CS for CS for SB 1714                            First Engrossed
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       20141714e1
       
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
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    3          Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:Section 1. Section 561.221, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:561.221 Licensing of manufacturers and distributors as vendors and of vendors as manufacturers; exceptions, conditions, and limitations.—(1)(a) Nothing contained in s. 561.22, s. 561.42, or any other provision of the Beverage Law prohibits the ownership, management, operation, or control of not more than three vendor’s licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages by a manufacturer of wine who is licensed and engaged in the manufacture of wine in this state, even if such manufacturer is also licensed as a distributor; provided that no such vendor’s license shall be owned, managed, operated, or controlled by any licensed manufacturer of wine unless the licensed premises of the vendor are situated on property contiguous to the manufacturing premises of the licensed manufacturer of wine.(b) The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco shall issue permits to a certified Florida Farm Winery to conduct tasting and sales of wine produced by certified Florida Farm Wineries at Florida fairs, trade shows, expositions, and festivals. The certified Florida Farm Winery shall pay all entry fees and shall have a winery representative present during the event. The permit is limited to the length of the event.(2)(a) Notwithstanding s. 561.221, s. 561.42, or any other provision of the Beverage Law, the division may is authorized to issue a vendor’s licenses license per licensed premises to a manufacturer of malt beverages, even if the such manufacturer is also licensed as a distributor, for the sale of alcoholic beverages on property consisting of a single complex. The, which property must shall include a brewery and such other structures which promote the brewery and the tourist industry of the state. However, such property may be divided by no more than one public street or highway.(b) A manufacturer licensed as a vendor under this subsection may sell alcoholic beverages under its vendor’s license as follows:1. Malt beverages manufactured on the licensed premises or transferred from another of its licensed premises, for:a. On-premises consumption, provided that, notwithstanding s. 530.22(14)(b), all malt beverages received from the manufacturer’s other breweries above an amount equal to the lesser of the receiving manufacturer’s total malt beverages brewed on the licensed premises or 2,000 kegs must be obtained through a distributor;b. Off-premises consumption in growlers pursuant to s. 563.061;c. Off-premises consumption in sealed containers, as authorized under s. 563.06, in an amount not to exceed one keg per consumer per day, provided that the total amount of malt beverages brewed by the manufacturer and sold for consumption off the licensed premises in sealed containers does not exceed 2000 kegs per year.d. Off-premises consumption in sealed containers, as authorized under s. 563.06, in an amount not to exceed one keg per consumer per day, provided that, if the total amount of malt beverages brewed by the manufacturer and sold for consumption off the licensed premises in sealed containers exceeds 2000 kegs per year, the total amount of malt beverages brewed by the manufacturer and sold for consumption off the licensed premises in sealed containers in excess of 2000 kegs per year does not exceed 20 percent of the total malt beverages brewed on the licensed premises.2. Any other malt beverages, for on-premises consumption only.3. Any wine or liquor, for on-premises consumption only, as authorized under its vendor’s license.(c) Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)2., a manufacturer holding its vendor’s license under this subsection as a quota licensee pursuant to s. 565.02(1) may also sell malt beverages brewed off the licensed premises, for off-premises consumption, in sealed containers as authorized under s. 563.06 and its vendor’s license, only if the premises was licensed under s. 565.02(1) on or before October 1, 2014. This provision does not prohibit the transfer of the license to another licensed manufacturing premises owned by the manufacturer.(d) Notwithstanding subparagraph (b)3., a manufacturer holding its vendor’s license under this subsection as a quota licensee pursuant to s. 565.02(1) may also sell such alcoholic beverages, for off-premises consumption, in sealed containers as authorized under its vendor’s license, only if the premises was licensed under s. 565.02(1) on or before October 1, 2014. This provision does not prohibit the transfer of the license to another licensed manufacturing premises owned by the manufacturer.(e) Notwithstanding s. 561.57(1), the delivery of any such sealed container or growler off the vendor’s licensed premises, whether by common or premises carrier or by an operator of a privately owned car, truck, bus, or other conveyance, is prohibited. In addition, a consumer or other person may not arrange for the delivery off the licensed manufacturing premises to the consumer of any such sealed container or growler from a vendor licensed under this subsection, whether by common or premises carrier or by an operator of a privately owned car, truck, bus, or other conveyance. However, this paragraph does not prohibit a consumer from taking the sealed container or growler, purchased by the consumer from a manufacturer licensed as a vendor under this subsection, from the vendor’s licensed premises to another location by a privately owned car, truck, bus, or other conveyance.