Alabama Homebrew Legalization

[HBRunner]

I only received 1 email response from Henshaw, who told me he supports this bill......

Thanks for the reply Randy!

 

[brewagentjay]

I'm Happy that SB153 is going forward and gaining ground. I'm curious to the other bills that are also beer related that we all should support.

So here is my list:

SB153 - Homebrew (100 Gallons for single person or 200 Gallons for two or more adults & 20 Gallons Transport for personal Use)

Brewery Modernization Act - I'm under of Bill Numbers I know one was introduced into House with one to go into Senate as well. (Allow us to get breweries with samples and tours & have brew pubs who can sell on site and sell in bottles not just taps and not be limited to historic downtown areas)

No Bill to date but we need to kill this 16 oz container size issue on beer. No restrictions on anything else just beer can only be in 16oz containers.

I just wanted to see if anyone had any insight to these other issues as well.

 

[FreeM80s]

FTH is going to work on container size next year bc 2010 is an election year or something...

 

[v2comp]

yeah, SB328 and HB406 are both at different stages in their respective houses. the House bill 406 has been held up pending some verbage changes related to taxation to match the Alabama winery law.

 

[brewagentjay]

yeah, SB328 and HB406 are both at different stages in their respective houses. the House bill 406 has been held up pending some verbage changes related to taxation to match the Alabama winery law.

Any idea which is likely to hit the governers desk first? Seems they are very similar....

I'll keep emailing and calling and e faxing

 

[LeeF]

The bill hit a bump in the road. The ABC wants us to change the wording of the bill so wine can not be interpreted as distilled spirits. Funny thing is if they were to read it there is a line in the bill stating just that. However, that is not the big hurdle. There is a lobbyist for the Alabama Wholesale Beer Association (AWBA) that is opposing the bill. Through some phone calls we have discovered its all about power. They want control of all alcohol legislation that goes through the house and senate. They simply want us to wait until next year since they did not have any part in the bill. The irony is we are part of their customer base and typically buy the high end craft beer they make more margin on.

So....ask all your friends, family and those you know are disgruntled with the current political scene. There are many out there who don't care about homebrewing but are all about personal rights. Ask them to send an email to the address below in show of support I've included a 'if you are tired of money and lobbyist controlling the government' statement just to get a stir. Supporting a grassroots movement gets a lot of people moving and its easy. The emails will be collected and presented to their Representative and Senator on their behalf.

[email protected]
Be sure to include
1) your name
2) your county
3) a short statement saying you support SB153

 

[HBRunner]

So any more info on this? I keep checking the bill, and it seems stuck.....

 

[FreeM80s]

http://www.freethehops.org/blog/
this is where the news will be

 

[FreeM80s]

brewery mod. act is in the house today. email your reps. do not call. they are in meeting now and cannot recieve calls but can email. EMAIL EMAIL EMAIL

 

[DocBrown]

The homebrew bill has been stuck in committee for a couple weeks now. ABC (Alabama Beverage Control) had some issues with the term "wine" in the bill. Apparently they want it clarified that this only legalizes "table wine" and not "fortified wine." We offered an amendment that would fix this, but we haven't hard back from our sponsor yet whether the proposed amendment satisfied them. The bigger problem appears to be the beer distributors lobby in Alabama. There are reports that they have some problems with the bill, but the exact nature of the problems is not especially clear. The beer lobby has a great deal of power, and if they decide not to let this pass, it very likely won't pass. We've offered another amendment that will hopefully satisfy their concerns as we understand them. I think our sponsor was supposed to meet with the lobbyist today or tomorrow, and from what I understand, the committee is supposed to vote on it tomorrow. After that it will be a matter of bringing it up for a vote on the house floor.

 

[DocBrown]

Looks like the Brewery Modernization Act may not come up today after all. We've filibusters going on over a fight about a bill requiring Alabama to opt out of National Health Care. It sounds like they're about to adjourn without passing any state bills.

 

[FreeM80s]

lame. well stay tuned for updates folks!

 

[forcera]

I sure do LOVE Alabama politics.

 

[brewagentjay]

So what is our current status on these bills?

 

[FreeM80s]

So what is our current status on these bills?

The Let Down
By Dan Roberts | Published: March 23, 2010

It’s starting to become an old story. We’re so close yet something gets in the way.

The Brewery Modernization Act was the 8th bill on the Special Order Calendar today, ahead of 7 pieces of legislation that didn’t seem to have much controversy. It looked like we wouldn’t have a problem.

Unfortunately, a filibuster started after the calendar was released. The filibuster had nothing to do with our bill. It didn’t even have anything to do with another bill on the special order calendar. It had to do with the special order calendar itself. One group of senators wanted the chamber to consider a “national healthcare opt out” bill before all other legislation. When their attempt to amend the agenda failed, they started a filibuster. None of the bills on the special order calendar were voted on today.

We hope to try again Thursday.


Expect a vote Thursday
By Dan Roberts | Published: March 24, 2010

Although our bill was once again caught in the crossfire Tuesday, the fact that we made the agenda at all is a good sign. The legislature does not go into session today as Wednesdays are typically reserved for committee work. However, although there’s no guarantee that we’ll be on Thursday’s agenda, we should be. We may also try to get a vote in the House on Thursday.

The Special Order Calendar is good for one day only. So our placement on Tuesday’s agenda does not guarantee placement on any other day. The SOC isn’t carried over or anything like that. However, Tuesday’s Senate agenda was the result of negotiation between the members of the Senate and we fully expect Thursday’s agenda to be similar if there is a SOC at all. There’s obviously no guarantee that the Senate filibuster will be over by then.

