Positions and Comments on Alcoholic Beverage Bills Before the Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee
Date: March 13, 2007
To: Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee
From: Scott Ehlers, Executive Director, Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws
Re: Positions and Comments on Alcoholic Beverage Bills Before the Committee on March 13, 2007
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Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws (MBBWL), incorporated in Hyattsville, Maryland, advocates for beer and wine laws that: 1) benefit consumers; 2) promote competition; 3) protect the environment; and 4) support Maryland's brewers and wineries.
Our top priorities are allowing consumers to buy beer and wine in grocery stores, and allowing consumers to receive wine directly from wineries, retailers, and through online retailers like wine.com.
Approximately 900 Marylanders have joined our mailing list because they want to modernize our state’s alcohol laws and they want the legislature to consider consumer interests when crafting our state’s alcohol policies.
Summary
We are taking the following positions and making the following comments about the alcoholic beverage bills before you today:
SB 425 — Wineries – Special Events Permits – Farmers’ Markets
Position: Strongly Support
SB 473 — Alcoholic Beverages – Class A Light Wine Licenses – Residency Requirement
Position: Strongly Support
SB 507 — Baltimore County – Alcoholic Beverages – Wine Tasting
Position: Strongly Support
SB 958 — Frederick County – Alcoholic Beverages – Tables and Chairs at Wineries
Position: Strongly Support, with Amendments
SB 998 — Baltimore County – Alcoholic Beverages – Multiple License Holdings
Position: Strongly Support
Senate Companion to HB 614 — Montgomery County - Alcoholic Beverages - Direct
Sales by Holders of Class 6 Limited Wine Wholesaler's Licenses or Nonresident Winery Permits MC 703-07
Position: Strongly Support
Commentary and Suggested Amendments
SB 425 — Wineries – Special Events Permits – Farmers’ Markets
Position: Strongly Support
SB 425 is good for Maryland wine consumers, Maryland wineries, and Maryland’s farmers’ markets. By allowing Maryland wineries to participate in more winery special events, the General Assembly is providing this vital industry with more opportunities to sell a quality product that is made right here in Maryland. By allowing Maryland consumers to purchase 12 bottles of wine rather than four from a winery, you are providing greater consumer freedom as well as greater sales opportunities for Maryland wineries. And by allowing wineries to sell their product at farmers’ markets, you are providing many more opportunities for Maryland wineries to expose consumers to their products and increase their sales. Ultimately, this bill promotes Maryland jobs, Maryland farms, and Maryland’s economy. Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws strongly supports SB 425.
SB 473 — Alcoholic Beverages – Class A Light Wine Licenses – Residency Requirement
Position: Strongly Support
This legislation would essentially allow Maryland winery owners who live in one county but whose winery exists in another county to be able to sell wine on the premises of the winery without moving their residence to the same county where the winery is located (assuming they have been a Maryland resident for two or more years). It seems fairly obvious that most individuals live in urban areas and urban areas are not exactly inviting of wineries and vineyards. It makes little sense to require an individual to sell his/her house, uproot his/her family, and move to the country because they want to own and operate a winery.
Ultimately, this legislative fix will result in more Maryland wine being sold, more open space in Maryland being saved, and more access to Maryland wines by consumers who visit Maryland wineries and support our state’s economy. This is a goal that the General Assembly should always support, which is why we urge you to support SB 473.
SB 507 — Baltimore County – Alcoholic Beverages – Wine Tasting
Position: Strongly Support
This legislation would get rid of the burdensome restriction on the number of beer and wine tastings that a retailer may host in a given year in Baltimore County. Under existing law, a retailer could host at most one tasting per month. This legislation would not put a limit on the number of tastings, assuming the retailer has the necessary Class BWT license and pays the fee. This legislation will expose Baltimore County consumers to new and different beers and wines, potentially more Maryland beers and wines. This legislation is good for consumers in Baltimore County, it is good for Baltimore County retailers, and it is potentially good for Maryland wineries and brewers too.
SB 958 — Frederick County – Alcoholic Beverages – Tables and Chairs at Wineries
Position: Strongly Support, with Amendments
This legislation would allow wineries in Frederick County to “provide tables and chairs” and sell wine by the glass “to a person who participates in a guided tour of the facility.” Under existing law (Art. 2B, Sec. 2-204(2)(v), a winery may serve no more than 6 ounces of wine at no charge to persons who have toured the facility.
While we support this legislation in concept, we feel that it does not go far enough in supporting the interests of consumers or Maryland wineries. Consumers should not be forced to endure a guided tour of the winery to buy wine by the glass. If you have ever visited wineries in other states (this author went on a wine tour in Oregon), you know that you can visit the winery and buy wine by the glass, and you don’t have to take a guided tour of the facility. Tour operators drive consumers from winery to winery where you taste and purchase wine – either to take with you or drink on the spot. You can tour the winery if you like, but it isn’t mandatory. By requiring tours to purchase wine by the glass, you are simply setting up a bureaucratic hurdle for wineries to jump through, rather than simply allowing wineries to sell wine, made at the facility, by the glass.
We suggest you make the following amendment to the bill:
Delete the words “to a person who participates in a guided tour of the facility” on lines 7-8 of page 2.
SB 998 — Baltimore County – Alcoholic Beverages – Multiple License Holdings
Position: Strongly Support
This legislation would allow partnerships, corporations, and LLCs to hold an interest in up to six Class B beer, wine, and liquor licenses in Baltimore County, or up to seven licenses in the Liberty Road Commercial Revitalization District. We applaud all attempts by the General Assembly to bring more quality hotels, bars and restaurants to Baltimore County and the rest of the state. By removing the unduly burdensome requirement that only individuals may possess alcohol licenses and allowing partnerships, corporations, and LLCs to own licenses, you are making it much more likely that more quality bars and restaurants are available to consumers. By allowing these entities to possess more than one license, you are reducing burdensome regulations, increasing the likelihood that bars and restaurants will be opened, and generally increasing economic development opportunities in the state. This legislation is being supported by the Baltimore County Administration and should be supported by this Committee as well.
Senate Companion to HB 614 — Montgomery County - Alcoholic Beverages - Direct
Sales by Holders of Class 6 Limited Wine Wholesaler's Licenses or Nonresident Winery Permits MC 703-07
Position: Strongly Support
This legislation represents little more than “clean-up” legislation after last year’s passage of HB 1122, which allows small Maryland wineries and small out-of-state wineries to self-distribute their own wine. This bill would do nothing more than allow these same wineries to self-distribute their own wine in Montgomery County. This bill will result in more Maryland wines being sold in Montgomery County at a better price than if it were to pass through the Department of Liquor Control, thus making the bill good for Montgomery County consumers, good for Maryland wineries, and good for the Maryland economy. The Senate companion bill to HB 614 is supported by the Montgomery County delegation and should be supported by this committee as well.
