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Authority signals it will allow multiple wholesale licenses at one premise in draft ruling
Summary
The SLA heard a request for a declaratory ruling and signaled the statutory language does not bar a wine or liquor wholesaler from also holding a beer wholesale (or importer) license at the same physical location, provided separate records and controls are maintained.
The board discussed a practitioner’s request for a declaratory ruling on whether a licensed wine (or liquor) wholesaler may also hold a beer‑wholesale license or importer authority at the same physical premises. Counsel argued that modern accounting, separate phone lines and segregated records make a separate physical office unnecessary; the petition built on an earlier 2020 guidance that allowed importers and wine wholesalers to co‑locate given adequate recordkeeping.
Commissioners probed implementation details — separate books, audit access and the practicalities of on‑site inspections — and confirmed the position reached in prior guidance that the statute does not categorically prohibit multiple wholesale licenses at one premise. The board directed staff to draft a ruling consistent with that interpretation, limiting any relief to appropriate safeguards for separate books and records and audit access by the authority.
Provenance: declaratory ruling discussion and members’ consensus (transcript SEG 7348–SEG 7819).
