Bill Text: PA HB1770 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Further providing for shipment of wine into Commonwealth, for unlawful acts relative to liquor, malt and brewed beverages and licensees, for licenses issued and for limited wineries.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 16-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-07-18 - Referred to LIQUOR CONTROL [HB1770 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-HB1770-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 2292
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 1770 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY PETRI, D. COSTA, GODSHALL, GRELL, HARRIS, KILLION, MARSICO, MILLARD, MUSTIO, O'NEILL, WATSON, EVERETT, VULAKOVICH AND SCHRODER, JULY 18, 2011
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LIQUOR CONTROL, JULY 18, 2011
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), entitled, as
reenacted, "An act relating to alcoholic liquors, alcohol and
malt and brewed beverages; amending, revising, consolidating
and changing the laws relating thereto; regulating and
restricting the manufacture, purchase, sale, possession,
consumption, importation, transportation, furnishing, holding
in bond, holding in storage, traffic in and use of alcoholic
liquors, alcohol and malt and brewed beverages and the
persons engaged or employed therein; defining the powers and
duties of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; providing
for the establishment and operation of State liquor stores,
for the payment of certain license fees to the respective
municipalities and townships, for the abatement of certain
nuisances and, in certain cases, for search and seizure
without warrant; prescribing penalties and forfeitures;
providing for local option, and repealing existing laws,"
further providing for shipment of wine into Commonwealth, for
unlawful acts relative to liquor, malt and brewed beverages
and licensees, for licenses issued and for limited wineries.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 488 of the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90,
No.21), known as the Liquor Code, reenacted and amended June 29,
1987 (P.L.32, No.14) and added February 21, 2002 (P.L.103,
No.10), is amended to read:
Section 488. Shipment of Wine into Commonwealth.--(a) The
shipment of wine from [out-of-State] a direct wine shipper to
residents of this Commonwealth is prohibited, except as
otherwise provided for in this section.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act or law
to the contrary, a person licensed by the board or by another
state as a producer, supplier, importer, wholesaler, distributor
or retailer of wine and who obtains a direct wine shipper
license as provided for in this section may ship [up to nine
liters per month of any] wine [not included on the list provided
for in subsection (c)] on the [Internet] order of any resident
of this Commonwealth who is at least twenty-one (21) years of
age for such resident's personal use and not for resale.
(c) [Each month, the board shall publish on the Internet a
list of all classes, varieties and brands of wine available for
sale in the Pennsylvania Liquor Stores. A person holding a
direct shipper license may ship only those classes, varieties
and brands of wine not included on the list at the time an
Internet order is placed] Reserved.
(d) [An out-of-State] A direct wine shipper shall:
(1) [Not ship more than nine liters per month on the
Internet order of any person in this Commonwealth.] File a
written application with the board in such form and containing
such information as the board shall require. A completed
application shall contain a true and correct copy of the
applicant's current license or certificate of operating
authority issued by the board or by another state. Further, the
applicant must provide documentation which evidences that it has
obtained a sales tax license from the Pennsylvania Department of
Revenue. The licensing period for such a license shall be
established under section 402. Any applicant for such a license
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shall be required to adhere to the provisions of section 477.
The application, renewal and filing fee for such a license shall
be as prescribed by the board. Notwithstanding this provision,
if an applicant, at the time of the initial application for such
a license, holds a valid limited winery license issued by the
board, such applicant shall not be required to pay the
application fee prescribed by the board. Further, provided that
the applicant properly renews its limited winery license, as
provided for in section 517, such applicant shall not be
required to pay the renewal fee prescribed by the board.
(2) Report to the board each [year] month the total [of]
number of bottles sold and shipped during the preceding calendar
month, the size of those bottles, the name brand of each wine in
such shipments, the quantities of each wine included in such
shipments and the price of each item included in such shipments,
for all such wine shipped within and into this Commonwealth in
the preceding calendar [year] month.
(3) Permit the board, the enforcement bureau or the
Secretary of Revenue, or their designated representatives, to
perform an audit of the [out-of-State] direct wine shipper's
records upon request.
(4) Be deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the
board, any other State agency and the courts of this
Commonwealth for purposes of enforcement of this section and any
related laws, rules or regulations, including the collection and
remission of taxes as required under this section.
(e) [A direct shipper may ship wine on the Internet order of
a resident into this Commonwealth provided that the wine is
shipped to a Pennsylvania Liquor Store selected by the resident.
The wine] Wine sold by a direct shipper pursuant to this section
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will be subject to [taxes in the same manner as wine sold
directly by the board. The wine will not be released by the
State store until all moneys due, including all taxes and fees,
have been paid by the resident.] the sales and use tax imposed
by section 202 of the act of March 4, 1971 (P.L.6, No.2), known
as the "Tax Reform Code of 1971."
