Liquor Control outlines legislative action
By Shauna Helfert, Administrator
Liquor Control Division
The department would like to share with you an overview of some important liquor-related law changes that were enacted during the 2011 legislative session.
Changes Directly Affecting Licensees
– Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service Act (Senate Bill 29)
Mandatory responsible alcohol sales and service training becomes effective Oct. 1, 2011. This act requires each employee, their immediate supervisor and all licensees who are authorized to sell or serve alcohol complete state-approved alcohol sales and service program training.
The act mandates that new employees are trained within 60 days of hire and again every three years after initial training occurred. In addition, licensees must maintain employment records to verify employees have completed training.
All current employees must be trained prior to Oct. 1, 2011, in order to be in compliance with the law. If your employees have had training prior to Oct. 1, 2011, they will be in compliance with the law as long as they are within the three year period. To obtain a list of state- approved server training programs, please visit www. AlcoholServerTraining.mt.gov.
Senate Bill 29 imposes a graduated penalty for a licensee that fails compliance checks and does not provide required training. The penalty is $50 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense and $350 for a third offense.
– Allow on-premise non-brewery sale of beer in growlers for off-premise consumption (Senate Bill 203)
This legislation allows on-premise all-beverage and beer licensees to sell beer in growlers for off premise consumption only. Prior to Senate Bill 203, this privilege was only available to breweries.
The growlers may not be filled by the licensee in advance of the sale, and customers may bring in their own growlers for filling. Growlers must meet federal standards, and customers cannot bring in just any household container for filling.
Changes Affecting In-State Manufacturers
– Reduce state mark up on liquor based upon percent of Montana ingredients (Senate Bill 215)
This legislation allows a reduction in the state mark up applied to distilled spirits and fortified wine products. The department will draft rules in line with the governor's signing statement to shield the state from an interstate commerce clause liability and to ensure the long-term success of this legislation.
To qualify for the reduction, the product must have been manufactured, distilled, rectified, bottled or processed by a distillery that produces 25,000 proof gallons or less of liquor nationwide annually.
After the rules are adopted, the department will implement the new law prospectively and change the prices in the next publication of the state's quarterly price book. While the rules are pending, the department will maintain the current mark up rates.
– Revise use and tax of alcohol-based ingredients by brewers and distillers (Senate Bill 389)
This legislation allows in-state breweries to import flavors and other nonbeverage ingredients containing alcohol for blending and manufacturing purposes. In addition, the bill allows in-state distilleries to import distilled spirits from another distilled spirits plant for the manufacture of its own products.
In both instances, any raw materials imported for these purposes are exempt from liquor taxes. This bill is effective Oct. 1, 2011.
– Increase amount of liquor a micro distillery may sell to a retail consumer (Senate Bill 289)
This legislation increases the amount of liquor a distillery located in the state of Montana may sell to consumers for off-premise consumption. Montana distilleries are allowed to sell not more than 1.75 liters a day per individual.
Prior to Senate Bill 289, distilleries were allowed to sell up to 1 liter per individual per day. This law change is effective Oct. 1, 2011.
Other Changes to Alcoholic Beverage Code
– Revise Liquor Laws related to nonprofits and protest (House Bill 63)
At the request of the Department of Revenue, this legislation provides changes to three areas of the code. It:
• Allows for certain out-of-state residents to protest liquor license applications in adjoining Montana counties;
• Removes the provisions that liquor license application protests may be based solely on creditor status, and;
• Authorizes nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations to auction or raffle alcoholic beverages for fundraising purposes.
If you would like further information or have questions, please call the Liquor Control Division toll-free at 1-866-859-2254 (in Helena, 444-6900). We are happy to help in any way we can.