Bill Text: CA AB776 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Alcoholic beverage control.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-10-06 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 519, Statutes of 2015. [AB776 Detail]
Download: California-2015-AB776-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 776 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 519
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 6, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 6, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 17, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 15, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooper
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Sections 25500 and 25666 of, and to add Sections
23355.3, 23399.65, and 23402.5 to, the Business and Professions Code,
relating to alcoholic beverages.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 776, Cooper. Alcoholic beverage control.
(1) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act regulates the application
for, the issuance of, the suspension of, and the conditions imposed
upon, various alcoholic beverage licenses pursuant to which the
licensees may exercise specified privileges in the state.
This bill would authorize licensees to sponsor or otherwise
participate in an event conducted by, and for the benefit of, a
nonprofit organization subject to specified conditions, including
that a nonretail or retail licensee may choose to participate in any
level of sponsorship.
(2) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act authorizes a licensed
winegrower to apply to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
for a wine sales event permit that allows the sale of bottled wine
produced by that winegrower at specified events approved by the
department. The act prohibits a wine sales event permit from being
used more than 2 times a month at a particular location, and requires
the winegrower to pay a fee of $50 for the permit. The act provides
that moneys collected as fees pursuant to the act are to be deposited
in the Alcohol Beverage Control Fund. These moneys are generally
allocated to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control upon
appropriation by the Legislature.
This bill would authorize a licensed beer manufacturer to apply to
the department for a brewery event permit that allows the sale of
beer produced by that beer manufacturer for consumption on property
contiguous and adjacent to the licensed premises of the manufacturer,
as provided. The bill would authorize a fee for a brewery event
permit of $110 for the 2016 calendar year, and thereafter as
provided, and an event authorization fee of not more than $25 for
each approved event. The bill would allow up to 4 authorized events
each calendar year.
(3) Existing law, known as tied-house restrictions, generally
prohibits a manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's agent,
rectifier, California winegrower's agent, distiller, bottler,
importer, and wholesaler, and any officer, director, or agent of any
of those persons, from having specified relationships with an on-sale
alcoholic beverage licensee, with limited exceptions. Existing law
specifies that the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act does not prohibit
holders of retail on-sale or off-sale licenses from purchasing
advertising in any publication by specified alcoholic beverage
licensees.
This bill would specify that the act does not prohibit purchasing
advertising in a publication published by a nonretail licensee, as
defined, and would include Internet Web sites and social media feeds
as types of publications for these purposes.
(4) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act authorizes specified
licensees to purchase alcoholic beverages for resale under specified
circumstances. The act provides that a person convicted of a
violation of its provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor unless another
penalty or punishment is specifically provided.
This bill would prohibit a retail licensee from purchasing beer
from any beer manufacturer for the purpose of selling or offering to
sell that beer under specified circumstances, including where the
beer container contains the statement or is marked "Not Packaged for
Resale".
By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
(5) Existing law requires the Department of Alcoholic Beverage
Control, in any hearing on an accusation charging a licensee with a
violation of specified provisions relating to minors, to produce the
alleged minor for examination at the hearing unless he or she is
unavailable as a witness because he or she is dead or unable to
attend the hearing because of a then-existing physical or mental
illness or infirmity, or unless the licensee has waived, in writing,
the appearance of the minor. Existing law provides that when a minor
is absent because of a then-existing physical or mental illness or
infirmity, a reasonable continuance shall be granted to allow for the
appearance of the minor if the administrative law judge finds that
it is reasonably likely that the minor can be produced within a
reasonable amount of time.
This bill would state that the above provisions are not intended
to preclude the continuance of a hearing because of the
unavailability of a minor for any other reason pursuant to a
specified provision.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 23355.3 is added to the Business and
Professions Code, to read:
23355.3. (a) A licensee may sponsor or otherwise participate in
an event conducted by, and for the benefit of, a nonprofit
organization in which retail and nonretail licensees are involved as
sponsors or participants, subject to all of the following conditions:
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, any payment of
money or other consideration for sponsorship or participation in the
event shall be made only to the nonprofit organization conducting the
event.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a nonretail
licensee shall not, directly or indirectly, pay money or provide any
other thing of value to a permanent retail licensee that is also a
sponsor of, or participant in, the event.
(3) A nonretail licensee may donate alcoholic beverages to a
nonprofit only as otherwise authorized by Section 25503.9.
