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Relating to the continuation and functions of the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission.
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1545, Committee Report 1st House, Substituted: a negative impact of ($4,459,205) through the biennium ending August 31, 2021.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of
funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Note that this is a brief summary of major provisions of a 300+ page bill, not a comprehensive list of all its provisions. Please view the full bill text for additional information.
HB 1545 is the sunset review bill for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The bill extends TABC's operations until 2031 and would make various changes to the operation of the Commission, such as altering training requirements and repealing the requirement that the Commission biannually report to the Legislature on the Commission's enforcement efforts concerning alcoholic consumption and prohibited sales.
The bill would additionally repeal a host of permits and licenses issued by the Commission, would merge some other permits and licenses and would alter the composition of the Commission as well as its administration. The bill would also overhaul the permit application and protest process by taking discretionary power away from the Commission to grant or refuse applications and requiring the Commission to adopt a specific application and protest process.
The bill would uniformly regulate malt beverages in the same manner as beer by eliminating the distinctions between beer and ale/malt liquor and redefining "malt beverage". The bill would also require the Commission to review all fees for permits, licenses etc. and ensure and adjust the amount of the fees if necessary to ensure that costs are fairly allocated.
Texas Action supports HB 1545 for promoting the principles of limited government, individual liberty and free markets. While the bill may not be perfect, it introduces a host of positive changes to TABC including de-regulation and de-licensing reform in addition to revised fees etc. On balance we believe these provisions make the bill a net positive compared to the status quo.
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