JEFFERSON CITY, Mo – After a long process in the Senate, SB 919, the “beer bill,” has picked up momentum in the House, and supporters are confident that it will get through this session with bipartisan support.
The bill, which would allow brewers to lease coolers to retailers and allow retailers to fill growlers, has seen opposition from small brewers. They view the bill as a threat to their ability to get their product in front of customers as mass-market brewers would drown out their shelf space. But the bill’s supporters have made changes as they listened to concerns.
“This is a pretty vetted bill. …That’s a good thing,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Glendale, who sponsored the bill. “I think this is the type of bill where you want to get all points of view considered and take the best of what you hear and I think that’s what we’ve been able to do.”
After that vetting process in the Senate, the bill has picked up speed, passing through the House Small Business Committee 12-2 Wednesday evening and supporters believe many of the obstacles are behind them.
While in the Senate, additions were made to the bill to try to assuage the concerns of small brewers. Among those changes, a cooler does not have to be filled with a brewer’s product, or even beer at all. Brewers have also been limited to one cooler per location of no more than 40 cubic feet.
“We’ve tried to be reasonable. We’ve tried to listen to the concerns, which is why the bill changed from when it was originally filed to what it is now,” Schmitt said. “We’ve taken into account many of their concerns and are hopeful that they will ultimately be supportive, but in the long run we have to keep in mind what we’re trying to do here, and part of that is making sure that consumers will have the maximum number of choices, which will ultimately help small brewers.”
The changes have helped bring a wide swath of support to the bill, including some who were initially against it. Ron Leone of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association testified that they were initially unhappy with the bill but have come to support it, arguing that more cooler space and the ability of the retailers to put whatever they want in the coolers is always a good thing.
Also supporting the bill were distributors, the Teamsters and large brewers like Anheuser-Busch.
Supporters of the bill argued that the increased cooler space allows more opportunity to sell more products, including more craft beer. Right now, refrigerated space at retailers is at a premium so there’s intense competition over who gets their product on the shelf. Schmitt added at the hearing that research shows one out of five consumers will walk away from buying beer if it’s not cold.
Three other states that have passed similar legislation are also among the top ten in craft brewing, Schmitt said. California, Wisconsin and Colorado have all passed similar legislation and Wisconsin and Colorado also have big mass-market brewers headquartered in their states, like Missouri.
Opponents of the bill also argue that the bill is a way to get around the three-tier system of brewers, distributors and retailers, allowing brewers to exert greater influence over consumers.
But Schmitt argued he was supportive of the three-tier system and this bill was supported by all three tiers.
“I’m very supportive of the three tier system. I think the wholesalers are supportive of the the three tier system. But the retailers and the [convenience] store operators are supportive of the three tier system,” he said. “I think by the fact that the advocates that we have supporting this, the broad coalition, have always had a track record of supporting the the three tier system, is evidenced of course by the fact that this only bolsters the consumer choice that will be made available.”
The bill will head to the House Commerce Committee next, where it is expected to pass, before heading to the floor.
