Posted On February 26, 2013
Well, we are almost at transmittal date, the midway point of the legislature, and brewers are still breathing. We continue to need your attention and support for our issues as we are told another anti-brewery bill is on its way. Representative Roger Hagan (R-Great Falls) has indicated that he intends to introduce a bill on behalf of the Montana Tavern Association that will further limit existing brewery retail abilities.
Rep. Hagan explains that his bill, potentially to be carried by Rep. Rob Cook (R-Conrad), would provide new marketing opportunities for brewers, distributors, and retailers, by allowing brewers to buy retail licenses and tavern owners to buy brewery licenses. Oh, there was also the point that in order to curtail the burgeoning and successful brewery industry, brewers would have to abide by limits that dictate how much beer can be sold on premise versus through the distribution tier. The limits would start when a brewer sells more that 300 barrels a year (a very small amount)! Thank you very much. Once over 300 barrels, brewers can only sell a certain percentage of their production on premise till 500 barrels, then a lesser percent till 1,000, then a lesser percent still till you reach 10,000. Clear as a bell? I’m waiting to see the next brewer’s business plan and how it is received by his investors and his banker.
Another meeting was held recently between the 3 tier representatives (brewers, taverns, distributors), along with Rep. Hagan, Rep. Cook and Sen. Tropila (D-Great Falls with tavern connections). As in prior meetings, this one ended with both the brewer (Brian Smith, Blackfoot River Brewing, Helena) and the distributor (Brian Clark, Fun Beverage, Kalispell) counseling the legislators and the tavern owner (Steve Morris, Jorgenson’s, Helena) that anything proposed in the next 20 days would do nothing to create desired effects for the group as a whole. One does wonder; however, that the end result of such a bill must be so that attractive to the Montana Taverns Association that they will stop at nothing to introduce a bill that almost all legislators you speak with say, “give it a rest, take it out of the building, and bring back a comprehensive and agreed to solution next session.”
Think about it. If this were to pass, the brewing industry as we know it would be stopped in its tracks ($50 million in output, 450 jobs, double digit growth in production and jobs, etc., etc.), and taverns could start building breweries across the state. They have the retail licenses to sell ad nauseam, and they could hire brewers, buy breweries, and make it a part of their motif.
We are told a bill is on its way following transmittal (LC1429 is the placeholder), so please stay tuned so that you can express your feelings to the House Business and Labor Committee at the right time. As we see a bill and have a hearing date, we will try to tell you which committee members have indicated their support and which ones are important to reach out to.