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Committee hears bill to allow "warehouse receipt" investments for Montana craft distillers
Summary
A bill to authorize warehouse-receipt investments for distillers drew support from distillery owners and trade groups at a Senate Business and Labor Committee hearing, and prompted questions from regulators about oversight and how such investments would affect licensing reviews.
Representative Seekins Crow, the sponsor, told the Senate Business and Labor Committee that House Bill 549 would allow Montana distillers to sell "warehouse receipts" that let outside investors fund barrels of aging spirits without transferring ownership of the distillery.
Why it matters: Supporters said the change would give small Montana distilleries new ways to raise operating capital while federal law and other states already allow similar arrangements. State regulators raised questions about whether the Department of Revenue would have enough financial information about licensees if inventory-based investments became common.
Representative Seekins Crow opened the hearing saying the proposal would permit "a type of investment opportunity that is currently available to distillers in other states. And the federal government does allow for this. However, in Montana, our law must also provide for this for us to be able to do it." She described the change as narrowly tailored to let investors buy an interest in a barrel while the product remains in bonded storage.
Jennifer Hensley, counsel for the Montana Distillers Guild, told the committee the change aligns Montana with federal…
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