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Committee holds bill restricting alcohol wholesalers from distributing hemp beverages after lengthy testimony
Summary
Sen. Ana brings a bill to prohibit alcohol wholesalers from distributing hemp beverages; committee heard extensive testimony from retailers, wholesalers and craft brewers and agreed to hold the bill for further development.
Sen. Ana presented Senate Bill 229 proposing to restrict alcohol beverage wholesalers from distributing hemp-derived beverages in order to separate hemp products from the alcoholic three-tier distribution system.
The sponsor said rapid growth in hemp beverage brands and wholesalersinvolvement threatened local craft breweries and retail market balance. "If you like hemp beverages, you should like this bill. It doesn't prohibit them," the sponsor said; rather, the draft would direct hemp distribution to non-alcohol wholesalers and limit vertical movement by traditional alcohol distributors.
Testimony was mixed and extensive. Angela Holland, president of the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, urged retailers be allowed choice among distributors and cautioned against picking winners or losers among convenience-store members. Representatives of beverage-alcohol wholesale associations said they have the regulatory experience and distribution infrastructure to handle hemp beverages safely and were ready to participate; they said several of their members already hold hemp licenses with the Department of Agriculture. The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Georgia and allied beer-wholesaler witnesses urged inclusion, saying they specialize in chain-of-custody, taxation and retail compliance.
Craft-brewer representatives told the committee wholesalers are already adding hemp product lines, and some new craft breweries report difficulty getting wholesalers to carry their beers. "Long standing Georgia craft breweries are seeing a decline in the amount of beer that is being ordered by beer wholesalers," the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild said.
Given the policy tradeoffs and pending related measures (a House bill to allow packaged-liquor retailers to sell hemp beverages was noted), the committee agreed to hold action to allow additional development and consultation with stakeholders and the Department of Revenue and Agriculture.
