Big Alcohol Tearing Down California's Alcohol Regulations

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Alcohol Justice Reports Legislature Succumbs Again to Alcohol Lobby

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Alcohol Justice
released a new report today illustrating the effectiveness of Big Alcohol
lobbying on California state government at the end of the 2011-2012
legislative session.

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"Our legislature continues to pander to the well-healed interests of Big Alcohol
at the public's expense," stated Bruce Lee Livingston, Executive Director/CEO
of Alcohol Justice. "What they conveniently failed to see in 2012 is that
incremental alcohol deregulation increases alcohol-related harm and cost in the
state."

Alcohol Justice has estimated that $9 billion of the state's $38.4 billion
in annual alcohol-related harm is paid for by taxpayers. The incremental and
systematic weakening of regulations that limit access, availability, and
exposure to alcoholic beverages undermines public health and safety and drives
up the social and government costs. California's harmful alcohol legislation
can be grouped into two general categories: (1) bills that erode the regulatory
tiers, and (2) bills that expand access to alcoholic beverages and exposure to
advertising and marketing.

Industry-sponsored bills with negative implications for public health and safety
passed and signed into law during the California 2011-2012 session were:

AB 573 - Chesbro (D-Mendocino) - Loosens up wine sales by allowing wholesalers
to bring poorly selling wine back into the state.

SB 778 - Padilla (D-San Fernando Valley) - Allows alcohol producers and
suppliers, with enticements to nonprofits, to conduct prize sweepstakes.
Sponsored by the Wine Institute to promote brand awareness, with enticements to
non-profits.

SB 1531 - Wolk (D-Vacaville) - Proliferates alcohol licenses by changing how
they are counted.

AB 1320 - Allen (D-Napa) - Allows California ABC to increase number of on-sale
general licenses.

AB 2184 - Hall (D-Compton) - Allows for an "employee" (AKA celebrity sponsor) to
appear at a promotional event as a licensee and sign autographs.

AB 2349 - Nestande (R-Riverside) - Extends the power of Big Alcohol to the
retail level, by allowing for producers and wholesalers to advertise certain
retailers. This is a removal of tied house restrictions.

The biggest beneficiaries of the passage of these bills are the world's three
biggest alcohol producers - Anheuser-Busch InBev, MillerCoors, and Diageo - all
based outside the U.S.

"State by state, one legislative session after the next, Big Alcohol
systematically chips away at the regulatory structures," stated report
co-author Sarah Mart, Director of Research at Alcohol Justice. "While any
single policy victory for the industry may appear small in a given year, those
victories snowball over time. They ultimately sustain an environment where
ever-increasing alcohol sales and industry consolidation are allowed at public
expense."

To read the complete report, go to AlcoholJustice.org

Contact: Michael Scippa 415 548-0492
Jorge Castillo 213 840-3336

SOURCE Alcohol Justice