The biggest liquor legislative news from the 2008 session was a bill that failed to pass, wine in grocery stores (read Krogering for Wine for more). The following are a few other bills of note.
Fines.
Perhaps the most significant revision to the alcoholic beverage laws concerns an act that effectively defunds self–sufficiency of the ABC. In a simple one–sentence amendment to the liquor laws, the ABC was directed to deposit all collections from fines with the state treasurer.
In connection with extensive revisions to the liquor laws in 2001, the ABC was allowed to retain money from fines and became what was known in the industry as “self-sufficient.” Many in the industry became dissatisfied with the level of ABC enforcement of liquor laws and looked to self–sufficiency as a possible cause for a perceived increase in the number and amount of citations. The ABC notes that an increase in citations is a normal result of the growth of the LBD industry, with the number of wet jurisdictions nearly doubling in the last ten years and more than 300% growth in LBD licenses in the last 20 years.
Perhaps to avoid what could have been a protracted and unproductive investigation into regulatory practices, some industry members asked the legislature to retract self-sufficiency and the law passed without significant public discussion.
Jack.
Media hype over seizure of valuable Jack Daniel’s collectables appears to have led to a simple revision to the statute authorizing the sale of confiscated “intoxicating beverages” by internet auction. The statute did not remove the requirement that the inventory be sold to licensees, either at the wholesale or retail tier. Any out–of–state collectors vying for lots of valuable Jack Daniel’s will need to buy through a Tennessee licensee, presumably paying a markup, and find a lawful way for the inventory to be transported out of Tennessee.
New LBD.
The following restaurant locations were approved for liquor–by–the–drink:
Fox Cay, Hamilton County
WillowBrook Golf Club, Coffee County
Mount Pleasant Grille, wine only, Mount Pleasant
A premier–type tourist resort in Putnam County (Cookeville, County Seat) was amended to decrease seating in the public clubhouse by one-third and seating in the private clubhouse by fifty percent.
The overnight accommodations requirement for paddlewheel steamboats was removed.
Wackiest Alcohol Law.
In an otherwise mundane law regulating amusement devices, the Legislature decided to address the pressing social need to deal with people that ride carnival rides while under the influence of alcohol. Yes, in Tennessee, you can no longer ride the Ferris Wheel if you have had too many sips from your commemorative bottle of Jack.
One has to wonder what constitutes too many sips. Under the new law, it is up to the intoxicated person to decide if they have had too much to drink. Cheers.
