A response has officially been issued by the Beer Alliance of Texas in response to the launch of CraftPAC, which was formed by various brewers in the state designed to help fix what they call “broken beer laws.” The response is as follows:
“Our members continue to support the long established, very workable three tier regulatory system in Texas. We will continue to dialogue with all beverage stakeholders, as we always have, including the craft brewers, as lawmakers update and refresh public policies.”
The Texas Craft Brewer’s Guild recently launched CraftPAC in order to help fight back and put into effect the many changes that brewers feel are necessary for the growth of the beer industry. Donations made to the PAC will help to support factors such as legislative candidates and actual legislation, as well as other various political initiatives that will help to benefit the beer industry.
CraftPAC was also created in response to wholesale beer distributors pushing laws such as HB 3287, which now prohibits taprooms in breweries that are built beyond a certain size, which would subject them to become owned by a larger beer company.
The PAC also enables brewers in Texas to obtain rights in their breweries that 49 other states already currently have. It will also help to raise money from both brewers and fans of craft beer, as well as help to get them more engaged and involved in seeing changes in current legislation.
Currently, Texas ranks 46th in terms of breweries per capita, and the state also prohibits breweries from selling beer to consumers that they can enjoy somewhere other than the brewery itself.
CraftPAC is also aiming to fix the three-tier system that Texas currently has. This system involves breweries making beer, then distributing it to retailers. The retailers will then sell it to the public without breweries being able to get involved in their business and vice versa. These regulations were officially established following the repeal of Prohibition back in the 1930s.
HB 3287, meanwhile, also mandates that breweries making 225,000 barrels or more of beer within a year for their own taprooms must sell their product to distributors, then purchase it back, even though the beer doesn’t actually leave the facility. Those opposed to this bill refer to the payment as a “dock bump tax” and an “extortion fee.”
A petition was created to help fight the bill and get it vetoed, which gained approximately 15,000 signatures within 48 hours; however, the veto did not succeed. On the other hand, it did prove that brewers in Texas have very strong support.
CraftPAC will also start giving money too, thanks in large part to the PAC being launched just before the March 6th state primary elections.
Thank you for stopping by Gabriella Young’s blog, an Austin criminal defense attorney.