(f) [A person shall sign an affidavit provided by the
Pennsylvania Liquor Store where the wine was delivered to
stating that the wine will only be used for the person's
personal use.] A direct wine shipper shall only ship wine
pursuant to this section provided that the resident placing the
order has provided the shipper with a written or electronic
acknowledgment that the wine is for personal consumption only
and not for resale. Any person who resells wine obtained under
this section commits a misdemeanor of the second degree.
Further, all direct wine shippers shall:
(1) Ensure that all containers of wine shipped directly to a
resident of this Commonwealth are conspicuously labeled with the
words "CONTAINS ALCOHOL: SIGNATURE OF PERSON AGE TWENTY-ONE (21)
OR OLDER REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY."
(2) Ensure that shipments shall be delivered by an entity
holding a valid transporter-for-hire license issued by the board
and that such transporter-for-hire shall not deliver any wine
unless it does all of the following:
(i) Obtains the signature of the recipient of the wine upon
delivery.
(ii) Verifies by inspecting a valid form of photo
identification, as provided for in section 495(a), that the
recipient is at least twenty-one (21) years of age.
(iii) Determines that the recipient is not visibly
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intoxicated at the time of delivery.
(g) The board may promulgate such rules and regulations as
are necessary to implement and enforce the provisions of this
section. [The board may charge the resident a fee to cover the
cost associated with processing the Internet order.]
(g.1) On a quarterly basis, all direct wine shippers shall
provide to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, with a copy
to the board, an accounting of the taxes collected pursuant to
this section. All taxes collected by the direct wine shipper
shall be remitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue on a
quarterly basis. All direct wine shippers shall permit the
board, the enforcement bureau or the Pennsylvania Department of
Revenue, any additional information deemed necessary to ensure
compliance with this section.
(h) The board shall submit monthly reports to the
Appropriations Committee and the Law and Justice Committee of
the Senate and to the Appropriations Committee and the Liquor
Control Committee of the House of Representatives summarizing
the number of direct shipper licenses issued by the board, the
quantity of wine sold pursuant to this section and the total
dollar value of sales under this section.
(i) The term "wine" as used in this section shall mean
liquor which is fermented from grapes and other fruits, having
alcoholic content of twenty-four per centum or less. The term
"wine" shall not include malt or brewed beverages nor shall wine
include any products containing alcohol derived from malt,
grain, cereal, molasses or cactus.
(j) Such licenses shall be subject to the citation process
as set forth in section 471.
(k) Shipments of wine direct to persons in this Commonwealth
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from persons who do not possess a direct wine shipper license
from the board are prohibited. Any person who knowingly makes,
participates in, transports, imports or receives such shipment
commits a misdemeanor.
(l) All applicants for such a license shall obtain a tax
bond in the amount of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
Section 2. Section 493 of the act is amended by adding a
paragraph to read:
Section 493. Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor, Malt and
Brewed Beverages and Licensees.--The term "licensee," when used
in this section, shall mean those persons licensed under the
provisions of Article IV, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
It shall be unlawful--
* * *
(33) Sale of wine received by direct shipment. For any
licensee to sell or offer to sell any wine purchased or acquired
from a direct wine shipper pursuant to the authority of section
488.
Section 3. Section 505 of the act, amended June 25, 2010
(P.L.217, No.35), is amended to read:
Section 505. Licenses Issued.--Upon receipt of the
application in the form herein provided and the proper fees, the
board may grant to such applicant a license to engage in, (a)
the operation of a limited winery or a winery; or, (b) the
manufacturing, producing, distilling, developing, or using in
the process of manufacturing, denaturing, redistilling,
recovering, rectifying, blending and reusing of alcohol and
liquor; or, (c) the holding in bond of alcohol and liquor; or,
(d) the holding in storage, as bailee for hire, of alcohol,
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liquor and malt or brewed beverages; or, (e) the transporting
for hire of alcohol, liquor and malt or brewed beverages. Such
licenses may be transferred from one person to another or from
one location to another, or both. Every applicant for a transfer
of such licenses shall file a written application with the
board, together with a filing fee of five hundred fifty dollars
($550) if the transfer is to a new location, six hundred fifty
dollars ($650) if the transfer is to a new person, or seven
hundred dollars ($700) if the transfer is to a new person for
use at a new location. Whenever such a license is transferred,
no license or other fees shall be required from the persons to
whom such transfer is made for the portion of the license period
for which the license fee has been paid by the transferor. Every
applicant for renewal of such licenses shall file a written
application with the board together with an application
surcharge of seven hundred dollars ($700).
Section 4. Section 505.2(a) of the act is amended by adding
a paragraph to read:
Section 505.2. Limited Wineries.--(a) In the interest of
promoting tourism and recreational development in Pennsylvania,
holders of a limited winery license may:
* * *
(2.1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act or law
to the contrary, only ship wine to residents of this
Commonwealth in accordance with the provisions of section 488.
Further, notwithstanding any other provision of this act or law
to the contrary, any sale to a licensee of the board shall take
place on the licensed premises of the limited winery. A limited
winery is prohibited from shipping or delivering wine sold to
licensees of the board.
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* * *
Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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