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Senate Bill 950 |
Senate Author: Carona |
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Effective: 9-1-13 |
House Sponsor: Thompson, Senfronia et al. |
Senate Bill 950 amends the Alcoholic Beverage Code to prohibit the holder of a nonresident seller's permit from soliciting, accepting, or filling an order for distilled spirits or wine from a holder of any type of winery permit unless the nonresident seller is the primary American source of supply for the brand of distilled spirits or wine that is ordered. The bill specifies that to be the "primary American source of supply" the nonresident seller must be the first source in the channel of commerce from whom the product can be secured by Texas wholesalers and Texas wineries, rather than American wholesalers. The bill specifies that a product may have only one primary American source of supply to Texas unless the product is a wine that is bottled or produced outside of the United States.
Senate Bill 950 requires an authorized permittee to provide proof that the permittee is the primary American source of supply, in addition to registering the distilled spirits or wine with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), before the permittee may ship distilled spirits or wine into the state or sell distilled spirits or wine within the state. The bill exempts rare or vintage wine that is acquired at auction and for which no certificate is available from the requirement that the registration application include a certificate of label approval issued by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for the product but requires rare or vintage wine purchased at auction and registered by TABC to comply with all other provisions of the Alcoholic Beverage Code, including provisions regarding the sale, purchase, importation, and distribution of that wine.
Senate Bill 950 authorizes, rather than requires, TABC by rule to establish procedures for accepting federal certificates of label approval for registration and expands such authorization to include procedures for accepting proof, such as a letter of authorization, that a permittee is the primary American source of supply.