---
title: SB 86. Alcoholic Beverages; retail dealers to offer discounts to consumers through premiums, coupons, or rebates on alcoholic beverages purchased for consumption off the premises; authorize
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb86
cite_as: SB 86, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb86
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb86.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb86/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69829
date: 2026-02-06
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 408
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb86.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 86
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-03
last_action: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
sponsors:
- Jason Anavitarte
- Frank Ginn
- Carden Summers
- John Albers
- Sally Harrell
- Shawn Still
- David Lucas
- Freddie Sims
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB86/2025
upstream_id: 1953030
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- alcohol sales
- liquor store regulations
- retail discounts
- alcoholic beverage law
---
# SB 86. Alcoholic Beverages; retail dealers to offer discounts to consumers through premiums, coupons, or rebates on alcoholic beverages purchased for consumption off the premises; authorize
## Text
The Senate Committee on Regulated Industries and Utilities offered the following
substitute to SB 86:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alcoholic beverages,
so as to authorize retail dealers to offer discounts to consumers through premiums, coupons,
or rebates on alcoholic beverages purchased for consumption off the premises; to provide for
a definition; to provide certain conditions and requirements for the offering of such
discounts; to increase the number of tasting events a retail package liquor store may conduct;
to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alcoholic beverages, is
amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"3-3-12.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term 'discount' means a lower price offered through
the use of a premium, coupon, or rebate.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any retail dealer may offer a discount on
alcoholic beverages sold for consumption off of the premises, provided that:
(1) Such discount is offered at all licensed premises owned or operated by the same retail
dealer;
(2) Such discount is not specific to any particular brand of alcoholic beverages;
(3) All costs related to any such discount, including, but not limited to, printing,
advertisement, redemption services, and the actual cost of the discount itself, are borne
solely by the retail dealer and shall not be directly or indirectly sourced from a
manufacturer premium, coupon, or rebate; and
(4) The discount does not result in any alcoholic beverages being sold at a price less than
the cost which such retail dealer paid for such alcoholic beverages. As used in this
paragraph, the term 'cost' means and includes the wholesale price plus the local excise tax
imposed, as reflected in invoices which the commissioner may require to be maintained
on the site of such retail dealer's place of business."
SECTION 2.
Said title is further amended by revising Code Section 3-15-2, relating to terms and
conditions for limited tasting events, as follows:
"3-15-2.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, in all counties and municipalities in which
the sale of alcoholic beverages is lawful, retail package liquor stores shall be authorized to
conduct up to 52 104 tasting events per calendar year, subject to the following terms and
conditions:
(1) A tasting event shall only take place on the licensed premises and only at times at
which such alcoholic beverages may be lawfully sold on such licensed premises;
(2) Only one tasting event per day may be held on the licensed premises and such tasting
event shall not exceed four hours;
(3) Only one type of alcoholic beverage may be served at a tasting event, either malt
beverages, wine, or distilled spirits; provided, however, that more than one brand of such
type of alcoholic beverage may be offered so long as not more than four packages are
open at any one time;
(4) If the tasting event is for malt beverages, a consumer shall not be served more than
eight ounces of malt beverages during such tasting event. If the tasting event is for wine,
a consumer shall not be served more than five ounces of wine during such tasting event.
If the tasting event is for distilled spirits, a consumer shall not be served more than one
and one-half ounces of distilled spirits during such tasting event;
(5) Only alcoholic beverages that the licensee is licensed to sell on the licensed premises
may be offered as part of a tasting event, and such alcoholic beverages shall be part of the
licensee's inventory;
(6) Only food that is lawful to sell on the licensed premises, under this title or under any
rules or regulations of the commissioner, may be served as part of a tasting event. Such
food shall be offered at no cost to the consumer;
(7) Any operator or employee of the licensee may refuse to provide any brand, type, or
quantity of alcoholic beverage to any consumer;
(8) The licensee shall notify the governing authority of the county or municipality in
which the licensed premises is located prior to holding a tasting event;
(9) Any broken package containing alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises that is
not licensed for retail sales for consumption on the premises shall be kept locked in a
secure room or cabinet by the operator of the licensed premises except when in use
during a tasting event;
(10) Representatives and salespersons of manufacturers or wholesalers may attend a
tasting event; provided, however, that such representatives and salespersons shall not host
the tasting event, pour any alcoholic beverage, or provide anything of value to any
consumer or to the licensee or an employee of a licensee; and
(11) Any other terms, conditions, and limitations as may be required or imposed by the
governing authority of the county or municipality in which the licensed premises is
located."
SECTION 3.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 4.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia Senate bill would let retail stores offer discounts, coupons, or rebates on alcohol sold for off-premises consumption, and would double the number of in-store tasting events package liquor stores can hold each year.
### Plain-language summary
Currently Georgia law restricts how retail alcohol dealers can lower prices for consumers, and package liquor stores are limited to 52 in-store tasting events per year. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's alcoholic beverage code (O.C.G.A. Title 3) allowing any retail dealer to offer discounts through premiums, coupons, or rebates on alcohol sold for consumption off the premises, as long as several conditions are met.
The discount must apply at all of that dealer's licensed locations, cannot favor one brand, must be paid for entirely by the retailer rather than funded by a manufacturer, and cannot bring the sale price below what the retailer paid (wholesale price plus local excise tax). Separately, the bill raises the annual cap on tasting events at retail package liquor stores from 52 to 104 per year, while keeping existing rules like one event per day, a four-hour limit, and pour-size caps. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
### What it does
- Creates a new Georgia code section (3-3-12) letting retail alcohol dealers offer discounts through premiums, coupons, or rebates on alcohol sold for off-site consumption.
- Requires any such discount to be offered at all of a retail dealer's licensed locations and to not favor a specific alcohol brand.
- Bars retailers from funding these discounts using money from alcohol manufacturers, requiring the retailer to bear all related costs itself.
- Prohibits discounts that would sell alcohol below the retailer's actual cost, defined as wholesale price plus local excise tax.
- Doubles the number of tasting events a retail package liquor store may hold each year from 52 to 104, while keeping existing per-event rules unchanged.
- Sets the effective date as the day the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without a signature.
### Who it affects
Retail dealers of alcoholic beverages in Georgia, including package liquor stores, along with alcohol manufacturers and wholesalers whose promotional practices are restricted, and consumers who buy alcohol for consumption off the premises where they buy it.
### Why it matters
Retail dealers could advertise price breaks like coupons or rebates on alcohol taken home, something current law does not clearly allow, while manufacturers would remain barred from subsidizing those discounts. Liquor stores could also host twice as many tasting events each year, giving customers more chances to sample products in store.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 3-3-12, defining 'discount' as a lower price offered through a premium, coupon, or rebate.
- Section 1 requires that any discount be offered uniformly across all of a retail dealer's licensed premises and not target a specific brand.
- Section 1 requires the retail dealer to bear all costs of the discount itself, with no direct or indirect funding from a manufacturer.
- Section 1 bars discounts that would sell alcohol below the retailer's cost, defined as wholesale price plus local excise tax, based on invoices the commissioner may require on site.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 3-15-2 to raise the annual limit on retail package liquor store tasting events from 52 to 104.
- Section 3 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval, or the date the bill becomes law without approval.
- Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-03)
- Last action: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-02-06)
- Sponsors: Jason Anavitarte, Frank Ginn, Carden Summers, John Albers, Sally Harrell, Shawn Still, David Lucas, Freddie Sims
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69829
> The history, votes, and amendments (408 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb86.md?full=1