Latest news with #CoreyStaniscia
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Texas Senate advances bill allowing stores to sell ‘ready-to-drink' cocktails
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Senate on Wednesday passed SB 2225, which allows for spirit ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs) to be sold in grocery and convenience stores where beer and wine beverages with the same alcohol content, limited to 17% alcohol by volume, are already being sold. The bill passed by a vote of 23-8 and will now head to the House for consideration. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States applauded the Texas Senate for passing the bill. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Bill allowing grocery stores, gas stations to sell 'ready-to-drink' cocktails advances out of committee 'Texans are one step closer to being able to pick up their favorite spirits ready-to-drink cocktails at grocery and convenience stores right next to their beer and wine,' said Corey Staniscia, DISCUS vice president of state government relations. 'SB 2225 increases consumer convenience and choice by responsibly expanding market access for these low-alcohol spirits products. This consumer- and business-friendly measure has real momentum, and we urge the House to take up and pass this bill in support of market freedom and consumer convenience.' A similar bill was introduced by Reps. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, and John Bucy III, D-Austin, HB 4077. The bill is awaiting a vote in the House Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee. According to substance detection tech company Mindr, Texas has the fifth most DUI deaths and is 33rd for DUI arrests. If passed, the bill would go into effect on Sept. 1, 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama House passes bill to allow Spirits ready-to-drink cocktails to be sold beside beer, wine
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: Alabama-2025-HB521-IntroducedDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill allowing grocery stores, gas stations to sell ‘ready-to-drink' cocktails advances out of committee
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A bill in the Texas Senate to allow the sale of 'ready-to-drink cocktails' (RTDs) at grocery and convenience stores passed a committee vote Wednesday. SB 2225 would allow stores that are licensed to sell beer and wine to apply for a certificate to sell liquor-based drinks. Those drinks would be limited to 17% alcohol by volume. Bill author Sen. Kelly Hancock, R-Fort Worth, wrote in her statement of intent that Texas' current alcohol laws, which allow the sale of beer and wine products with up to 17% ABV, are confusing for Texans. 'However, these same retailers are prohibited from selling spirit-based RTDs, even though most of these beverages fall within the same or lower ABV range as many wine and malt-based products already on store shelves,' she said. 'This inconsistency in Texas law creates confusion for consumers, places unnecessary limitations on free-market competition, and puts Texas businesses at a disadvantage compared to those in other states where spirit-based RTDs are treated equitably.' The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) said in a press release that it 'applauds 'the committee's vote. DISCUS VP Corey Staniscia said in the release that the legislature should prioritize the bill 'to increase consumer convenience' so Texans can have their favorite drinks 'in time for football season.' 'The Legislature has taken another step in moving forward this consumer- and business-friendly measure that adds additional market access for adult spirits consumers in Texas,' Staniscia said. The bill's companion in the House, HB 4077, authored by Rep. Cody Vasut, R-Angleton, and Rep. John Bucy III, D-Austin, is pending in the House Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee. The bill heads to the Senate floor for consideration. If it passes, it will head to the Texas House. Should the bill be enacted as law, it will take effect on Sept. 1. Texas has the fifth most DUI deaths and is 33rd for DUI arrests, according to substance detection tech company Mindr. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
