|
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
relating to the authority of certain holders of winery permits to |
|
sell liquor for on-premises consumption. |
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that: |
|
(1) the state is authorized under the Twenty-first |
|
Amendment to the United States Constitution to promote the public's |
|
interest in the fair, efficient, and competitive marketing of wine |
|
in this state; |
|
(2) the Texas wine industry operates within the |
|
traditional three-tier system of alcoholic beverage regulation |
|
that has been recognized as unquestionably legitimate by the United |
|
States Supreme Court in Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S. 460 (2005); |
|
(3) within the state statutes that are the basis of the |
|
three-tier system there are occasional exceptions, some of which |
|
have been in place for years, that do not undermine or compromise |
|
the three-tier system of alcoholic beverage regulation or threaten |
|
the welfare, health, peace, temperance, or safety of the people of |
|
Texas; |
|
(4) the Texas wine industry is a growing segment of the |
|
Texas economy, expanding opportunities for grape growers, |
|
winemakers, wine wholesalers, and wine retailers, while generating |
|
more excise tax and sales tax revenue every year; and |
|
(5) it is in the state's interest to encourage |
|
entrepreneurial and small business development opportunities in |
|
the state that will lead to new capital investment in the state, |
|
create new jobs in the state, and expand the state and local tax |
|
base. |
|
SECTION 2. Chapter 16, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended |
|
by adding Section 16.010 to read as follows: |
|
Sec. 16.010. SALE OF LIQUOR FOR ON-PREMISES CONSUMPTION BY |
|
CERTAIN PERMIT HOLDERS. (a) This section applies only to the |
|
holder of a winery permit whose premises: |
|
(1) contains a restaurant having permanent food |
|
service facilities for the preparation and service of multiple |
|
entrees for consumption at the location; and |
|
(2) is located in a county that: |
|
(A) contains the Fredericksburg in the Texas Hill |
|
Country American Viticultural Area; |
|
(B) is located entirely in the Texas Hill Country |
|
American Viticultural Area and: |
|
(i) borders a county described by Paragraph |
|
(A); and |
|
(ii) has a population of more than 5,000 and |
|
less than 19,000; or |
|
(C) contains a portion of the Texas Hill Country |
|
American Viticultural Area and has a population of more than |
|
150,000 and less than 400,000. |
|
(b) Notwithstanding the tied house provisions of this code, |
|
a holder of a permit under this chapter may engage in any activity |
|
authorized under Chapter 28. |
|
(c) The holder of a permit who engages in the activities |
|
authorized under this section shall be considered a "retailer" for |
|
purposes of Section 102.01. |
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |