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Senate Bill 904 |
Senate Author: Brimer |
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Effective: 9-1-07 |
House Sponsor: Truitt |
Senate Bill 904 amends the Alcoholic Beverage Code to continue the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) until September 1, 2019. In addition to across-the-board sunset provisions, the bill updates TABC's mission to focus on the agency's role in protecting the public safety and regulating the alcoholic beverage industry. The bill requires TABC to develop a risk-based approach to its enforcement activities by focusing on detecting serious violations that impact public safety and monitoring entities with a history of complaints and violations. The bill authorizes TABC to test the contents of any alcoholic beverage manufactured or sold in the state to ensure that it meets certain standards; allows beverage samplings for verification of alcohol content to be done by an independent, reputable laboratory rather than solely by TABC; and requires TABC to require the holder of certain on-premise permits or licenses to display a warning notice on the premises informing the public of the risks of drinking alcohol during pregnancy.
Senate Bill 904 expands the list of violations for which the permittee or licensee is prohibited from choosing to pay a civil penalty rather than having the permit or license suspended. The bill makes it a Class A misdemeanor to refuse to allow TABC, an authorized representative, or a peace officer to enter a licensed or permitted premises to conduct an investigation or inspect the premises and makes it a Class A misdemeanor to sell, offer for sale, consume, or permit the consumption of an alcoholic beverage on such premises during prohibited hours. The bill specifies that a licensed or permitted premises is a public place for purposes of provisions restricting alcohol consumption after certain hours, amends the Penal Code to apply that specification to offenses relating to public intoxication, and requires TABC to submit a biennial report to the legislature on its enforcement efforts concerning alcohol sales and consumption during prohibited hours. Senate Bill 904 requires a permittee to register distilled spirits or wine with TABC before shipping the product into the state or selling it within the state and sets out commission registration requirements for a certificate of label approval for such products.