(f) The manufacturer shall maintain a record of all malt beverages received from all of its licensed manufacturing premises, including the amount of malt beverages received, the licensed premises from which the malt beverages were transferred, and the amount of malt beverages sold for off-premises consumption in sealed containers, as authorized in s. 563.06(6). The division shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of this subparagraph (b)1. with respect to sales for off-premises consumption and transfers between licensed manufacturing premises.(g) A manufacturer licensed as a vendor under this subsection may hold a permanent food service license at the licensed premises.(h) This subsection is a limited exception to ss. 561.22 and 561.42. Except as specifically provided in this subsection to permit a manufacturer of malt beverages to also be licensed as a vendor, a manufacturer of malt beverages is subject to the restrictions in ss. 561.22 and 561.42.(3)(a) Notwithstanding s. 561.22, s. 561.42, or any other provision provisions of the Beverage Law, a any vendor licensed in this state may be licensed as a manufacturer of malt beverages upon a finding by the division that:1. The vendor will be engaged in brewing malt beverages at a single location and in an amount that which will not exceed 10,000 kegs per year. As used in For purposes of this section subsection, the term “keg” means 15.5 gallons.2. The malt beverages so brewed will be sold to consumers only for consumption on the vendor’s licensed premises or on contiguous licensed premises owned or leased by the vendor.(b) Any vendor which is also licensed as a manufacturer of malt beverages pursuant to this subsection shall be responsible for applicable reports pursuant to ss. 561.50 and 561.55 with respect to the amount of beverage manufactured each month and must shall pay the applicable excise taxes thereon to the division by the 10th day of each month for the previous month.(c) A It shall be unlawful for any licensed distributor of malt beverages or an any officer, agent, or other representative thereof may not to discourage or prohibit any vendor licensed as a manufacturer under this subsection from offering malt beverages brewed for consumption on the licensed premises of the vendor.(d) A It shall be unlawful for any manufacturer of malt beverages or an any officer, agent, or other representative thereof may not to take any action to discourage or prohibit a any distributor of the manufacturer’s product from distributing such product to a licensed vendor which is also licensed as a manufacturer of malt beverages pursuant to this subsection.Section 2. Section 561.37, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:561.37 Bond for payment of taxes.—(1) Each manufacturer and each distributor must shall file with the division a surety bond acceptable to the division in the amount sum of $25,000 as surety for the payment of all taxes., provided, However, if that when in the discretion of the division the amount of business done by the manufacturer or distributor is of such volume that a bond in an amount of less than $25,000 will be adequate to secure the payment of all taxes assessed or authorized by the Beverage Law, the division may accept a bond in an amount of less a lesser sum than $25,000, but not in no event shall it accept a bond of less than $10,000, and it may at any time in its discretion require any bond in an amount of less than $25,000 to be increased so as not to exceed $25,000.; provided, however, that(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the amount of bond required under this section for:(a) A brewer is $5,000 shall be $20,000, except that if where, in the discretion of the division, the amount of business done by the brewer is of such volume that a bond in an amount of less than $5,000 $20,000 will be adequate to secure the payment of all taxes assessed or authorized by the Beverage Law, the division may accept a bond in an amount of less a lesser sum than $5,000 $20,000, but not in no event shall it accept a bond of less than $2,500 $10,000, and it may at any time in its discretion require any bond in an amount of less than $5,000 $20,000 to be increased so as not to exceed $5,000. $20,000; provided further that the amount of the bond required for(b) A wine or wine and cordial manufacturer is shall be $5,000. However, except that, in the case of a manufacturer engaged solely in the experimental manufacture of wines and cordials from Florida products, if where in the discretion of the division the amount of business done by such a manufacturer is of such volume that a bond in an amount of less than $5,000 will be adequate to secure the payment of all taxes assessed or authorized by the Beverage Law, the division may accept a bond in an amount of less a lesser sum than $5,000, but not in no event shall it accept a bond of less than $1,000, and it may at any time in its discretion require a bond in an amount of less than $5,000 to be increased so as not to exceed $5,000.; provided, further, that the amount of bond required for(c) A distributor who sells only beverages containing not more than 4.007 percent of alcohol by volume, in counties where the sale of intoxicating liquors, wines, and beers is prohibited, or a distributor and to distributors who sells sell only beverages containing not more than 17.259 percent of alcohol by volume and wines regardless of alcoholic content, in counties where the sale of intoxicating liquors, wines, and beers is permitted, is shall file with the division a surety bond acceptable to the division in the sum of $25,000., as surety for the payment of all taxes; provided, However, if that where in the discretion of the division the amount of business done by such a distributor is of such volume that a bond in an amount of less than $25,000 will be adequate to secure the payment of all taxes assessed or authorized by the Beverage Law, the division may accept a bond in an amount of a less sum than $25,000, but not in no event shall it accept a bond less than $1,000, and it may at any time in its discretion require any bond in an amount of less than $25,000 to be increased so as not to exceed $25,000.; provided, further, that the amount of bond required for(d) A distributor in a county having a population of 15,000 or less who procures a license by which his or her sales are restricted to distributors and vendors who have obtained licenses in the same county is, shall be $5,000.Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 561.221(2), Florida Statutes, in reference thereto, subsection (14) of section 563.022, Florida Statutes, is reenacted:563.022 Relations between beer distributors and manufacturers.—(14) MANUFACTURER; PROHIBITED INTERESTS.—(a) This subsection applies to:1. A manufacturer;2. Any officer, director, agent, or employee of a manufacturer; or3. An affiliate of any manufacturer, regardless of whether the affiliation is corporate or by management, direction, or control.(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c), no entity or person specified in paragraph (a) may have an interest in the license, business, assets, or corporate stock of a licensed distributor nor shall such entity sell directly to any vendor in this state other than to vendors who are licensed pursuant to s. 561.221(2).(c) Any entity described in paragraph (a) may financially assist a proposed distributor in acquiring ownership of the distributorship through participation in a limited partnership arrangement in which the entity described in paragraph (a) is a limited partner and the proposed distributor seeking to acquire ownership of the distributorship is the general partner. Such limited partnership arrangements may exist for no longer than 8 years from their creation and shall not be extended or renewed by means of a transfer of full ownership to an entity described in paragraph (a) followed by the creation of a new limited partnership or by any other means. In any such arrangement for financial assistance, the federal basic permit and distributor’s license issued by the division shall be issued in the name of the distributor and not in the name of an entity described in paragraph (a). If, after the creation of a limited partnership pursuant to this paragraph, an entity described in paragraph (a) acquires title to the distributorship which was the subject of the limited partnership, the entity described in paragraph (a) shall divest itself of the distributorship within 180 days, and the distributorship shall be ineligible for limited partnership financing for 20 years thereafter. No entity described in paragraph (a) shall enter into a limited partnership arrangement with a licensed distributor whose distributorship existed and was operated prior to the creation of such limited partnership arrangement.(d) Nothing in the Beverage Law shall be construed to prohibit a manufacturer from shipping products to or between its breweries without a distributor’s license.(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b), any entity named in paragraph (a) may have an interest in the license, business, assets, or corporate stock of a licensed distributor for a maximum of 180 consecutive days as the result of a judgment of foreclosure against the distributor or for 180 consecutive days after acquiring title pursuant to the written request of the licensed distributor. Under either of these circumstances, manufacturer ownership of an interest in the license, business, assets, or corporate stock of a licensed distributor shall only be for 180 days and only for the purpose of facilitating an orderly transfer of the distributorship to an owner not affiliated with a manufacturer.(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b), any entity named in paragraph (a) may have a security interest in the inventory or property of its licensed distributors to secure payment for said inventory or other loans for other purposes.Section 4. Section 563.06, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:563.06 Malt beverages; imprint on individual container; size of containers; growlers; exemptions.—(1) On and after October 1, 1959, All taxable malt beverages packaged in individual containers possessed by any person in the state for the purpose of sale or resale in the state, except operators of railroads, sleeping cars, steamships, buses, and airplanes engaged in interstate commerce and licensed under this section, must shall have imprinted thereon in clearly legible fashion by any permanent method the word “Florida” or “FL” and no other state name or abbreviation of any state name in not less than 8-point type. The word “Florida” or “FL” shall appear first or last, if imprinted in conjunction with any manufacturer’s code. A facsimile of the imprinting and its location as it will appear on the individual container must shall be submitted to the division for approval.(2) Nothing herein contained shall require such designation to be attached to individual containers of malt beverages which are transported through this state and which are not sold, delivered, or stored for sale therein, if transported in accordance with such rules and regulations as adopted by the division; nor shall this requirement apply to malt beverages packaged in individual containers and held on the premises of a brewer or bottler, which malt beverages are for sale and delivery to persons outside the state.