(4) Except as otherwise provided by this division, a retail
licensee shall not give, sell, or furnish any alcoholic beverages to
the temporary licensee.
(5) A nonretail or retail licensee may choose to participate in
any level of sponsorship, including at the name or principal sponsor
level. A nonprofit organization may choose to have one, or multiple,
name or principal sponsors.
(6) (A) A nonretail licensee may advertise or communicate
sponsorship or participation in the event. This advertising or
communication may include, but is not limited to, initiating,
sharing, reposting, or otherwise forwarding a social media post by a
permanent retail licensee or a nonretail licensee if the
advertisement or communication does not contain the retail price of
any alcoholic beverage or otherwise promotes a retail licensee beyond
its sponsorship or participation in the event.
(B) A nonretail licensee shall not pay or reimburse a permanent
licensee, directly or indirectly, for any advertising services,
including by way of social media. Except as otherwise permitted by
this section, a permanent retail licensee shall not accept any
payment or reimbursement, directly or indirectly, for any advertising
services offered by a nonretail licensee.
(C) For the purposes of this subdivision, "social media" means a
service, platform, application, or site where users communicate and
share media, such as pictures, videos, music, and blogs, with other
users.
(7) A nonretail licensee shall not require, directly or
indirectly, as a condition of sponsorship or participation in any
event under this section, that its products be sold or served
exclusively at the event. A retail licensee shall not receive,
directly or indirectly, any advertising, sale, or promotional benefit
from any permanent retail licensee in connection with the
sponsorship or participation. A permanent retail licensee shall not
offer or provide a nonretail licensee any advertising, sale, or
promotional benefit in connection with the sponsorship or
participation.
(b) This section does not authorize a nonretail licensee to pay,
in whole or in part, any costs, including the cost of sponsorship, of
any retail licensee that is sponsoring or participating in a
nonprofit event.
(c) A licensee that sponsors or participates in a nonprofit event
under this section shall keep detailed records of its sponsorship or
participation and shall maintain those records for a period of at
least three years. These records shall be provided to the department
upon request.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to exempt the
nonprofit organization from obtaining any licenses or permits as may
be required to conduct the event.
SEC. 2. Section 23399.65 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
23399.65. (a) A licensed beer manufacturer may apply to the
department for a brewery event permit. A brewery event permit shall
authorize the sale of beer produced by the licensee pursuant to
Section 23357 for consumption on property contiguous and adjacent to
the licensed premises owned or under the control of the licensee. The
property shall be secured and controlled by the licensee.
(b) (1) The fee for a brewery event permit for a licensed beer
manufacturer shall be one hundred ten dollars ($110) for a permit
issued during the 2016 calendar year, and for a permit issued during
the years thereafter, the annual fee shall be calculated pursuant to
subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 23320. The permit may be renewed
annually at the same time as the licensee's license. A brewery event
permit shall be transferable as a part of the license.
(2) For each brewery event, consent for the sale of beer pursuant
to subdivision (a) at the brewery event shall be first obtained by
the licensee from the department in the form of an event
authorization issued by the department. An event authorization shall
be subject to approval by the appropriate local law enforcement
agency. The fee for each event authorization shall not exceed
twenty-five dollars ($25). The number of events authorized by a
brewery event permit shall not exceed four in any calendar year.
(3) All moneys collected as fees pursuant to this subdivision
shall be deposited in the Alcohol Beverage Control Fund, as described
in Section 25761, for allocation, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, as provided in subdivision (d) of that section.
(c) At all approved events, the licensee may exercise only those
privileges authorized by the licensee's license and shall comply with
all provisions of the act pertaining to the conduct of on-sale
premises, and violation of those provisions may be grounds for
suspension or revocation of the licensee's license or permit, or
both, as though the violation occurred on the licensed premises.
(d) The department may adopt any regulations it determines to be
necessary for the administration of this section.
SEC. 3. Section 23402.5 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
23402.5. (a) A retail licensee shall not sell or offer for sale
any beer that is purchased from a beer manufacturer at the beer
manufacturer's licensed premises under any of the following
circumstances:
(1) The beer manufacturer from which the beer is purchased has not
filed a price schedule pursuant to Chapter 12 (commencing with
Section 25000) for the sale of that beer in the county in which the
retail licensee's premises at which the beer is being sold or offered
for sale is located.
