[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6127304,"mediaKeyId","2663796-bd667c8f474f9016634b23f7804e065b","parentId",2663796,"title","Panel weighs narrow permit exemption after Sazerac acquisition of Southern Champion","audioSeconds",1045,"startMs",740000,"endMs",1785000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2663796-bd667c8f474f9016634b23f7804e065b&start=740&end=1785","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2663796-bd667c8f474f9016634b23f7804e065b/thumbnail_740000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6127304/Texas/Panel-weighs-narrow-permit-exemption-after-Sazerac-acquisition-of-Southern-Champion","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6127304-a447c51c312a4082d3dff5b20edaa5fe/orig.mp4?Expires=1771171482&Signature=JYh7e2vGv5yFDIdY55jTG8TF9vTbIy8eYF-zdT-rLXhQkgpTNFDAqu46Q6E-0ltm1Tmm15WQdzRiLO98kHgd28sYB4elhU3xB5KhWgXz5v~erytihcH0-V8saeBkAbCIVi7oJwdIn0qV7Ho9B-9xUb1owFasTEe~6DVcKYjBqEVcZ2-7tOvEGHNpeQ7nwLGVrSgQXbE6PL~0SOfNaA-uFHYulEVpJRx4bpem5U0j9jdl-ECWa~0JqooOC1x5ysFBdnFuTlIuvH6skSq1WEq5EyXFXQCO8W~BDN-FEVIyD6yW2Xdfe~F4JaTAdeu2yXq567AA7rvuTVetePAYWKWxpQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Texas State Legislature","date","2025-03-17T00:00:00Z","article","The Senate Committee on State Affairs heard competing testimony on Senate Bill 13-78, a local bill that would provide a narrowly bracketed exemption allowing Southern Champion — recently acquired by Sazerac — to hold both a Texas winery (G) permit and a nonresident seller’s (S) permit without forcing a change that could disrupt operations in Carrollton.

Senator Charles Parker, the bill’s author, said the exemption is limited to a single, specific acquisition and is intended to prevent “over a thousand Texans” from losing jobs in Carrollton. Parker said the bill includes a provision in section 37.07 to prohibit Sazerac from selling wine to itself and that the measure is “narrowly bracketed to apply only to this 1 specific acquisition, preventing unintended consequences for other existing and future companies in the industry.”

Matthew Cherry, senior counsel for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, appeared as a resource witness and told the committee that “in the way that it’s currently drafted, those specific subsections that create those prequalifications for this exception, there’s no other permits or locations that would apply to.” Cherry’s statement was offered to reassure members that the draft exemption would not automatically expand to other permits or locations.

Mason Moreland, president of Texas Vine Country, testified in opposition to SB 13-78 as filed. Moreland said the bill “rewards violation of our law, giving special privileges and special valuation to” the purchaser and argued the measure would not extend the same relief to Texas wineries and farmers facing similar issues. He raised a drafting concern that the bill does not limit the permitted amount of direct-to-consumer wine sales for the affected G permits; earlier in testimony he described a provision that would allow “up to 70,000 gallons of wine sales direct to consumer in Texas” and later told the committee the relevant permits could be treated as allowing “35,000 gallons of direct to consumer wine a year each for those G permits.”

Moreland described his business as a vertically integrated wine operation that farms “over 1,000 acres” and said Texas Vine Country’s assets total about $50,000,000; he said the bill as filed would confer a unique commercial advantage on the company being accommodated and urged a broader statutory review rather than a single-company exemption. Moreland said he supports the policy goal if applied broadly but opposed the narrow, company-specific approach.

