Senate committee clears Department of Revenue rules bundle, including Alcohol Beverage Control updates and kratom enforcement provisions

The Senate Finance Committee voted to report committee substitute for House Bill 22 67, a rules bundle from the Department of Revenue, as amended, to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass. Counsel told the committee the bundle contains 12 rules from the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (ABCC), the Insurance Commission, the Lottery Commission and the Tax Division.

Committee Counsel summarized major ABCC changes that update definitions, add new license categories and allow expanded operational rules for private clubs, private food courts and food trucks, and special-event sales. The rules replace a surety bond requirement with a reactivation fee for expired licenses, add fingerprint background checks for managers, permit dual licensing in some circumstances, and change appeal venue from circuit court to the Intermediate Court of Appeals.

The ABCC rules also address wine and hard cider sales, wine distributors and specialty retailers, distillery licensing (including allowing a single person or entity to hold multiple licenses and operate as a private manufacturer club), hours for sampling, and a new class 2 license for private fairs and festivals. House amendments tighten some penalties, require human-trafficking notices in private club bathrooms, and permit some private clubs to remain open longer after sales stop.

Other rules in the bundle include one extending the Medicare supplement insurance rule (sunset extension), a Lottery Commission sports wagering rule (including an exclusion list and process for protest), and Tax Division rules covering electronic funds transfer for tax payments, alternative dispute resolution of tax disputes, consumer sales and service tax, and information exchange provisions. Counsel said the bundle includes changes prompted by recent session legislation, such as rules related to kratom and nonintoxicating beer licensing.

Committee members adopted a Judiciary Committee amendment and a Finance Committee amendment addressing items such as campus permit exceptions and technical code citations. After the committee adopted the amendments, the vice chair moved to report the committee substitute as amended; the committee approved the motion by voice vote.