Alabama committee hears industry split over RTD franchise protections, tax changes

Members of the Alabama House Economic Development and Tourism Committee heard more than an hour of testimony on a bill that would change how ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages are treated in state code and alter the tax threshold applied to those products.

Supporters from beverage distributors and manufacturers said the measure is a compromise that would allow RTDs to be sold outside agency stores, raise retail availability and protect local wholesalers. “These drinks are very popular. This is the fastest growing category in the beverage alcohol industry today across the country,” said Jimmy Marston, who identified himself as working with Gulfstreaming Company. Marston said his company operates five warehouses in Alabama and employs “over a thousand employees” in the…