So while the delay is frustrating, we should use this time to continue advocating for the Brewery Modernization Act. We should have a vote in the Senate or House Thursday.

 

[forcera]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f19/alabama-trip-170006/

It not about the home brewing bills but he is asking about beer places in Alabama. I dont know about places up in Huntsville.

 

[DocBrown]

Looks like today was basically a repeat of Tuesday, so no movement on the Brewery Modernization Act. Also, there was some mention of bringing the bingo bill back up for debate next week (Alabama senate generally only meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional Wednesday sessions), which means they are almost certainly not going to get anything done next week.

Homebrew bill is still stuck in committee. Unfortunately, since the bill is getting at least one amendment, it will have to be voted on again in the senate, and it's not looking like they'll be getting much more done this year (Alabama legislative session ends in another month or so).

 

[forcera]

it's not looking like they'll be getting much more done this year (Alabama legislative session ends in another month or so).

Do they ever get much done???

 

[LeeF]

Sorry, I forgot what day it was and bit hard on this one. Business as usual in AL politics.

 

[brewagentjay]

Man so what is our status............Seems like these were all slam dunk bills.

 

[DocBrown]

Unfortunately the homebrew bill is still stuck in committee. It seems that when politicians are involved, you have to deal with politics. The word from our sponsor is that the bill is dead for this legislative session due to unexpected political realities. Our sponsor is trying to set up a meeting after the legislative session among the various groups with some vested interests in the bill. Hopefully we can get all the concerns ironed out and get a running start for next year.

 

[brewagentjay]

Seems like Alabama is doomed until they can get rid of all the old politics and get some new fresh people in power. To much old stupid politics on this one. I sure would like to be legal and I sure would like to get started on my brew pub business plan but until that new Brew Mod Act passes I really don't want to even start the process.

 

[brewagentjay]

So if both of these are dead looks like I'll be just focusing on Brew Master School & Certification this year.

 

[FreeM80s]

Unfortunately the homebrew bill is still stuck in committee. It seems that when politicians are involved, you have to deal with politics. The word from our sponsor is that the bill is dead for this legislative session due to unexpected political realities. Our sponsor is trying to set up a meeting after the legislative session among the various groups with some vested interests in the bill. Hopefully we can get all the concerns ironed out and get a running start for next year.

just the homebrew bill or the brewerymod bill too?

 

[DocBrown]

just the homebrew bill or the brewerymod bill too?

My focus has been the homebrew bill, so I'm less sure of the future of the brewery bill this session. From what I understand, separate versions of the brewery bill passed committees in both the house and senate but haven't been voted on in either place. It was placed on the calendar to come up for a vote in the senate (which is usually the roadblock for a lot of legislation because Alabama law allows for as few as two senators to sustain a filibuster) but between the bingo bill and the healthcare opt-out bill, not much is happening. They still have to take care of the state budget, which will probably eat up most of the remaining days on the legislative calendar. After that, they'll probably try to get as many "non controversial" bill through as possible. While anything could happen, I'd say the chances of the brewery bill getting through this year are pretty slim as well.

Also, just to clarify, Free the Hops is pushing the brewery bill while the various homebrew clubs in Alabama are running with the homebrew bill independent of FTH. While FTH endorses and favors the passage of the homebrew bill, their focus is on the commercial aspects of beer in Alabama, so they're not directly involved with our bill.

 

[brewagentjay]

I want them all to pass. I want a free Bama where I can brew my beer, open my pub, and enjoy all the freedoms that many other states have......

 

[FreeM80s]

I want them all to pass. I want a free Bama where I can brew my beer, open my pub, and enjoy all the freedoms that many other states have......

you and me both man

 

[brewagentjay]

So that being said, what can we do to perhaps give these bills a shot? I don't mind calling, emailing, faxing, what ever.....

 

[DocBrown]

I want them all to pass. I want a free Bama where I can brew my beer, open my pub, and enjoy all the freedoms that many other states have......

Ditto! I think all of us are cheering for both bills. All I meant was that I'm directly involved in the push on the homebrewing bill, since I'm more worried about getting rid of my felon status in Alabama than I am about having more breweries and brewpubs in the state (though I'm really looking forward to that too!). Oh, and in case you guys weren't aware, homebrewing is actually a felony in this state!

So that being said, what can we do to perhaps give these bills a shot? I don't mind calling, emailing, faxing, what ever.....

I don't think we can do anything else right now to push the homebrew bill. Some of the other beer industry groups want to meet with the homebrewers to work out some details before the bill goes any further. Unfortunately, I don't think that meeting will take place until after the legislative session is over. As for the brewery bill, I'm not sure what can be done. The FTH people usually send out a message if there is anything we can do. I think right now it's just a waiting game until the senate unclogs a bit.

 

[DocBrown]

Actually, it looks like there's still a chance for the BMA. From FTH:

Just got double confirmation that the Brewery Modernization Act is on the draft Special Order Calendar in the House Thursday.

Sullivan is also telling us that we'll be up in the Senate [probably] Thursday. I know, I know - the Senate. I can't even tell you we're on the SOC draft because there isn't an SOC draft. The SOC just magically appears 5 minutes before it's voted on. But, we've already made it to the agenda AND the Senate this week cleared up some of their baggage. There was a vote on the healthcare opt out bill (it passed if you care) and the bingo bill (it passed too).

So.... is that a guarantee? I'm smarter than that, but I've got a good feeling about this. I'm very confident that, at worst, at least one of those votes will go through.

So... here's your link. It's phone bomb time.