By: Estes S.B. No. 1669
(In the Senate - Filed March 11, 2005; March 30, 2005, read
first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
Relations; April 22, 2005, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0;
April 22, 2005, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1669 By: Deuell
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the composition of the wine sold or dispensed by
wineries located in this state.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 12, Agriculture Code, is amended by
adding Section 12.039 to read as follows:
Sec. 12.039. CERTAIN WINE PRODUCED OR BOTTLED IN THIS STATE.
(a) The Texas Wine Marketing Research Institute or other qualified
entity shall, as funding is available, conduct an annual study
relating to the quantities and varieties of grapes and other fruit
grown in this state that are used for wine making.
(b) Not later than October 15 of the study year, the Texas
Wine Marketing Research Institute or other qualified entity shall
submit a report to the commissioner. The report must:
(1) include:
(A) the quantities and varieties of grapes and
other fruit grown in this state that are available on September 30
of the study year for use in wine making;
(B) the needs of wineries in this state for those
grapes and other fruit to meet the wineries' projected production
estimates for the following calendar year; and
(C) recommendations regarding the varieties of
grapes and other fruit grown in this state for which a reduction in
the percentage by volume of Texas grapes used should be granted
under Subsection (d); or
(2) state that funding was not available to complete
the study required by this section.
(c) If a statement is provided in accordance with Subsection
(b)(2), the reporting entity shall include in the report:
(1) any information that has been routinely collected
or developed by the reporting entity and that might be useful in
determining the quantities and varieties of grapes and other fruit
grown in this state that are available for use in wine making the
following calendar year; and
(2) recommendations regarding the varieties of grapes
and other fruit grown in this state for which a reduction in the
percentage by volume of Texas grapes used should be granted under
Subsection (d).
(d) The commissioner shall review the report and, if the
commissioner determines that the quantity of a variety of grapes or
other fruit grown in this state is insufficient for the wineries in
this state to produce their projected production estimates during
the following calendar year, the commissioner may reduce the
percentage by volume of fermented juice of grapes or other fruit
grown in this state that wine containing that particular variety of
grape or other fruit must contain under Section 16.011, Alcoholic
Beverage Code. The percentage established under this subsection
must ensure that the use of that variety of grape or other fruit
grown in this state is maximized while allowing for the acquisition
of grapes or other fruit grown outside of this state in a quantity
sufficient to meet the needs of wineries in this state.
(e) The commissioner shall submit the commissioner's
determination to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in writing
and publish the commissioner's determination in the Texas Register
and on the department's Internet website not later than December 31
of the study year.
(f) A percentage requirement established under Subsection
(d) applies to wine bottled under Section 16.011, Alcoholic
Beverage Code, during the calendar year following the study year.
(g) If a winery in this state finds that the determination
made by the commissioner under Subsection (d) does not reduce the
percentage requirement with respect to a particular variety of
grape or other fruit to a level sufficient for the winery to meet
the winery's planned production for the relevant year, the winery
may submit documentation or other information to the commissioner
substantiating that the winery has not been able to acquire those
grapes or other fruit grown in this state in an amount sufficient to
meet the winery's production needs. If the commissioner determines
that there is not a sufficient quantity of that variety of grapes or
other fruit grown in this state to meet the needs of that winery,
the commissioner may reduce the percentage requirement for wine
bottled during the remainder of the calendar year that contains
that variety of fruit.
(h) The commissioner may:
(1) establish a voluntary registry for vineyards and
other fruit growers in this state to assist in the determination of
the availability of grapes and other fruit grown in this state and
facilitate communication between the wineries and fruit growers in
this state regarding the availability of and need for grapes and
other fruit for wine making; and
(2) assess a fee to cover the cost of administering the
registry.
(i) Information gathered through a registry established
under Subsection (h) shall be posted on the department's Internet
website and may be made available in any other format agreed on by
the commissioner and a requestor who pays the appropriate fee for
reproducing the record.
(j) The vineyard and fruit growers registry fund is an
account in the general revenue fund. Fees collected under
Subsection (h) shall be deposited to the credit of that account.
Money in the account may be appropriated only to the department and
may be used only to cover administrative and personnel costs of the
department associated with administering a registry established
under Subsection (h).
SECTION 2. Section 16.011, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 16.011. PREMISES IN DRY AREA. A winery permit may be
issued for premises in an area in which the sale of wine has not been
authorized by a local option election. A holder of a permit under
this section may engage in any activity authorized under Section
16.01 except that the permit holder may sell or dispense wine under
that section only if the wine is:
(1) bottled [manufactured] in this state; and
(2) at least 75 percent by volume fermented juice of
grapes or other fruit grown in this state or a lesser percentage
established by the commissioner of agriculture under Section
12.039, Agriculture Code.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
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