MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT) — The bill passed the Alabama House Tuesday night and is headed to the Senate for consideration.
“Alabama consumers continue to seek out their favorite spirits ready-to-drink cocktails in grocery and convenience stores right alongside beer and wine,” Corey Staniscia, DISCUS vice president of state government relations, said. “We applaud the House for taking another step in moving forward this consumer- and business-friendly measure that adds additional market access for adult spirits consumers in Alabama. We urge the Senate to take up and pass this measure to increase consumer convenience and keep the government out of picking winners and losers in the marketplace.”
Under current law, beer in Alabama can be sold in grocery and convenience stores along with wine and malt-based canned cocktails. Under this current law, spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktails are required to be sold at liquor stores.
HB 521 also lowers the tax rate for spirits ready-to-drink cocktails to $0.035, “recognizing that these low-alcohol products should not carry the same tax rate as a full bottle of spirits,” the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States said.
The bill would also define a new category of ready-to-drink mixed liquor beverages containing no more than seven percent alcohol by volume, called “mixed spirit beverages.”
You can read HB521, first read on April 3, and all it entails below:
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