Federal Legislative Update

In the past few weeks there has been a significant amount of new legislation relating to the alcoholic beverage industry introduced on both the state and federal level. The increased legislative efforts are interesting in light of the fact that in March 1933, 78-years ago, the end of Prohibition was kicked off when Franklin Roosevelt asked Congress to pass “The Beer Act,” which was eventually passed on April 7, 1933. The Twenty-First Amendment was ratified nearly eight months later on December 5, 1933. A re-cap of the two most high-profile pieces of federal proposed legislation is below. Later this week we’ll take a look at key pieces of state proposed legislation.

S. 534 – The Brewer’s Employment and Excise Tax Relief Act of 2011, or BEER Act as it is popular referred to, was introduced by Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) on March 9, 2011. As of today, the Bill has twenty-three cosponsors. The bipartisan bill would reduce the excise tax paid by small brewers from $7.00 to $3.50 per barrel on the first 60,000 barrels produced each year. Small breweries would then pay $16 per barrel for production above 60,000 and up to two million barrels. Currently, all brewers regardless of size pay $18 per barrel for all production above 60,000 barrels. The Bill would also revise the current definition of “small breweries” from those that produce less than two million barrels per year to those that produce less than six million.

H.R. 1161– Just over a week after S. 534 was introduced, the Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2011 was introduced by Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) on March 17, 2011. As of today, the Bill has eight cosponsors. The Bill is a re-introduction of H.R. 5034, which was hotly contested last year and eventually abandoned. The Bill, depending on which of the three-tiers one is standing in or closest to, is either about protecting states’ rights to regulate alcohol or about allowing Commerce Clause violations to protect alcohol distributor’s interests. As 2011 progresses we are sure to see the heated debate unfold once again.

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Alcohol Beverage Law excise taxes

This entry was posted on March 22, 2011.