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

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.