Update May 23, 2013: Email from TWGGA said:
SB 451 was stopped in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee and its companion bill HB 2537, that was amended by the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee, was stopped on the senate floor.
While the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association, the Texas Package Store Association, the Texas House of Representatives and a simple majority of the Texas Senate were committed to passing a bill that required wineries to make wine, a compromise could not be reached with other members of the alcoholic beverage industry.
HB 2537 passed out of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, May 14 as substituted by Senator John Carona. As suspected, the substitute included language requiring wineries to produce or bottle 51% of the wine they ship. It also requires wineries to maintain complete records of each sale and delivery of wine shipped for at least five years from the date of the sale.
As previously reported, the TWGGA Board of Directors has visited and revisited the language requiring a winery to produce or bottle 51% of the wine they ship. In keeping with the Board consensus, President Ron Yates testified against the committee substitute at the hearing on Tuesday on behalf of TWGGA. The reasons for the Board’s and other wineries opposition to the committee substitute are:
- It protects the distribution tier rather than solving a public health safety and welfare issue for the citizens of Texas.
- It harms existing businesses that are operating within the law.
- It takes away winery operating rights when no public health, safety or welfare issue exists. This is a bad precedent.
- It hinders revenue growth for Texas wineries.
- It places undue reporting burdens on Texas wineries.
Click here to download the bill as it was substituted and passed out of committee.
Action Needed
Please contact your state senator’s capitol office immediately, express your concern over this bill and ask them to vote not to suspend the three day constitutional rule for HB 2537. To find out who your state senator is please click the following link: http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/Home.aspx
Please also contact the Lieutenant Governor’s office at 512-463-0001 about your concern for this bill.
It is very easy to make BOTH phone calls and they will relay your concern to your Senator or the Lieutenant Governor.
If the bill goes through, some legitimate wineries in Texas will be unable to ship wines to their customers.
Please call today.
I support the bill for two reasons.
1) There are wineries in this state who are passing wine through their facilities for out of state interests and in the process bypassing the middle tier of the three tier system.
2) There are “wineries” in this state who harvest no grapes, produce no wines and exist for the sole purpose of buying and reselling wine, much as a retailer would do but enjoying the shipping privileges of a real winery.
Not every Texas winery opposes this bill and in fact the bill is supported by the Texas Hill Country Wine Trail.
Jim Johnson
Alamosa Wine Cellars
Jim, thanks for your opinions.
“2) There are “wineries” in this state who harvest no grapes, produce no wines and exist for the sole purpose of buying and reselling wine, much as a retailer would do but enjoying the shipping privileges of a real winery.”
And what exactly is wrong with this? The competition?
Apparently it has been deemed “unfair” by some, likely those enjoying the monopoly privileges afforded by overly invasive and restrictive laws governing the production and sale of alcohol.
Perhaps the CORRECT solution is to examine all the restrictive laws governing retail sales and shipping of alcohol, then repeal and replace those laws with something that actually makes sense, rather than foolishly destroying existing businesses with backward legislation.
It’s absurd that an allegedly “Republican/pro-business” state would enact such obviously anti-competitive legislation driven by special interests seeking further monopoly status.
Jim I just would appreciate it if you would explain to me how this legislation serves the interest and welfare of the citizens of Texas. The 2 reasons for your support are of no concern to me. Other than Texas protecting minors and collecting taxes on any alcoholic beverages sold in the state of Texas, I don’t see how any other laws server any other purpose than to protect special interest while limiting choice for every Texas citizen.
Yes, thanks, Jim. I’ll know not to shop at Alamosa Wine Cellars now. The only reason someone could support a bill like this is that they’re afraid of the free market. The only thing I’d like to do is to be able to purchase wine on the internet, like any free person. For Alamosa, that’s too much to ask.
Good luck.
From wine.com:
The Texas legislature is about to pass a law that will put Wine.com, and others selling wine online, out of business in Texas. This is after we relocated from California to Texas in 2011, at the request of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Control, and despite the fact that we already purchase our wine from Texas wine wholesalers, store it in our Houston warehouse staffed with Texans, ship it to Texas customers from within the state of Texas and pay Texas sales tax on every sale.
