ILLINOIS SHIPPING BILL REMAINS IN PURGATORY
The latest deadline has once again come and gone in Illinois, leaving HB 429 without resolve. The General Assembly failed to meet the May 31st deadline for adjournment and has entered an overtime session as a result. Nearly a month has passed since HB 429 passed out of a House committee and proponents are beginning to worry it will never be called to vote.
If passed out of the House, HB 429 will have to make it through the Senate before becoming a law.
Distributors, wineries and retailers are asking the House to vote as soon as possible.
"We did what legislators asked us to do which was to negotiate a compromise. The uncertainty looming over us with Illinois remaining in default of the U.S. Supreme Court decision is troubling," said Jerry Rosen, executive director of the Beverage Retailers Alliance of Illinois.
Under HB 429, wineries are permitted to ship up to 12 cases of wine per person each year after obtaining a winery shipper's license. In addition, it allows small wineries both in-state and out-of-state that produces less than 25,000 gallons of wine per year to sell up to 5,000 gallons of their wines a year directly to in-state retailers. In-state retailers would also retain the ability to ship directly to consumers, but the proposal would bar out-of-state retailers from doing so.
As a result, Representative Julie Hamos has presented an amendment that would allow out-of-state retailers to ship directly to Illinois consumers. This is where the problems start to arise. The Specialty Wine Retailers Association, led by executive director Tom Wark, is fighting to pass the amendment and have already promised a lawsuit if the amendment is not passed.
If passed out of the House, HB 429 will have to make it through the Senate before becoming a law.
Distributors, wineries and retailers are asking the House to vote as soon as possible.
"We did what legislators asked us to do which was to negotiate a compromise. The uncertainty looming over us with Illinois remaining in default of the U.S. Supreme Court decision is troubling," said Jerry Rosen, executive director of the Beverage Retailers Alliance of Illinois.
Under HB 429, wineries are permitted to ship up to 12 cases of wine per person each year after obtaining a winery shipper's license. In addition, it allows small wineries both in-state and out-of-state that produces less than 25,000 gallons of wine per year to sell up to 5,000 gallons of their wines a year directly to in-state retailers. In-state retailers would also retain the ability to ship directly to consumers, but the proposal would bar out-of-state retailers from doing so.
As a result, Representative Julie Hamos has presented an amendment that would allow out-of-state retailers to ship directly to Illinois consumers. This is where the problems start to arise. The Specialty Wine Retailers Association, led by executive director Tom Wark, is fighting to pass the amendment and have already promised a lawsuit if the amendment is not passed.
posted at 11:52 AM
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