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| 4 | 6 | | |
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| 5 | 7 | | HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Promoting growth of the alcoholic beverage industry |
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| 7 | 9 | | in Texas is a primary purpose of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage |
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| 8 | 10 | | Commission; and |
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| 9 | 11 | | WHEREAS, The industry is structured around a three-tier |
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| 10 | 12 | | system of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers, and the |
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| 11 | 13 | | Alcoholic Beverage Code promotes business independence through the |
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| 12 | 14 | | strict separation between manufacturers and retailers; and |
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| 13 | 15 | | WHEREAS, Over the past decade, retailers and manufacturers |
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| 14 | 16 | | have contracted to develop alcoholic beverage products known as |
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| 15 | 17 | | "control labels" that are exclusive to the retailers, in violation |
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| 16 | 18 | | of the code's strict requirement of separation between the tiers; |
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| 17 | 19 | | and |
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| 18 | 20 | | WHEREAS, The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission believes |
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| 19 | 21 | | there may be as many as 10,000 wine and distilled spirits control |
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| 20 | 22 | | label products available already in the Texas marketplace; and |
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| 21 | 23 | | WHEREAS, Mass enforcement actions to penalize permitted |
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| 22 | 24 | | businesses for manufacturing and selling control label products |
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| 23 | 25 | | could destabilize significant parts of the alcoholic beverage |
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| 24 | 26 | | industry; moreover, vigorous enforcement of the prohibition on |
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| 25 | 27 | | control labels could result in numerous lawsuits filed against the |
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| 26 | 28 | | state; and |
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| 27 | 29 | | WHEREAS, Texas should lead the national discussion on |
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| 28 | 30 | | developing a legal framework for regulating control label products |
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| 29 | 31 | | in a way that promotes economic growth and benefits the consumer |
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| 30 | 32 | | while stabilizing the three-tier system; now, therefore, be it |
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| 31 | 33 | | RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 32 | 34 | | hereby direct the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to conduct a |
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| 33 | 35 | | study on control label products that considers their economic |
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| 34 | 36 | | footprint, their effect on the three-tier system, their effect on |
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| 35 | 37 | | traditional alcoholic beverage products market share, and relevant |
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| 36 | 38 | | laws passed in other states; and, be it further |
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| 37 | 39 | | RESOLVED, That the agency seek input from stakeholders in the |
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| 38 | 40 | | alcoholic beverage industry; and, be it further |
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| 39 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That the agency submit a full report, including |
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| 40 | 42 | | findings and recommendations, to the 87th Texas Legislature before |
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| 41 | 43 | | September 1, 2020; and, be it further |
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| 42 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward an |
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| 43 | 45 | | official copy of this resolution to the executive director of the |
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| 44 | 46 | | Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. |
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