BULL CRAP !
I BUY WINE FROM THEM !!!!!!!!!!!
If you would like to continue doing business with them then perhaps sign the petition:
http://www.citizenspeak.org/campaign/bill-tomaszewski/vote-no-hb-2537
Full text from wine.com message received 5/22/2013 (no links)-
Dear ….,
The Texas legislature is about to pass a law that will put Wine.com, and others selling wine online, out of business in Texas. This is after we relocated from California to Texas in 2011, at the request of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Control, and despite the fact that we already purchase our wine from Texas wine wholesalers, store it in our Houston warehouse staffed with Texans, ship it to Texas customers from within the state of Texas and pay Texas sales tax on every sale.
HB 2537 will curtail Texas customers’ options to purchase wine via the Internet, moving Texas backward while the rest of the country is adopting new technology to improve consumer access to great products. It is anti-small business at a time when the state is trying to recruit businesses from other states, California in particular.
Things are moving fast. The bill passed in the Senate Business and Commerce Committee last Tuesday, May 14, and is moving fast through other steps today and over the next several days before the end of the current legislative session on May 31.
If you want to stop HB 2537 and maximize your options in buying wine online in Texas, here’s how you can help:
Sign our online petition – this just takes a minute: NO ON HB 2537
Call your state senator’s office and tell them to vote no on HB 2537. Find out who your state senator is HERE.
Call the Lt. Governor’s office at 512-463-0001 and tell them you are opposed to HB 2537 because it is anti-consumer and anti-small business.
Forward this email to your friends who love wine, the Internet, free trade and consumer rights!
Thank you for your help!
Rich Bergsund
CEO, Wine.com
9333 Millsview Road
Houston, TX 77070
Can someone clarify this law for me as a consumer? Does this law specifically prohibit me from ordering wine from any retailer or winery online because I am a Texas resident? Or does it not matter where I reside, but rather, where I want to ship the wine? Will this law keep me from continuing with my wine-of-the-month club? Will I no longer be able to order gift baskets with wine to ship to my friends and family in Texas or other states?
Some additional information which “may” clear things up a little is at Texas Wine and Trail Magazine.
Rich Bergsund is incorrect. the bill does nothing but institute minimal production requirements for TABC winery permittees. Her is the entire text of the bill:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 16, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended
by adding Section 16.012 to read as follows:
Sec. 16.012. PRODUCTION REQUIREMENTS. (a) The holder of a
winery permit must produce, bottle, or blend at least 200 gallons of
wine or fruit brandy annually beginning in the 12-month period
preceding the third anniversary of the date the winery’s original
permit is issued.
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the holder of a
winery permit issued before September 1, 2013, must produce,
bottle, or blend at least 200 gallons of wine or fruit brandy
annually beginning in the 12-month period preceding September 1,
2016. This subsection expires September 1, 2017.
(b) The winery activities required by this section may be
done through an agreement authorized by Section 16.05 or through an
agreement with another winery in this state for a bottling brand
under an Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Basic Permit trade
name application.
(c) Failure to comply with this section constitutes grounds
to cancel or suspend a winery permit or deny an application for
renewal of a winery permit.
No Jason, he is not. You need to read the first post and the summary link provided by Jeff.
One issue is that some internet sellers, that don’t PRODUCE wine, have been issued “winery” permits with the blessing of the TABC and current law. They will lose these permits and be forced into the silly and restrictive TX retail implementation in the 3-tier system unless they produce or bottle wine.
And the funny thing is there STILL won’t be a requirement that a “winery” is producing it’s own product since they could just buy someone else’s blend and bottle it.
From the link above:
http://www.texaswineandtrail.com/senate-business-and-commerce-committee-responds-to-hb-2537-questions/
“Additionally, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code authorizes a Texas winery permit holder to sell and ship wine directly to a Texas consumer, however there is no requirement that permit holders actually grow and produce the wine to be sold or shipped.”
Things to do this summer.
Visit Hill Country Wine Trail……UNCHECk