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Sponsors say HB 218 would allow 10% retail discount for nonalcoholic and dealcoholized wines
Summary
Representatives Coakley and Salvo told the House Community Revitalization Committee that House Bill 218 would let retail liquor permit holders apply the state's 10% case discount to nonalcoholic and de-alcoholized wines purchased within a qualifying six-to-12-bottle transaction.
Representatives Coakley and Salvo presented sponsor testimony to the House Community Revitalization Committee on House Bill 218, which would extend the state's existing 10% retail discount for qualifying cases of wine to include nonalcoholic and dealcoholized wines when those bottles are part of the same qualifying purchase.
Representative Coakley opened sponsor testimony and said the bill would allow consumers to mix and match alcoholic and nonalcoholic bottles in the same qualifying purchase of six to 12 bottles and still receive the 10% discount. Representative Salvo, a joint sponsor, told the committee the bill proposes a modest change to Section 4301.13 of the Ohio Revised Code to allow retail liquor permit holders to offer a 10% discount on bottles of de-alcoholized wine (defined in testimony as containing less than 0.5% alcohol by volume) when those bottles are purchased in the same transaction as a qualifying case of six to 12 bottles.
Salvo said the measure reflects growing consumer demand for nonalcoholic options and described public-health reasons and market trends behind the proposal: she cited national sales increases for nonalcoholic wine, noted that about 503,000 Ohio residents manage alcohol use disorder each year (as stated in testimony), and referenced state-level data presented on the record that Ohio sees more than 5,700 deaths annually tied to excessive alcohol use and that 19.5 percent of adults report weekly binge drinking. The sponsors emphasized that the change is intended to make it easier for people to choose nonalcoholic options and to give retailers pricing flexibility.
Representative Bradley asked whether customers could mix and match and still receive the discount. The sponsor replied, "Yes. You can mix and match up to 2 bottles of non alcoholic in that case." No committee vote on HB 218 was recorded in the provided transcript; the record shows only sponsor testimony and a single clarifying question. The sponsors asked the committee for support and signaled they would return for another hearing when ready.
The testimony framed the bill as a small statutory update to existing liquor provisions intended to support recovery, moderation and business flexibility; no formal amendments or committee actions were recorded on HB 218 in the provided transcript.
