Bill > HB581

This bill, known as the Georgia Craft Brewery Innovation and Survival Act, introduces several significant changes to Georgia's alcoholic beverage regulations focused on supporting small brewers. The legislation defines a "small brewer" as a brewer or brewpub whose sales to a wholesaler do not exceed 15 percent of the wholesaler's total sales in the prior calendar year, and provides several new rights and flexibilities for these breweries. Specifically, the bill allows brewers to directly donate malt beverages to charitable events with certain restrictions, removes the daily sales limit for both on-premise and off-premise consumption, and permits small brewers to sell up to 3,000 barrels of beer per year at wholesale to retailers within a 100-mile radius. The bill also allows brewers to sell and transfer beverages between their own licensed premises, requires electronic tracking of sales for tax purposes, and adjusts tax reporting requirements to include donated beverages. These changes represent a significant loosening of Georgia's traditional three-tier alcohol distribution system, providing more operational freedom for craft breweries while maintaining regulatory oversight through requirements like electronic tax tracking and limits on sales volumes.

Business and Industry

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70669