WEST virginia Legislature

2016 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 481

By Senator Walters

[Introduced February 2, 2016;
Referred to Committee on the Judiciary.]

A BILL to amend and reenact §60-4-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to authorizing operators of a distillery or mini-distillery to offer for purchase and consumption liquor on the premises if purchased and consumed at a restaurant operating on the premises of the distillery or mini-distillery.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §60-4-3a of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 4. LICENSES.

§60-4-3a. Distillery and mini-distillery license to manufacture and sell.

(a) Sales of liquor. -- An operator of a distillery or a mini-distillery may offer liquor for retail sale to customers from the distillery or the mini-distillery for consumption off premises only, unless a restaurant is operating on the premises, in which case the restaurant may offer liquor for retail sale and consumption at the restaurant. Except for free complimentary samples offered pursuant to section one, article six of this chapter, and on premise restaurant sales for consumption on the premises, customers are prohibited from consuming any liquor on the premises of the distillery or the mini-distillery.

(b) Retail sales. -- Every licensed distillery or mini-distillery shall comply with the provisions of sections nine, eleven, thirteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five and twenty-six, article three-a of this chapter and the provisions of articles three and four of this chapter applicable to liquor retailers and distillers.

(c) Payment of taxes and fees. -- The distillery or mini-distillery shall pay all taxes and fees required of licensed retailers and meet applicable licensing provisions as required by this chapter and by rule of the commissioner, except for payments of the wholesale markup percentage and the handling fee provided by rule of the commissioner: Provided, That all liquor for sale to customers from the distillery or the mini-distillery for off-premises consumption shall be subject of a five percent wholesale markup fee and an 80₵ per case bailment fee to be paid to the commissioner: Provided, however, That no liquor sold by the distillery or mini-distillery shall be priced less than the price set by the commissioner pursuant to section seventeen, article three-a of this chapter.

(d) Payments to market zone retailers. -- Each distillery or mini-distillery shall submit to the commissioner two percent of the gross sales price of each retail liquor sale for the value of all sales at the distillery or the mini-distillery each month. This collection shall be distributed by the commissioner, at least quarterly, to each market zone retailer located in the distillery or mini-distillery's market zone, proportionate to each market zone retailer's annual gross prior years pretax value sales. The maximum amount of market zone payments that a distillery or mini-distillery shall be required to submit to the commissioner is $15,000 per annum.

(e) Limitations on licensees. -- No distillery or mini-distillery may sell more than three thousand gallons of product at the distillery or mini-distillery location the initial two years of licensure. The distillery or mini-distillery may increase sales at the distillery or mini-distillery location by two thousand gallons following the initial twenty-four month period of licensure and may increase sales at the distillery or mini-distillery location each subsequent twenty-four month period by two thousand gallons, not to exceed ten thousand gallons a year of total sales at the distillery or mini-distillery location. No licensed mini-distillery may produce more than fifty thousand gallons per calendar year at the mini-distillery location. No more than one distillery or mini-distillery license may be issued to a single person or entity and no person may hold both a distillery and a mini-distillery license.

 NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize operators of a distillery or mini-distillery to offer for purchase and consumption liquor on the premises if purchased and consumed at a restaurant operating on the premises of the distillery or mini-distillery.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.