UPDATE (4/30/13): You know what’s happening. We need your support. Here is a template on what to say to Senators Fair, Shealy, and Bryant:
SUBJECT: Please Support H. 3554 & S. 423
Dear Senator,
As a fellow South Carolinian, I urge you to VOTE FOR H. 3554 & S. 423. This bill will amend the existing law so as to allow South Carolina breweries to sell up to sixty-four (64) ounces a day for on-premises consumption to a consumer.
On a weekly basis, there are thousands of craft beer enthusiasts that attend tours and tastings at the breweries. Many of these patrons are coming from surrounding States, as well as many reported foreign visitors. This is true of all of the breweries in South Carolina. With Asheville, North Carolina being named “Beer City, USA” three years running, many such craft beer enthusiasts are making the short trip down to South Carolina. In addition, Charleston continues to get tourism accolades as one of the best cities in America for its blossoming beer culture.
H. 3554 & S. 423 helps level the playing field as our neighboring State to the North has much more expansive laws. This has not only led to their boom in new local Breweries (now totals over 74 such), but has just recently landed the State two $100 million plus investments by West Coast Breweries that are moving East – New Belgium, and Sierra Nevada, with Oskar Blues also investing millions recently in Brevard. Unfortunately, these companies would not even consider our State due to our current law. However, a change in the law would provide a tremendous incentive for popular western breweries that would like to expand their operations to the east coast. This is certainly evident in Virginia, where a similar bill was recently passed which was instrumental in Green Flash Brewing’s decision to build an east coast branch of their San Diego brewery in Virginia Beach. The brewery will employ 40 people and will produce 100,000 barrels of beer annually. In North Carolina, New Belgium has a planned annual brewing capacity of 400,000 barrels and will hire 50 workers with an expected growth of 20 new hires for the first five years of operation. Sierra Nevada plans to start capacity at 300,000 barrels and employ 90 people. Oskar Blues is doing 40,000 barrels annually and employs dozens. For reference, the biggest South Carolina brewery produces 10,000 barrels a year.
Craft beer contributes millions of dollars to our state every year, and passing this bill will only help our economy by easing regulations on small business and creating incentives for entrepreneurs to get into the industry. South Carolina craft brewers are the perfect embodiment of values held by so many: small, local, value-added, innovative, and community-minded small businesses that provide a place to gather responsibly.
This bill will equate to a massive increase in the number of jobs, wages, and tax revenues, with associated spin-off benefits like the increasing sale of agricultural products.
This is a great bill for small business and for South Carolina. Please support this bill. Thank you.
Katrina Shealy
803-212-6056
Mike Fair
803-212-6240
Kevin Bryant
803-212-6320
OLD POST:
After last’s week hearing where the Pint Bill was too far down the agenda to debate, this week’s Senate Judiciary Committee meeting promises a discussion and probably a vote on the bill. As you’ll see from the agenda, the committee will continue to discuss issues involving concealed weapons. They’ll also take up the big box liquor store legislation prior to debating the Pint Bill. You can view the agenda for the meeting here: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/agendas/agns792.htm
As a reminder, the committee will not take public testimony. What will happen is just a full debate on the bill and then an up or down vote to move the bill to the full Senate. The committee will take up both the Senate and House versions of the bill. Although, it will be treated as the same bill. There will potentially be some discussion about amending the legislation. Potential amendments will be ones concerning enforcement or even a lessening of the 64 ounces proposed in the bill.
What else should you know? Well, when the bill clears committee, it requires two more readings in the Senate. One of those will involve a vote. Because the House version has already been passed, once there’s a vote to pass it in the Senate without amendments, it’s going to the Governor. We’re getting really close, folks. That’s why it is important to act now! If you haven’t already, there is still time for you to contact members of the committee. Here are the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and their respective emails:
Larry Martin
Brad Hutto
Vincent Sheheen
Shane Massey
Creighton Coleman
Floyd Nicholson
Chauncey Gregory
Sean Bennett
Greg Hembree
Thomas McElveen
Paul Thurmond
Tom Young
Luke Rankin
Gerald Malloy
George Campsen
Lee Bright
Shane Martin
John Scott
Karl Allen
Thomas Corbin
Kevin Johnson
Katrina Shealy
Ross Turner
If you need an idea of what to tell them, here’s an example:
SUBJECT: Please Support H. 3554 & S. 423
Dear Senator,
As a fellow South Carolinian, I urge you to VOTE FOR H. 3554 & S. 423. This bill will amend the existing law so as to allow South Carolina breweries to sell up to sixty-four (64) ounces a day for on-premises consumption to a consumer.
On a weekly basis, there are thousands of craft beer enthusiasts that attend tours and tastings at the breweries. Many of these patrons are coming from surrounding States, as well as many reported foreign visitors. This is true of all of the breweries in South Carolina. With Asheville, North Carolina being named “Beer City, USA” three years running, many such craft beer enthusiasts are making the short trip down to South Carolina. In addition, Charleston continues to get tourism accolades as one of the best cities in America for its blossoming beer culture.
H. 3554 & S. 423 helps level the playing field as our neighboring State to the North has much more expansive laws. This has not only led to their boom in new local Breweries (now totals over 74 such), but has just recently landed the State two $100 million plus investments by West Coast Breweries that are moving East – New Belgium, and Sierra Nevada, with Oskar Blues also investing millions recently in Brevard. Unfortunately, these companies would not even consider our State due to our current law. However, a change in the law would provide a tremendous incentive for popular western breweries that would like to expand their operations to the east coast. This is certainly evident in Virginia, where a similar bill was recently passed which was instrumental in Green Flash Brewing’s decision to build an east coast branch of their San Diego brewery in Virginia Beach. The brewery will employ 40 people and will produce 100,000 barrels of beer annually. In North Carolina, New Belgium has a planned annual brewing capacity of 400,000 barrels and will hire 50 workers with an expected growth of 20 new hires for the first five years of operation. Sierra Nevada plans to start capacity at 300,000 barrels and employ 90 people. Oskar Blues is doing 40,000 barrels annually and employs dozens. For reference, the biggest South Carolina brewery produces 10,000 barrels a year.
Craft beer contributes millions of dollars to our state every year, and passing this bill will only help our economy by easing regulations on small business and creating incentives for entrepreneurs to get into the industry. South Carolina craft brewers are the perfect embodiment of values held by so many: small, local, value-added, innovative, and community-minded small businesses that provide a place to gather responsibly.
This bill will equate to a massive increase in the number of jobs, wages, and tax revenues, with associated spin-off benefits like the increasing sale of agricultural products.
This is a great bill for small business and for South Carolina. Please support this bill. Thank you.
You can also watch today’s action or listen online at http://www.scstatehouse.gov/ and just follow the links on the right hand side of the page under Senate Meeting Schedule.
It’s a great time to contact your legislators. Use this tool to find them: http://www.scstatehouse.gov/legislatorssearch.php
If you need an explanation of the Pint Bill, then head here: https://beerofsc.com/2013/02/19/the-pint-bill-what-it-does-and-doesnt-do/
For the how-to pass the bill guide, head here: https://beerofsc.com/2013/02/20/passing-the-pint-bill-a-how-to-guide/
