California Assembly Bill AB2349 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2349AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 12, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Nestande FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to amend  and renumber  Section 25500.2 of  , and to repeal Section 25500.1 of,  the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2349, as amended, Nestande. Alcoholic beverages: tied-house restrictions: advertising. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act contains limitations on sales commonly known as "tied-house" restrictions, which generally prohibit a manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's agent, California winegrower's agent, rectifier, distiller, bottler, importer, or wholesaler from furnishing, giving, or lending any money or other thing of value to any person engaged in operating, owning, or maintaining any off-sale licensed premises. For purposes of these provisions, the listing of the names, addresses, telephone numbers or e-mail addresses, or both, or Internet Web site addresses, of 2 or more unaffiliated on-sale retailers selling beer, wine,  or  distilled spirits,  or brandy  and operating and licensed as bona fide public eating places selling the beer, wine, or distilled spirits produced, distributed, or imported by a nonretail industry member in response to a direct inquiry from a consumer, as specified, does not constitute a thing of value or prohibited inducement to the listed on-sale retailer, if specified conditions are met. This would  provide that the listing of names, addresses, telephone numbers, or e-mail addresses in other forms of electronic media do not constitute a thing of value and would  revise the direct inquiry provisions to remove the requirement that the unaffiliated on-sale retailer  operates   operate  and  is   be  licensed as a bona fide public eating place. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 25500.1 of the   Business and Professions Code   is repealed.   25500.1. (a) Notwithstanding Section 25500, the listing of the names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, or Internet Web site addresses, of two or more unaffiliated on-sale retailers selling wine, brandy, or both wine and brandy and operating and licensed as bona fide public eating places pursuant to Section 23038 selling the wine, brandy, or both wine and brandy produced, distributed, imported, or both distributed and imported by a nonretail industry member in response to a direct inquiry from a consumer received by telephone, by mail, by electronic inquiry or in person does not constitute a thing of value or prohibited inducement to the listed on-sale retailer, provided: (1) The listing does not also contain the retail price of the product, and (2) The listing is the only reference to the on-sale retailers in the direct communication, and (3) The listing does not refer only to one on-sale retailer or only to on-sale retail establishments controlled directly or indirectly by the same on-sale retailer, and (4) The listing is made by, produced by, or paid for, or any combination thereof, exclusively by the nonretail industry member making the response. (b) For the purposes of this section, "nonretail industry member" is defined as a manufacturer, winegrower, distiller of wine, brandy, or both, regardless of any other licenses held directly or indirectly by such person. Except as specifically provided above, any payment for, making or production, either directly or indirectly, listing the names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, or Internet Web site addresses, of on-sale retailers otherwise authorized by this section by a wholesaler or by a wholesaler that also holds an importer's license shall constitute the furnishing of a thing of value or inducement to the listed on-sale retailers in violation of this division.   SECTION 1.   SEC. 2.  Section 25500.2 of the Business and Professions Code is amended  and renumbered  to read:  25500.2.   25500.1.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 25500, the listing of the names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, or Internet Web site addresses,  or other electronic media,  of two or more unaffiliated on-sale retailers selling beer, wine, or distilled spirits  , or brandy  produced, distributed, or imported by a nonretail industry member in response to a direct inquiry from a consumer received by telephone, by mail, by electronic inquiry, or in person does not constitute a thing of value or prohibited inducement to the listed on-sale retailer, provided all of the following conditions are met: (1) The listing does not also contain the retail price of the product. (2) The listing is the only reference to the on-sale retailers in the direct communication. (3) The listing does not refer only to one on-sale retailer or only to on-sale retail establishments controlled directly or indirectly by the same on-sale retailer. (4) The listing is made by, or produced by, or paid for, exclusively by the nonretail industry member making the response. (b) For the purposes of this section, "nonretail industry member" is defined as a manufacturer, including, but not limited to, a beer manufacturer, winegrower,  or  distiller of alcoholic beverages  , or brandy manufacturer  or an agent of that entity, or a wholesaler, regardless of any other licenses held directly or indirectly by that person.