Godfrey’s reasoning. “It goes against your people if they don’t want it to be wet,” Hanes said. The bill was given a favorable report with Hanes the only one to vote against it.
Tax proposal would cover most common adult vices
Alabama Today has learned that Rep. Jack Williams is looking into a way to restructure state statutes that govern materials deemed for adult consumption only, such as alcohol and tobacco, to include pornography and institute a tax on them going into the Special Session on budget. It’s not possible to tax pornography individually since such material can’t be taxed based on content. However, a restructuring of materials for adult consumption would allow one tax in statute for anything that requires proof of being older than 18. NBC News last year reported on the profitability of pornographic materials, “Globally, porn is a $97 billion industry,” according to Kassia Wosick, assistant professor of sociology at New Mexico State University. Between $10 billion and $12 billion of that comes from the United States. Revenue from traditional porn films has been shrinking, though, because of piracy and an abundance of free content on the Internet. Williams said he’s “Not willing to tax Pepsi if I’m not going to tax Playboy and Penthouse, too,” a reference to another tax proposal that is being discussed. Whether such a proposal will make it and how other members would support it remains to be seen. Alabama Today will continue to add updates to this proposal and others as they’re floated and introduced.
