Approved by the Legislative Commissioner

April 28, 2006

AN ACT CONCERNING WHOLESALE BEER PRICE POSTING AND MODIFYING BEER PACKAGING FOR CONSUMPTION ON AND OFF PREMISES.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 30-63 of the 2006 supplement to the general statutes, as amended by house bill 5183 and house bill 5667 of the current session, is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) No holder of any manufacturer, wholesaler or out-of-state shipper's permit shall ship, transport or deliver within this state, or sell or offer for sale, any alcoholic liquors unless the name of the brand, trade name or other distinctive characteristic by which such alcoholic liquors are bought and sold, the name and address of the manufacturer thereof and the name and address of each wholesaler permittee who is authorized by the manufacturer or his authorized representative to sell such alcoholic liquors are registered with the Department of Consumer Protection and until such brand, trade name or other distinctive characteristic has been approved by the department. Such registration shall be valid for a period of three years. The fee for such registration, or renewal thereof, shall be one hundred dollars for out-of-state shippers and three dollars for Connecticut manufacturers for each brand so registered, payable by the manufacturer or such manufacturer's authorized representative when such liquors are manufactured in the United States and by the importer or such importer's authorized representative when such liquors are imported into the United States. The department shall not approve the brand registration of any fortified wine, as defined in section 12-433, which is labeled, packaged or canned so as to appear to be a wine or liquor cooler, as defined in section 12-433.

(b) No manufacturer, wholesaler or out-of-state shipper permittee shall discriminate in any manner in price discounts between one permittee and another on sales or purchases of alcoholic liquors bearing the same brand or trade name and of like age, size and quality, nor shall such manufacturer, wholesaler or out-of-state shipper permittee allow in any form any discount, rebate, free goods, allowance or other inducement for the purpose of making sales or purchases. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit beer manufacturers, wholesalers or out-of-state shipper permittees from differentiating the manner in which their products are packaged on the basis of on-site or off-site consumption.

(c) For alcoholic liquor other than beer, each manufacturer, wholesaler and out-of-state shipper permittee shall post with the department, on a monthly basis, the bottle, can and case price of any brand of goods offered for sale in Connecticut, which price when so posted shall be the controlling price for such manufacturer, wholesaler or out-of-state permittee for the month following such posting. On and after July 1, 2005, for beer, each manufacturer, wholesaler and out-of-state shipper permittee shall post with the department, on a monthly basis, the bottle, can and case price, and the price per keg or barrel or fractional unit thereof for any brand of goods offered for sale in Connecticut which price when so posted shall be the controlling price for such brand of goods offered for sale in this state for the month following such posting. Such manufacturer, wholesaler and out-of-state shipper permittee may also post additional prices for such bottle, can, case, keg or barrel or fractional unit thereof for a specified portion of the following month which prices when so posted shall be the controlling prices for such bottle, can, case, keg or barrel or fractional unit thereof for such specified portion of the following month. Notice of all manufacturer, wholesaler and out-of-state shipper permittee prices shall be given to permittee purchasers by direct mail, Internet web site or advertising in a trade publication having circulation among the retail permittees except a wholesaler permittee may give such notice by hand delivery. Price postings with the department setting forth wholesale prices to retailers shall be available for inspection during regular business hours at the offices of the department by manufacturers and wholesalers until three o'clock p.m. of the first business day after the last day for posting prices. A manufacturer or wholesaler may amend such manufacturer's or wholesaler's posted price for any month to meet a lower price posted by another manufacturer or wholesaler with respect to alcoholic liquor bearing the same brand or trade name and of like age, vintage, quality and unit container size; provided that any such amended price posting shall be filed before three o'clock p.m. of the fourth business day after the last day for posting prices; and provided further such amended posting shall not set forth prices lower than those being met. Any manufacturer or wholesaler posting an amended price shall, at the time of posting, identify in writing the specific posting being met. On and after July 1, 2005, all wholesaler postings other than for beer for the following month shall be provided to retail permittees not later than the twenty-seventh day of the month prior to such posting. All wholesaler postings for beer shall be provided to retail permittees not later than the twentieth day of the month prior to such posting.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either House thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill as amended requires wholesaler postings for beer to be provided to retail permittees by a certain day. The bill as amended also specifies that beer manufacturers are permitted to differentiate the manner in which their products are packaged on the basis of on-site or off-site consumption. There is no fiscal impact.

House “A” replaced the original bill and results in the fiscal impact described above.

The Out Years

State Impact: None

Municipal Impact: None

OLR Bill Analysis

HB 5666 (as amended by House “A”)*

AN ACT MODIFYING BEER PACKAGING FOR CONSUMPTION ON AND OFF PREMISES.

SUMMARY:

The law prohibits manufacturers and wholesalers of alcoholic beverages from discriminating in any way in the price discounts they offer their customers on products of the same brand, age, size, and quality. This bill provides that this prohibition must not be construed to prohibit beer manufacturers and wholesalers from changing how they package their products based on whether their customer holds a permit to sell for off-premises or on-premises consumption.

The law requires manufacturers and wholesalers of all types of alcoholic beverages to post their bottle, can, case, keg, barrel, or fractional unit prices (e.g., quarter kegs) for the following month with the Department of Consumer Protection. The price, once posted, is the controlling price for the entire next month. The law also allows beer manufacturers and wholesalers to post additional prices for specified parts of the month and makes them the controlling prices for the specified parts of the month. The bill requires beer wholesalers to provide their price postings for the following month to retailers by the 20^th of the month rather than the 27^th.

*House Amendment “A” adds the provision about beer wholesaler prices and changes the bill's effective date from October 1, 2006.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

BACKGROUND

Related Acts

HB 5183 (File 357), passed earlier this session, repeals the June 30, 2006 sunset date on the law requiring alcoholic beverage price posting and wholesalers to notify retailers of their prices.

HB 5667 (File 359), passed earlier this session, delays the deadline for wholesalers to inform retailers of their prices for the following month from the 12^th of the month to the 27^th.

COMMITTEE ACTION

General Law Committee

Joint Favorable