Senators asked questions about whether the exemption would affect the three-tier distribution system and whether the bill’s language unintentionally expands direct-to-consumer privileges. Parker and Cherry both stated the draft is narrowly targeted; Moreland urged comprehensive statutory changes instead of a single exception. The committee closed public testimony on SB 13-78 and left the bill pending.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Committee on State Affairs (Part II) March 17, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Senate Committee on State Affairs heard competing testimony on Senate Bill 13-78, a local bill that would provide a narrowly bracketed exemption allowing Southern Champion — recently acquired by Sazerac — to hold both a Texas winery (G) permit and a nonresident seller’s (S) permit without forcing operations to change.","taxTitle","Committee on State Affairs, Senate, Legislative, Texas","taxId",16216,"location","Texas","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6127307,"Committee hears bill to let Texas distillers report unpaid invoices to TABC",609,133000,742000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2663796-bd667c8f474f9016634b23f7804e065b&start=133&end=742","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2663796-bd667c8f474f9016634b23f7804e065b/thumbnail_133000.jpg","/articles/6127307/Texas/Committee-hears-bill-to-let-Texas-distillers-report-unpaid-invoices-to-TABC","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6127307-53138db696209d139d5ddbd1ddedef36/orig.mp4?Expires=1771171482&Signature=mxuHayQ2ChmiP73ie7i3a8ajnNi-KQ09GCv8y4p~WZS6aSoD~q1o7czs2ZUQ8355YuyKXexPSkwxymE4B3MPAy7wulBFBDbYFymcTNmZLflRkzc4aDnzxGiR5i7UhyBjaORnZT~Z5LuBqP58TYpiC5JL9~uBF~XUwU6NRV8U7-4vspadysfYFV8wUqOFzHTum~LoXZt5wpgWJV-U6WW4AkrwyKnQ~pcUJX-SK-f6GKdrOATAjGSGBXXOKxBtzPyKuNYUvk59NaZit51VmSXOAAyf0wMQmL7DpWkbt1qGhGxxv7xYzPpSXt05Vo4LUYfcvH6PYauA7bUa3P2DCTwwbQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Committee on State Affairs heard testimony on the committee substitute for Senate Bill 13-55, a measure that would create a complaint process allowing Texas distillers to report wholesalers who fail to pay invoices to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

Senator Charles Parker, sponsor of the committee substitute, told the committee the measure “helps cure disruptions in our alcohol industry by setting out a complaint process for Texas distillers to use when they are not paid for the products they have manufactured.” Parker said the substitute responds to recent instances in which wholesalers have been delinquent in payments to Texas distillers and that many affected distillers are small businesses.

The committee substitute requires a distiller to issue an invoice to a wholesaler on the date of purchase and requires that wholesalers pay according to the payment terms in their contract or letter of agreement rather than imposing a default 30-day requirement. If a wholesaler violates agreed terms, the distiller must send a demand letter; if the wholesaler still does not pay, the distiller may report the delinquency in writing to TABC. Parker said the substitute removes a filed requirement that would have automatically placed wholesalers on a TABC delinquency list and instead gives TABC discretion to consider all facts when determining a penalty.

Natasha DeHart, owner of Bent Distilling Company in Lewisville, testified in support of the bill on behalf of the Texas Distilled Spirits Association and herself. DeHart said her distillery, founded in February 2012, has worked with several distributors and that “other than a few exceptions, our experiences have been positive,” but that one Texas wholesaler’s payment problems over the past 18 to 24 months escalated in 2024 and resulted in unpaid invoices that she described as “nearly half a million dollars.” She said the situation forced her company to lay off employees, pay vendor partners late and spend substantial time managing the delinquency. DeHart testified that she helped the Texas Distilled Spirits Association craft the bill and said, “This bill will not likely ever impact distributors who already do the right thing, but it will be a game changer for Texas distillers whose businesses are put at risk by a non paying distributor.”

Parker and committee members noted resource witnesses from TABC were present but not called. The committee opened public testimony on SB 13-55, heard DeHart’s remarks, then closed public testimony and left the bill pending.

Public testimony closed and the committee left SB 13-55 pending for further consideration.","The Senate Committee on State Affairs heard testimony on a committee substitute to Senate Bill 13-55 that would create a complaint process allowing distillers to report wholesalers who fail to pay according to contract; the measure was left pending after testimony from the bill author and a Texas distillery owner.","actionData","errors"]

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Panel weighs narrow permit exemption after Sazerac acquisition of Southern Champion

Committee hears bill to let Texas distillers report unpaid invoices to TABC