(2) The price at which the retailer purchases the beer is
different from the price in the price schedule filed by the beer
manufacturer pursuant to Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 25000)
from which the beer is purchased.
(3) The beer container contains the statement or is marked "Not
Packaged for Resale".
(b) Nothing in this section creates any exception to the
requirements of Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 25000).
SEC. 4. Section 25500 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
25500. (a) No manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's agent,
rectifier, California winegrower's agent, distiller, bottler,
importer, or wholesaler, or any officer, director, or agent of any
such person shall:
(1) Hold the ownership, directly or indirectly, of any interest in
any on-sale license.
(2) Furnish, give, or lend any money or other thing of value,
directly or indirectly, to, or guarantee the repayment of any loan or
the fulfillment of any financial obligation of, any person engaged
in operating, owning, or maintaining any on-sale premises where
alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises.
(3) Own any interest, directly or indirectly, in the business,
furniture, fixtures, refrigeration equipment, signs, except signs for
interior use mentioned in subdivision (g) of Section 25503, or lease
in or of any premises operated or maintained under any on-sale
license for the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the
premises where sold; or own any interest, directly or indirectly, in
realty acquired after June 13, 1935, upon which on-sale premises are
maintained unless the holding of the interest is permitted in
accordance with rules of the department.
(b) This section does not apply to the holding by one person of a
wholesaler's license and an on-sale license in counties not to exceed
15,000 population.
(c) This section does not apply to the financial or representative
relationship between a manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's
agent, rectifier, California winegrower's agent, distiller, bottler,
importer, or wholesaler, or any officer, director, or agent of such
person, and a person holding only one of the following types of
licenses:
(1) On-sale general license for a bona fide club.
(2) Club license issued under Article 4 (commencing with Section
23425) of Chapter 3.
(3) Veterans' club license issued under Article 5 (commencing with
Section 23450) of Chapter 3.
(4) On-sale license for boats, trains, sleeping cars, or airplanes
where the alcoholic beverages produced or sold by the manufacturer,
winegrower, manufacturer's agent, rectifier, California winegrower's
agent, bottler, importer, or wholesaler or any officer, director, or
agent of the person are not sold, furnished, or given, directly or
indirectly to the on-sale licensee.
(d) This section does not apply to an employee of a licensee
referred to in subdivision (a) who is a nonadministrative and
nonsupervisorial employee.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this division or
regulation of the department, this section does not apply to an
employee of a licensee referred to in subdivision (a) who is the
spouse of an on-sale licensee, so long as the on-sale licensee does
not purchase, offer for sale, or promote, regardless of source, any
of the brands of alcoholic beverages that are produced, bottled,
processed, imported, rectified, distributed, represented, or sold by
any licensee referred to in subdivision (a) that employs the spouse
of the on-sale licensee.
(f) (1) Nothing in this division prohibits the holder of any
retail on-sale or off-sale license from purchasing advertising in any
publication published by a nonretail licensee.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision:
(A) "Nonretail licensee" means any manufacturer, winegrower,
manufacturer's agent, rectifier, California winegrower's agent,
distiller, bottler, importer, or wholesaler, or any person who does
not directly or indirectly hold the ownership of any interest in a
retail license.
(B) "Publication published by a nonretail licensee" includes
Internet Web sites and social media feeds operated and maintained by
or for a nonretail licensee under an account or Internet Web site
address owned by the nonretail licensee.
SEC. 5. Section 25666 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
25666. (a) In any hearing on an accusation charging a licensee
with a violation of Sections 25658, 25663, and 25665, the department
shall produce the alleged minor for examination at the hearing unless
he or she is unavailable as a witness because he or she is dead or
unable to attend the hearing because of a then-existing physical or
mental illness or infirmity, or unless the licensee has waived, in
writing, the appearance of the minor. When a minor is absent because
of a then-existing physical or mental illness or infirmity, a
reasonable continuance shall be granted to allow for the appearance
of the minor if the administrative law judge finds that it is
reasonably likely that the minor can be produced within a reasonable
amount of time.
(b) (1) Nothing in this section shall prevent the department from
taking testimony of the minor as provided in Section 11511 of the
Government Code.
(2) This section is not intended to preclude the continuance of a
hearing because of the unavailability of a minor for any other reason
pursuant to Section 11524 of the Government Code.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
