SF 1176
Author: Koran
Co-Authors: Draheim, Kiffmeyer, Nelson
HF 1192
Author: Olson
Co-Authors: Becker-Finn, Morrison, Nash, Boldon, Heinrich, Boe, Hollins, Franke, Feist, Novotny, Jordan, Poston, Keeler, Her, Xiong, Acomb, Anderson
TOP-LEVEL DETAILS
The Drink Local Economic Recovery Act will:
- Allow all breweries to sell beer to-go in cans, bottles, and growlers up to 64oz, with a per person/day purchase limit of 768oz (and an annual limit of 750 bbls)
- Allow brewpubs to distribute up to 200 barrels of their own product
- Allow cideries to have more access to the market through up to 75,000 gallons of self-distribution
- Create more standard taxation for cideries/wineries to align with federal statute
- Allow distilleries to sell up to 1.5 liters per person/day
- Allow bars and restaurants to permanently sell limited amounts of beer (72oz), wine (1 bottle), and cocktails (34oz) to go with take-out orders
- Allow liquor stores & bars/restaurant to fill growlers
How will these changes help?
- Put 100,000+ food & beverage workers who were furloughed and laid-off due to the pandemic back in their jobs
- Allow these small/family-owned businesses to recover faster
- Support economic recovery throughout the state through increased sales tax revenue, increased tourism, and an increase in employment for this year and years to come
- Move Minnesota out of last place when it comes to liquor laws
Quick Facts About Each Industry Group and the Impact of the Drink Local Package
Bars & Restaurants
- Bars and restaurants saw a reduction in staff of 61.97% and 39.55%, respectively, in 2020. With COVID restrictions in place, 93% of these establishments reported negative financial health.
- The Drink Local Package will expand the current temporary alcohol-to-go options for bars and restaurants and allow cocktails to-go (for at-home consumption) with food orders. Further, it will give bars and restaurants the opportunity to give customers a safe, at-home dining experience.
Breweries
- There were nearly 200 breweries in MN employing more than 4,500 prior to the pandemic. Several breweries have closed permanently, while many more have shut down until they can be open at a larger capacity. Last year left many with a revenue loss between 25-75% and a job loss of 28.43%.
- The Drink Local Package will support every single brewery & brewpub in the state. They will be able to sell beer in the most appropriate containers, brewpubs will have the ability to distribute, and all breweries will see a reduction in label registration fees.
Cideries & Wineries
- The wine industry, which includes cidermakers, saw a reduction of 12.11% in it’s workforce last year. Wineries that rely on tourism and events lost revenue due to the restrictions. Cideries pivoted to consumer sales directly from their taprooms, but due to the lack of ability to self-distribute, the loss in on-premise consumption led to significant revenue loss.
- The Drink Local Package will conform the state statute to the federal statute when it comes to taxes and ingredient usage requirements. It will allow self-distribution for wine manufacturers and raise the cap that prevents those same wineries from receiving excise tax credits after producing 75,000 gallons.
Distilleries
- In 2019 the distilling industry boasted nearly 450 jobs, seeing a reduction of 23.87% of their workforce in 2020. Due to the pandemic, many distilleries pivoted to supporting communities through creating hand sanitizer. They relied on liquor store sales with regional/national brands.
- The Drink Local Package will allow distilleries to increase production and sell products to customers in the most appropriate bottle. These changes will also enable MN to move out of last place when it comes to distillery off-sale. This could potentially quadruple the sales tax paid to the state through distillery off-sale if customers are allowed to purchase 1.5 liters instead of 375ml.
Statistical data provided by MN Department of Employment & Economic Development and Hospitality Minnesota. Job loss was compared year over year for Quarter 2 of 2019 and 2020. Winery statistics (which includes cideries) were compared using Quarter 3 as Quarter 2 statistics were not yet available for 2020.