Download This Version in Microsoft Word format
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
HOUSE AMENDMENTS AMENDED
June 21, 2001
S. 321
S. Printed 6/21/01--S.
Read the first time May 2, 2001.
TO AMEND ARTICLE 7, CHAPTER 4, TITLE 61, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL LAWS AFFECTING WINE ONLY, BY ADDING SECTION 61-4-737 SO AS TO AUTHORIZE THE HOLDER OF A RETAIL WINE PERMIT TO CONDUCT NOT MORE THAN SIX WINE TASTINGS AT THE RETAIL LOCATION IN A CALENDAR YEAR.
Amend Title To Conform
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 61-4-720 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 61-4-720. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a licensed winery in this State which produces and sells only domestic wine as defined in Section 12-21-1010 is authorized to sell the domestic wine with an alcoholic content of fourteen sixteen percent or less on the winery premises and deliver or ship this wine to consumer homes in or outside the State. These domestic wineries are authorized to provide without cost wine taste samples to prospective customers."
SECTION 2. Article 7, Chapter 4 of Title 61 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 61-4-735. (A) Except as provided in Sections 61-4-720 and 61-4-730, a manufacturer of wine, vintner, winery, an entity, or a person who sells these products, or a person or entity who imports these products produced outside the United States must not sell, barter, exchange, transfer, or deliver for resale wine to a person not having a wholesale permit issued under Section 61-4-500, and a holder of a wholesale permit may not sell, barter, exchange, transfer, or deliver for resale wine to a person not having a retail or wholesale permit, unless that person is the American producer or the primary American source of supply of that wine as defined in Section 61-4-340.
(B) Except as provided in subsection (C), a manufacturer of wine, vintner, winery, importer, or wholesaler of wine, or a person acting on his behalf must not furnish, give, rent, lend, or sell, directly or indirectly, to the holder of a retail permit any equipment, fixtures, free wine, or service. The holder of a retail permit or a person acting on his behalf may not accept, directly or indirectly, any equipment, fixtures, free wine, or service referred to in this subsection from a manufacturer of wine, winery, importer, or wholesaler of wine, except as provided in subsection (C).
(C) A wholesaler may furnish at no charge to the holder of a retail permit draft wine equipment replacement parts of nominal value, including washers, gaskets, hoses, hose connectors, clamps, and tap markers, product displays as provided under 27 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 6.83 and point of sale advertising specialties. A wholesaler also may furnish the following services to a retailer: cleaning wine lines, rotating stock, affixing price tags to wine products, building wine displays, setting boxes, conduct not more than two wine tasting tastings in accordance with department rulings or regulations, developing shelf schematics, stocking shelves, providing wine party wagon for temporary use, and assist in wine resets a maximum of three times a year for any store having a retail permit during the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Resets are defined as being a change in the location of the wine department within a store or a rearrangement of the products on shelves within the store's wine department, which involves more than one wholesalers' wholesaler's products. All wholesalers shall must be notified in writing of any resets being requested by a retail store at least fourteen days prior to the reset.
(D) A producer, winery, vintner, and importer of wine are declared to be in business on one tier, a wholesaler on another tier, and a retailer on another tier. For the purpose of this section, a manufacturer or producer of wine is declared to be a tier one business, a wholesaler or an importer owned solely by a wholesaler is declared to be a tier two business, and a retailer is declared to be a tier three business. Except as provided in Sections 61-4-720 and 61-4-730, a person or entity in the wine business on one tier or a person acting directly or indirectly on his behalf may not have ownership or financial interest in a wine business operation on another tier. This limitation does not apply to the interest held on July 1, 1993, by the holder of a wholesale permit in a business operated by the holder of a retail permit at premises other than where the wholesale business is operated. For purposes of this subsection, ownership or financial interest does not include the ownership of less than one percent of the stock in a corporation with a class of voting shares registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission or other federal agency under Section 12 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or a consulting agreement under which the consultant has no control over business decisions and whose compensation is unrelated to the profits of the business. Notwithstanding this prohibition or the prohibition contained in Section 61-4-940(D), a manufacturer or importer of beer or wine may own in whole or in part a business that holds an on-premises retail beer and wine permit provided that:
(1) All beverages to be handled or sold by such a the retail dealer must be purchased from licensed wholesalers and purchased on the same terms and conditions as do other retail dealers.
