HB 581: Georgia Craft Brewery Innovation and Survival Act; enact

Georgia currently limits how much beer brewers can sell directly to the public and requires beer to move through wholesalers before reaching retailers, with some exceptions for brewers selling on their own premises. This bill, called the Georgia Craft Brewery Innovation and Survival Act, changes several of those rules. It lets brewers and brewpubs donate beer directly to nonprofit organizations holding a charitable event permit, with rules on how much can be donated and how leftover beer must be returned. It removes the daily ounce limit on beer sold for off-premises consumption at a brewery, matching the already-unlimited on-premises sales. It creates a new category called a 'small brewer' (one whose sales to its wholesaler are 15 percent or less of that wholesaler's total sales) and lets those small brewers sell up to 3,000 barrels a year directly to nearby retailers, bypassing the usual wholesaler requirement. It also updates tax reporting rules to cover donated beer and requires small brewers to use tracking software for taxes.

• Creates a new 'small brewer' definition (O.C.G.A. § 3-1-2) for brewers whose sales to their wholesaler make up 15 percent or less of that wholesaler's total annual sales.
• Allows brewers and brewpubs to directly donate malt beverages to nonprofit organizations holding a charitable event permit, with conditions on quantity, return of unused beer, and transport (new Code Section 3-5-6).
• Removes the 288-ounce daily limit on beer sales for off-premises consumption at a brewery, so those sales are no longer capped per day (O.C.G.A. § 3-5-24.1).
• Lets small brewers sell up to 3,000 barrels of beer per year directly to retailers within 100 miles, bypassing the usual wholesaler-based distribution system (new Code Section 3-5-24.2).
• Requires small brewers making direct wholesale-style sales to use electronic accounting software capable of tracking and remitting state and local taxes.
• Updates excise tax payment and reporting rules to account for donated beer, requiring brewers and brewpubs to pay taxes on beer they donate under the new charity provision.

Craft brewers and brewpubs in Georgia, especially smaller ones that qualify as 'small brewers'; licensed beer wholesalers and retailers; nonprofit organizations that hold charitable event permits and want to serve donated beer; and state and local tax officials who collect excise taxes on beer sales and donations.

Small and mid-sized Georgia breweries would gain new ways to sell directly to customers and nearby retailers without going through a wholesaler first, and could donate beer to charity events. This could increase revenue options for smaller breweries while requiring new tax tracking and reporting.

• Section 2 adds a 'small brewer' definition to O.C.G.A. § 3-1-2, based on sales to a wholesaler being 15 percent or less of that wholesaler's total sales.
• Section 3 creates new Code Section 3-5-6 allowing direct beer donations to charitable event permit holders, with a 24-hour return window for unused donated beer.
• Section 4 removes the daily maximum for off-premises beer sales at a brewery's licensed premises under O.C.G.A. § 3-5-24.1, while keeping the 6,000 barrel annual cap.
• Section 5 creates new Code Section 3-5-24.2, letting small brewers sell up to 3,000 barrels per year directly to retailers within 100 miles and requiring electronic tax-tracking software.
• Section 6 revises O.C.G.A. § 3-5-27 on contraband beer to add an exception for beer handled under the new provisions of this chapter.
• Section 7 revises O.C.G.A. § 3-5-81 so excise taxes and reporting requirements also apply to beer donated under the new charitable donation provision.

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• Leesa Hagan (R, HD-156)Primary sponsor
• Marcus Wiedower (R, HD-121)
• Charles Cannon (R, HD-172)
• Yasmin Neal (D, HD-079)
• Tyler Smith (R, HD-018)

• craft breweries
• alcohol regulation
• small business
• beer sales law
• charitable donations