As you may recall, last fall the ABC proposed a regulation requiring breweries collect detailed personal information on each consumer purchasing beer to go. We at Free the Hops voiced our concerns, and many of you called and emailed the ABC Board over this invasive proposal. The ABC ultimately dropped the proposal but indicated that the new Growler Law still required this information.
Senator Bill Holzclaw presented himself at the ABC’s hearing last fall to make the case against enforcing those regulations. Senator Holzclaw stated that this requirement was never part of the original intent of the Growler Law, and he would work to amend this language in the next legislative session.
True to his word, Senator Holtzclaw introduced Senate Bill 234 this week. SB234 amends the law to clarify that the internal transfer from the manufacturer (brewery) to the taproom is a “sale” for reporting purposes. This preserves all long-held reporting requirements for alcohol transactions, but it would commute the reporting requirement from a “brewery to public consumer” to a “brewery to taproom” sales capture.
Free the Hops, as the grassroots, non-profit consumer advocacy organization, asks for your support on this effort to clarify the law to protect consumer privacy. We will be tracking this bill through the legislative process in the coming weeks. If our voices need to be heard, we will be the first to request a call to action.
We thank Senator Holtzclaw for once again championing legislation that support both this burgeoning industry and the consumers who will make it flourish in Alabama.