(3) Possession by any person in the state, except as otherwise provided herein, of more than 4 1/2 gallons of malt beverages in individual containers which do not have the word “Florida” or “FL” as herein provided, shall be prima facie evidence that said malt beverage is possessed for the purpose of sale or resale.(4) Except as otherwise provided herein, any malt beverages in individual containers held or possessed in the state for the purpose of sale or resale within the state which do not bear the word “Florida” or “FL” thereon shall, at the direction of the division, be confiscated in accordance with the provisions of the Beverage Law.(5)(a) Nothing contained in this section shall require that malt beverages packaged in individual containers and possessed by any person in the state for purposes of sale or resale in the state have imprinted thereon the word “Florida” or “FL” if the manufacturer of the malt beverages can establish before the division that the manufacturer has a tracking system in place, by use of code or otherwise, which enables the manufacturer, with at least 85 percent reliability by July 1, 1996, and 90 percent reliability by January 1, 2000, to identify the following:1. The place where individual containers of malt beverages were produced;2. The state into which the individual containers of malt beverages were shipped; and3. The individual distributors within the state which received the individual containers of malt beverages.(b) Prior to shipping individual containers of malt beverages into the state which do not have the word “Florida” or “FL” imprinted thereon, the manufacturer must file an application with the division to claim the exemption contained herein and must obtain approval from the division to ship individual containers of malt beverages into the state which do not have the word “Florida” or “FL” imprinted thereon. Information furnished by the manufacturer to establish the criteria contained within paragraph (a) may be subject to an annual audit and verification by the division. The division may revoke an approved exemption if the manufacturer refuses to furnish the information required in paragraph (a) upon request of the division, or if the manufacturer fails to permit a subsequent verification audit, or if the manufacturer fails to fully cooperate with the division during the conducting of an audit.(c) When a distributor has information that malt beverages may have been shipped into Florida on which payment of Florida excise taxes has not been made, such information may be provided to the division and the division shall investigate to ascertain whether any violations of Florida law have occurred.(6) All malt beverages packaged in individual containers sold or offered for sale by vendors at retail in this state, except for malt beverages authorized to be sold in growlers pursuant to s. 563.061, must shall be in individual containers containing no more than 32 ounces of such malt beverages.; provided, however, that nothing contained in(7) This section does not shall affect malt beverages packaged in bulk, or in kegs or in barrels, or in any individual container containing 1 gallon or more of such malt beverage regardless of individual container type.(8)(7) A Any person, firm, or corporation, or any of its agents, officers or employees, that violates violating any of the provisions of this section commits, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083; and the license, if any, is shall be subject to revocation or suspension by the division.Section 5. Section 563.061, Florida Statutes, is created to read:563.061 Malt beverages; filling or refilling of growlers.—(1) “Growler” means a refillable container that is made of glass, ceramic, metal, or similar leak-proof material and is designed to contain a carbonated malt beverage in a capacity of 32 ounces, 64 ounces, or 128 ounces.(2) The filling or refilling of a growler shall be in response to an order, in a face-to-face transaction, only for off-premises consumption. The growler must be filled with a malt beverage and sealed on the premises at or immediately before or after the time of sale.(3) The filling or refilling of a growler is limited to:(a) A manufacturer of malt beverages who holds a valid vendor’s license pursuant to s. 561.221(2);(b) A vendor holding a quota license under ss. 561.20(1) and 565.02(1)(a) with the sale of malt beverages authorized under that license; or(c) A vendor holding a license under s. 563.02(1)(b)-(f), s. 564.02(1)(b)-(f), or s. 565.02(1)(b)-(f), unless the license restricts the sale of malt beverages only for consumption on the licensed premises.(4) The growler must have an unbroken seal or be incapable of being immediately consumed.(5) The growler must be clearly labeled as containing an alcoholic beverage and provide the name of the manufacturer, the brand, the volume, the percentage of alcohol by volume, and the required federal health warning notice for alcoholic beverages. If a growler being refilled has an existing label or other identifying mark of a manufacturer or brand from a prior filling or refilling, that label must be covered sufficiently to indicate the manufacturer and brand of the malt beverage being placed in the container at that refilling.(6) The growler must be clean before filling or refilling.(7) A licensee authorized to fill and refill growlers may not use them for purposes of distribution or sale off the manufacturer’s or vendor’s licensed premises, except as authorized under this section and s. 561.221(2).Section 6. For the purpose of incorporating the amendments made by this act to the Beverage Law, subsection (1) of section 561.11, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:561.11 Power and authority of division.—(1) The division has authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of the Beverage Law.Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2014.