(2) Sales of any product produced or distributed by the manufacturer or importer shall must not exceed ten percent of the annual gross sales of beer or wine by the retail permit holder.
(E) A manufacturer, producer, importer, or wholesaler of wine may discount product price based on quantity purchases if all discounts are on price only, appear on the sales records, and are available to all retail customers.
(F) Nothing in this section shall affect or prohibit affects or prohibits the ownership or the operation of a licensed winery in this State that produces, provides taste samples, sells, delivers, or ships domestic wine as authorized and in accordance with the provisions of Sections 61-4-720 and 61-4-730."
SECTION 3. Article 7, Chapter 4 of Title 61 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 61-4-737. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, the holder of a retail wine permit for off-premises consumption whose primary product is beer, wine or distilled spirits may conduct, in accordance with department rulings or regulations, not more than twenty-four wine tastings at the retail location in a calendar year."
SECTION 4. Section 61-4-770 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 61-4-770. Wines containing more than fourteen sixteen percent of alcohol by volume may be sold only in licensed alcoholic liquor stores or in establishments licensed to sell and permit consumption of alcoholic liquors in minibottles."
SECTION 5. Article 1, Chapter 4, Title 61 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 61-4-1115. For purposes of this article, when a registered producer is an importer of beer produced by a brewer located outside of the United States, the importer is deemed the agent of the foreign brewer and any agreement subject to the provisions of this article between a wholesaler and the importer is binding on any successor importer of beer produced by that foreign brewer."
SECTION 6. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 33-42-75. Any manufacturer, brewer, or importer of beer as referenced in Section 61-4-1115, or its affiliate may hold an interest in a limited partnership providing financial assistance to a general partner wholesaler, but may only exercise that control of the limited partnership business as is permitted by this Uniform Limited Partnership Act. However, in no event may the limited partner, directly or indirectly, have any managerial control or decision-making authority including personnel decisions, with respect to the day-to-day operations of the limited partnership, and upon a default by the general partner wholesaler, the limited partner is not entitled, directly or indirectly, to any additional control, ownership, or financial interest in the general partner wholesaler, nor may the limited partner become the general partner in the limited partnership. No manufacturer, brewer, or importer of beer or its affiliate licensed in this State, directly or indirectly, may have any financial or ownership interest in the general partner wholesaler. It is further declared an unfair trade practice for any manufacturer, brewer, or importer of beer or its affiliate holding an interest in a limited partnership providing financial assistance to a general partner wholesaler pursuant to this section to have directly or indirectly any managerial control or decision-making authority, including personnel decisions, with respect to the day-to-day operations of the limited partnership.
The only financial assistance that may be provided under the provisions of this section is the initial financial assistance to the limited partnership to acquire a licensed beer wholesaler. In this arrangement for financial assistance, the federal basic permit and the wholesaler's license issued by the department must be issued in the name of the general partner wholesaler on behalf of the limited partnership, and not in the name of the limited partnership nor in the name of the manufacturer, brewer, or importer or its affiliate.
The limited partnership may not exist for more than ten years from the date of its creation and may not be recreated, renewed, or extended beyond that date. The limited partnership shall not be considered as amending or otherwise altering Title 61 except for the limited purposes permitted in this section in connection with a manufacturer, brewer, or importer of beer or its affiliate who is licensed in this State providing the financial assistance. A manufacturer, brewer, or importer or its affiliate shall not mandate, directly or indirectly, that a wholesaler use the financial assistance as described in this section.
A violation of this section is deemed to be a violation of the South Carolina Unfair Trade Practices Act."
SECTION 7. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 61-6-1505. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a retailer dealer may be also licensed under Chapter 41 of Title 34 in order to engage in check cashing services in the retail premises."
SECTION 8. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
This web page was last updated on Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 2:11 P.M.