HB 718: Women's Golf Week; first week of April each year; provide

This bill's caption still refers to Women's Golf Week, but the actual substitute text replaces that subject entirely. The substitute amends Georgia's alcohol law (O.C.G.A. § 3-5-24.1), which lets brewers sell malt beverages directly to individuals at their licensed brewing premises. The bill creates a new category called a satellite tasting room, a separate retail location under the same ownership as the brewer, where the brewer can sell beer to the public even though no brewing happens there. A brewer could operate up to two such rooms. Unlike sales at the actual brewery, beer sold at a satellite tasting room must come from a licensed wholesaler rather than being transferred directly from the brewery, and each room must offer some educational feature like tastings or brewery history displays. Rulemaking provisions take effect upon the Governor's signature, while the rest of the law takes effect July 1, 2026.

• Creates a new licensed category, the satellite tasting room, letting brewers sell beer to the public at a location separate from where the beer is actually brewed.
• Limits each brewer to operating up to two satellite tasting rooms, each subject to registration, reporting, and inspection rules set by the state commissioner.
• Requires that all beer sold at a satellite tasting room be bought from a licensed wholesaler rather than transferred straight from the brewer's own licensed premises.
• Requires each satellite tasting room to offer at least one educational feature, such as guided tastings, brand history, or ingredient displays.
• Extends existing tax remittance and sales-hours rules that apply to on-site brewery sales to also cover sales made at satellite tasting rooms.
• Sets rulemaking authority to take effect as soon as the Governor signs the bill, with the rest of the law taking effect July 1, 2026.

Georgia craft brewers and brewery owners who want to open additional retail tasting locations, licensed beer wholesalers who would supply those satellite locations, and the state revenue commissioner's office, which will write and enforce the new registration and inspection rules.

Brewers currently can only sell directly to the public at the physical site where they brew. This change would let them open small retail outlets elsewhere to reach more customers, while still requiring that beer sold there flow through a licensed wholesaler rather than bypassing the normal three-tier distribution system.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 3-5-24.1 to define 'satellite tasting room' as a separate location under common ownership with the brewer, distinct from the licensed brewing premises.
• New subsection (h) caps satellite tasting rooms at two per brewer and requires they be licensed and subject to commissioner-set registration, reporting, and inspection rules.
• Subsection (h)(1) requires beer sold at a satellite tasting room to be purchased from a licensed wholesaler, not transferred directly from the brewer's licensed premises.
• Subsection (h)(2) limits sales to brands the brewer solely owns, matching the existing rule for on-site brewery sales.
• Subsection (h)(3) requires each satellite tasting room to provide at least one educational experience, such as brewery history or guided tastings.
• Existing sales-hours and tax-remittance rules in subsections (d) and (e) are extended to cover sales made under the new subsection (h).
• Section 2 sets rulemaking authority effective upon the Governor's approval, with the rest of the Act effective July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-03-23Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
2. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)
3. 2026-01-12Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
4. 2025-04-02Senate Tabled (Senate)
5. 2025-03-21Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
6. 2025-03-20Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-10Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-06House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Sheila Jones (D, HD-060)Primary sponsor
• Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2025

   174 yea, 1 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #235

• alcohol licensing
• craft breweries
• beer sales law
• tourism and retail