Florida Beverage Legislation: 2017 End-of-Session Review of Beverage Bills

Of the 16 beverage bills proposed for the 2017 Florida Legislative session, only 3 made it through to final passage, and one of those gets a big asterisk.

The 2017 Florida Legislative session ended for regular business on Friday, May 5, 2017 (passage of the state budget is scheduled for the following Monday). At the beginning of the session, we reviewed the 16 beverage bills up for consideration (see Florida Beverage Legislation: 2017 Pre-Session Review of Beverage Bills). Those bills proposed changing the Florida beverage industry in some dramatic ways. For instance, House Bill 141 and Senate Bill 166 proposed to allow craft distilleries to have separately located tasting rooms and make sales at fairs, trade shows, expos, and festivals, like Florida Farm Wineries now do. House Bill 679 and Senate Bill 554 proposed to allow limited self-distribution of kegs by Florida breweries, so long as they did not otherwise sell through a distributor. Most of those dramatic changes, however, did not reach final passage.

One dramatic bill that did pass is the so-called “Whiskey to Wheaties Bill” (Senate Bill 106), which would allow grocery stores and big box retailers to sell liquor in their regular aisles, rather than segregated in a separate location as is the case now. Senate Bill 106 also prohibits package stores within 1,000 feet of schools.

House Bill 689, which also passed, would allow small restaurants to qualify for a special retail license. The bill also reduces the annual license fee for craft distilleries, from $4,000 to $1,000.

The last beverage bill to reach final passage was House Bill 141, which was originally aimed at giving Florida craft distilling tasting rooms. However, amendments to the bill scaled HB 141 back to such an extent that only a vestige remains. As passed, HB 141 would allow Florida craft distilleries to sell up to 6 containers, up from 4, per brand, per person, per year.

All of the passed bills must till be approved by Governor Scott before becoming law.

The following table recaps the fact of all of the 2017 Florida Beverage Bills:

Bill #	Sponsor	Companion	Summary	Status
HB 81	Avila	SB 106	Eliminates the single-purpose restriction on package stores. Allows employment of minors at stores that derive less than 30% of revenue from sale of alcoholic beverages.	Last Action: 4/25/2017 H Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/SB 106 -HJ 821 Location: Laid on Table
HB 141	Stevenson	SB 166	As Proposed: Allows craft distilleries to have tasting rooms. Allows certified Florida Craft Distilleries to conduct tastings and sales at fairs, trade shows, expositions, and festivals. Reduces annual license fee to $1,000 for craft distilleries. As Passed: Permits Florida Craft Distilleries to sell up to 6 containers per brand per year per person.	Last Action: 5/5/2017 H Ordered enrolled Location: Final Passage
HB 423	La Rosa	SB 388	Prohibits wine retail coupons provided by manufacturer or distributor. Allows breweries and vendors to engage in financial transactions that do not involve the direct sale or distribution of beer between manufacturer and vendor.	Last Action: 4/27/2017 H Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/SB 388 -HJ 930 Location: Laid on Table
HB 679	Clemons	SB 554	Allows self-distribution of kegs only by breweries that do not have a distribution agreement and product no more than 7,000 half-barrel kegs per year.	Last Action: 3/7/2017 H Introduced -HJ 81 Location: In committee/council (CCS)
HB 689	Burton	SB 400	Allows smaller restaurants to qualify for special retail license. Eliminates the temporary license fee on transfer of a license. Reduces the annual license fee for craft distilleries to $1,000.	Last Action: 4/28/2017 H Ordered enrolled -HJ 1016 Location: Final Passage
HB 853	Goodson	SB 1040	Brewery or importer may give branded glassware to vendors for on-premises consumption.	Last Action: 4/26/2017 H Temporarily postponed, on 2nd Reading -HJ 896 Location: On 2nd Reading Calendar
HB 983	Altman	SB 1254	Person who knowingly serves a visibly intoxicated person or a minor is liable for injury and damage caused by that person. Service of a minor is deemed to be with knowledge unless the minor provided a government issued ID.	Last Action: 3/7/2017 H Introduced -HJ 107 Location: In committee/council (CJC)
HB 1069	Brodeur	SB 750	Franchisor may not terminate a franchise except for good cause. Applies to “craft beer franchises.”	Last Action: 3/7/2017 H Introduced -HJ 115 Location: In committee/council (CCS)
SB 106	Flores	HB 81	Prohibits package stores within 1,000 feet of schools. Eliminates single-purpose restriction for package stores after a specific time period. Allows employment of minors at stores that derive less than 30% of revenue from sale of alcoholic beverages.	Last Action: 4/26/2017 S Ordered enrolled -SJ 500 Location: Final Passage
SB 166	Steube	HB 141	Allows craft distilleries to have tasting rooms. Allows certified Florida Craft Distilleries to conduct tastings and sales at fairs, trade shows, expositions, and festivals.	Last Action: 5/4/2017 S Laid on Table, refer to CS/HB 141 -SJ 877 Location: Laid on Table
SB 388	Hutson	HB 423	Prohibits wine retail coupons provided by manufacturer or distributor. Allows breweries and vendors to engage in financial transactions that do not involve the direct sale or distribution of beer between manufacturer and vendor.	Last Action: 4/28/2017 S In returning messages Location: In returning messages from House
SB 400	Perry	HB 689	Allows smaller restaurants to qualify for special retail license Eliminates the temporary license fee on transfer of a license Reduces the annual license fee for craft distilleries to $1,000.	Last Action: 4/27/2017 S Laid on Table, refer to CS/CS/CS/HB 689 -SJ 514 Location: Laid on Table
SB 554	Young	HB 679	Allows self-distribution of kegs only by breweries that do not have a distribution agreement and product no more than 7,000 half-barrel kegs per year.	Last Action: 4/21/2017 S Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading -SJ 442 Location: On 2nd Reading Calendar
SB 750	Latvala	HB 1069	Protect Florida Small Business Act. Does not apply to brewery-distributor relationship	Last Action: 4/21/2017 S Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading -SJ 442 Location: On 2nd Reading Calendar
SB 1040	Artiles	HB 853	Allows brewery or importer to give vendor branded glassware for on-premises consumption.	Last Action: 4/3/2017 S Now in Rules -SJ 292 Location: In committee/council (RC)
SB 1254	Rouson	HB 983	Person who knowingly serves a visibly intoxicated person or a minor is liable for injury and damage caused by that person. Service of a minor is deemed to be with knowledge unless the minor provided a government issued ID.	Last Action: 3/7/2017 S Introduced -SJ 131 Location: In committee/council (CJ)

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