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Committee approves bill to let small breweries operate same number of remote taprooms as brewery-restaurants
Summary
Senate Bill 365, sponsored by Senator Joshua Bryant, was approved in committee; the bill would align the number of remote taproom locations small breweries may operate with the allowance already granted to brewery-restaurants, increasing small breweries' remote locations from two to three as described by the sponsor.
Senator Joshua Bryant, representing District 32, brought Senate Bill 365 to the City, County & Local Affairs Committee to address statutory language governing how many remote taproom locations a brewery may operate.
Bryant told the committee the current statute allows breweries that operate as restaurants to maintain up to three separate offsite locations for pouring their product, while smaller breweries without a restaurant are limited to two. He said the disparity has created confusion for entrepreneurs and imposes a practical burden: "If you want a third one, dump a bunch of money into a restaurant at which you don't wanna operate, and you can have a third one. This just makes a match," Bryant said.
Bryant said he had spoken with the Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agency, which he said supports the cleanup in statutory language to reduce confusion; no ABC representative spoke in the committee during this hearing. Senator Centra Prairie (name as given in the transcript) asked whether the change could help craft breweries expand their marketability; Bryant said the bill would allow small breweries to expand reach and support entrepreneurship.
No public witnesses testified for or against the bill. Senator Bryant closed the bill and moved to pass; the committee approved Senate Bill 365 by voice vote and recorded no roll-call tally in the transcript.
As presented in committee, the bill would allow small breweries that do not operate a restaurant to have up to three remote taproom locations, matching the current allowance for brewery-restaurants. The committee approved the measure without amendment.
