NDT H.B. 3176 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS


LICENSING & ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES
H.B. 3176
By: Jones, Delwin
4-14-97
Committee Report (Unamended)



BACKGROUND 

The Texas Wine Industry is growing in popularity in Texas, both in the
production of Texas Wines and in the tourism business.  Many people visit
Texas  wineries to tour the facilities and sample the wines.  Unlike other
states, such as California, Texas law does not allow wineries to charge
for wine samplings at the wineries.  This bill would allow wineries to
charge for samplings, with certain restrictions, and would give Texas
wineries the flexibility to recover some of the costs in providing samples
of the wines produced at the winery to the growing number of people
touring Texas wineries.  

PURPOSE

As proposed, H.B. 3176 would allow for the holder of a winery permit to
conduct wine samplings and tastings on the permitted premises and collect
a fee for the samplings.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or
institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 16.01, Alcoholic Beverage Code, to allow the
holder of a winery permit to dispense wine for consumption on the premises
of the winery under Section 16.07, Alcoholic Beverage Code. 

SECTION 2. Amends Chapter 16, Alcoholic Beverage Code, by adding Section
16.07: 

 (a)  to allow the holder of a winery permit to conduct wine samplings and
tastings on the  permitted premises and collect a fee for the wine
sampling 

 (b)  to restrict advertising of the samplings only by on-site
communications or by direct  mail  

 (c)  to restrict the dispensing of samples to the holder of the permit or
the holder's   authorized agent or employees 

 (d)(1)  to allow an authorized person to serve a person more than one
sample 

 (d)(2) to forbid serving samples to a minor or an obviously intoxicated
person 

 (e) to not allow a person receiving a sample to remove the sample from
the permitted   premises 

 (f)(1)  forbidding the holder of the winery permit from being a holder of
a permit    authorizing the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises
consumption 

 (f)(2) not considered to have received any revenue from the on-premises
sale of    alcoholic beverages. 

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 1997.
 
SECTION 4. Emergency clause.