Committee approves narrow exemption to let certain private clubs buy directly from small breweries

Representative Aaron Pilkington, sponsor and a member of the Arkansas House, asked the House Rules Committee to give House Bill 14‑45 a due‑pass recommendation. The bill would allow certain private clubs to purchase beer directly from holders of a small brewery permit if the club is in an entertainment district of an adjacent county and enters an exclusive agreement to sell only that brewery’s product.

“Essentially, this is a constituent driven bill,” Representative Aaron Pilkington said, describing a farm‑to‑table restaurant tied to a local farm, Preston Rose, that wants to sell beer brewed in Arkansas at a reasonable price as part of a downtown Clarksville renovation project. Pilkington said the measure is…