Saint Arnold Brewing Says “Please Email Your Texas House Representative!”

From Saint Arnold Brewing founder Brock Wagner – We are sooooo close, but we haven’t crossed the finish line yet. The craft brewery legislation that we have been working on in one way or another for the past ten years is getting close to actually becoming law. The bills have passed out of the Senate to the House where they have been voted out of committee. Now we need the entire House to vote on the bills so they will advance to the Governor for his signature. The House vote is scheduled for this Friday, May 17.

 About the Bills

We have a negotiated package of five bills (the craft brewery bills SB 515-518, SB 639) with agreement between craft breweries (both shipping breweries and brewpubs), beer distributors, consumers and even ABInBev. The bills are stapled together so all five have to pass in order for any of them to become law. Here is the summary of what they do:

• Grant Texas packaging breweries the right to sell their products directly to consumers for on-premise consumption (SB 518).
• Grant Texas brewpubs the right to sell their beer to distributors and allow for limited self-distribution (SB 515).
• Adjust Texas small brewers self-distribution limits to lower how much a brewery may self-distribute but increases the size of brewery that can self-distribute (SB 516-17).
• Codify the rule against “reach-back pricing”, prohibit distributors from making payment to breweries in exchange for territorial exclusivity and codify certain contractual relationships between breweries and distributors (SB 639).

We ask that you please email your Texas House Representative and ask them to vote FOR the entire package of craft brewery bills SB 515, 516, 517, 518 & 639. All five bills must pass or else all five die.

Don’t know who your Representative is? Follow this link to find out.

Typically there is a link you can click on that takes you to the representative’s home page where you can usually find an email link.

Your note doesn’t have to be long. Just tell them you are a constituent in his/her district, you care about this issue and that you ask that they vote for these bills.

(Please do not contact your senator – they’ve already done their good work.)
We appreciate your support!

Cheers!

Brock