Bill Text: CA AB776 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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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-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 776	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 17, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 15, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cooper

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2015

   An act to  add Section 23399.65 to   amend
Section 25500 of, and to add Sections 23355.3 and 23399.65 to, 
the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 776, as amended, Cooper. Alcoholic beverage control: 
beer manufacturer: brewery event.   licenses and
tied-house restrictions.  
   (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 that has acquired a specified alcoholic
beverages license, subject to specified conditions, including that
sponsorship or participation opportunities for the event be made
available to any retail or nonretail licensee.  
    The 
    (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 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. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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 that has obtained a temporary daily on-sale license or a
temporary daily off-sale license under this division, in which
retail or nonretail licensees are involved as sponsors or
participants, subject to all of the following conditions:
   (1) Sponsorship or participation shall be pursuant to a written
agreement.
   (2) Except as otherwise provided, any payment for sponsorship or
participation shall be as moneys paid only to the nonprofit
organization holding the temporary license.
   (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) This subdivision shall not prohibit the establishment by the
temporary daily licensee of different levels of sponsorship, where
each sponsorship level provides different promotional benefits to a
sponsor. All sponsorship agreements for the event shall be on
identical terms. 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. Sponsorship or
participation opportunities shall be made available to any retail and
nonretail licensee wishing to sponsor or participate.
   (6) (A) Except as otherwise specified in this subdivision, any
advertising or promotion of the event by the temporary daily licensee
shall identify all sponsors. Sponsorship levels may specify how
prominent the identification of each sponsor shall be, provided that
all sponsors within each level are treated equally in the advertising
or promotion.
   (B) A nonretail licensee may communicate sponsorship, or
participation, and share, repost, or otherwise forward a social media
post by a retail licensee or nonretail licensee if the
communication, sharing, reposting, or forwarding of the social media
post does not contain the retail price of any alcoholic beverage. A
nonretail licensee shall not pay or reimburse a retail licensee,
directly or indirectly, for any social media advertising services. A
retail licensee shall not accept any payment or reimbursement,
directly or indirectly, for any social media advertising services
offered by a nonretail licensee. For the purposes of this paragraph,
"social media" means a service, platform, or site where users
communicate with one another and share media, such as pictures,
videos, music, and blogs, with other users free of charge.
   (7) A retail licensee shall conspicuously offer for sale alcoholic
beverages other than the products produced, distributed, bottled, or
otherwise offered for sale by any of the sponsors of the event. The
retail licensee shall serve other brands of alcoholic beverages
distributed by a competing wholesaler in addition to the brands
manufactured or marketed by the nonretail licensee sponsoring or
participating in the event.
   (b) The 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. 
   SECTION 1.   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  to
 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  money   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 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, for fair consideration,   purchasing 
advertising in any publication published by  any
manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's agent, rectifier, California
winegrower's agent, distiller, bottler, importer, or wholesaler, or
any person who directly or indirectly holds the ownership of any
interest in the premises of the retail licensee.   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.