New California Alcohol Laws in 2017

Sacramento – The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is providing the following summary of new alcoholic beverage laws that go into effect in 2017. More detailed information can be found at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/.

• Assembly Bill 1322 (Daly) allows a beauty salon or barbershop licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs (Board of Barbering and Cosmetology) to serve up to 12 ounces of beer or 6 ounces of wine to a customer without an alcoholic beverage license or permit. There can be no additional charge or fee for the alcoholic beverages. Businesses could serve up to 10 pm daily.

• Assembly Bill 1554 (Irwin) and Senate Bill 819 (Huff) ban powdered alcohol in California. Assembly Bill 1554 prohibits the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) from issuing a license to make, distribute or sell powdered alcohol. Senate Bill 819 requires ABC to suspend or revoke the license of any business that makes, distributes or offers powdered alcohol for sale. Any individual who sells, possesses, buys, distributes or makes powdered alcohol is guilty of an infraction and could face a fine up to $500.

• Assembly Bill 1558 (Mathis) allows five new bar or restaurant liquor licenses in Inyo County between the period of January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019.

• Assembly Bill 1670 (Dodd) will allow the issuance of five new restaurant liquor licenses for Napa County during 2017. The bill would also create a special license for any for-profit theater within Napa County devoted to live theatrical performances.

• Assembly Bill 2172 (Jones) permits individuals to bring beer they made at home into an ABC licensed club, restaurant or bar, brewpub, beer or small beer manufacturer premises but only in connection with a home brewers club meeting or home brewed beer competition. Club members may also exchange and consume home brewed beer at a club meeting or competition. Patrons who are not club members shall not consume any home brewed beer.

• Assembly Bill 2739 (Chiu) removes the requirement of a special for profit theater in San Francisco to cancel the ABC license of a tenant moving out of the theater so a potential new operator can apply for a license at the theater.

• Assembly Bill 2913 (Assembly Committee) clarifies existing law and allows a licensee to sponsor or participate in an event conducted by, and for the benefit of, a nonprofit corporation in which retail and nonretail licensees are sponsors.

• Senate Bill 683 (Wolk) provides for a special license to a nonprofit mutual benefit corporation and allows it to sell or transfer up to 20,000 gallons of wine per year that is produced, donated to or purchased by a public university for experimental purposes. The wine can be sold to consumers and licensees for consumption off the location where it was made. The non-profit mutual benefit corporation may also accept donations of wine. The bill imposes an original ABC license fee of $500.

• Senate Bill 905 (Bates) authorizes ABC to issue a club license to a non-profit umbrella organization consisting of multiple veterans organizations established to provide a central meeting location, resources, and services for veterans.

• Senate Bill 1032 (Galgiani) prohibits Manufacturers, Distributors or Producers of alcoholic beverages from furnishing or selling wine coupons to ABC retail licensees such as stores, bars and restaurants. Prior to this bill, the prohibitions only applied to coupons for beer.

• Senate Bill 1285 (Leno) provides for the issuance of five new neighborhood-restricted special on-sale general licenses for restaurants in San Francisco. The special restricted licenses can only be issued in specific areas of the city.

For more information on these new laws visit http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/ .

ABC is a Department of the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.