By: Estes, Burton, Huffines S.B. No. 326

(In the Senate - Filed January 21, 2015; February 2, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Business and Commerce; April 23, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 1; April 23, 2015, sent to printer.) Click here to see the committee vote

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 326 By: Watson

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the amount of wine certain wineries may sell directly to consumers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 16.01(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Section 16.011, the holder of a winery permit may:

(1) manufacture, bottle, label, and package wine containing not more than 24 percent alcohol by volume;

(2) manufacture fruit brandy and:

(A) use that brandy on the winery permit holder's permitted premises for fortifying purposes only; or

(B) sell that brandy to other winery permit holders;

(3) import or buy fruit brandy from a permit holder authorized to manufacture fruit brandy and use that brandy on the winery permit holder's permitted premises for fortifying purposes only;

(4) sell wine in this state to or buy wine from permit holders authorized to purchase and sell wine, including holders of wholesaler's permits, winery permits, and wine bottler's permits;

(5) sell wine to ultimate consumers[:

[(A)] for consumption on the winery premises;

(6) sell wine manufactured or bottled by the winery permit holder to ultimate consumers in unbroken packages for off-premises consumption in an amount not to exceed 155,000 gallons annually;

(7) sell wine that is not manufactured or bottled by the winery permit holder to ultimate consumers [or

[(B)] in unbroken packages for off-premises consumption in an amount not to exceed 25,000 [35,000] gallons annually;

(8) [(6)] sell the wine outside this state to qualified persons;

(9) [(7)] blend wines;

(10) [(8)] dispense free wine for consumption on the winery premises; and

(11) [(9)] purchase and import wine from the holder of a nonresident seller's permit.

SECTION 2. Section 54.02, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 54.02. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES. The holder of an out-of-state winery direct shipper's permit may not:

(1) sell or ship wine to a minor;

(2) deliver wine to a consumer using a carrier that does not hold a carrier's permit under this code;

(3) deliver to the same consumer in this state more than nine gallons of wine within any calendar month or more than 36 gallons of wine within any 12-month period; or

(4) sell to ultimate consumers more than 155,000 [35,000] gallons of wine annually.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.

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