H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Discussion and plans for legalizing our hobby.

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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Badmotivator »

Hank Reardon wrote: ...elite media...
Sorry, I wasn't specific in my suggestion. Local media is what I was thinking. Local TV stations, local newspapers, local weeklies, local magazines.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Hank Reardon »

I think the dreaded current drama-umentary (for lack of a better description) that drives interest in the hobby has done that to some degree. Lots of craft places opened, opening, and being planned by those who saw an episode however many years ago they started.

However badly done it is, it does drive people toward the "light". :)
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by jb-texshine »

Hank Reardon wrote: drama-umentary (for lack of a better description)
i think they call them docudramas
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by LWTCS »

Just got this email from the ACSA:

"12 U.S. SENATORS INTRODUCE BILL TO REDUCE FET FOR CRAFT DISTILLERS



Today, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced S. 236, legislation to reduce the Federal Excise Tax (FET) for craft distillers from $13.50 to $2.70 on the first 100,000 proof gallons. Ten other Senators joined them on the first day of introduction. The legislation would also provide a FET rate of $13.34 per proof gallon for the next 22,130,000 proof gallons of distilled spirits. Additionally, the bill would allow distillers to transfer spirits in approved containers smaller than one gallon in bond without payment of tax, similar to wine and beer.



“This is a major step forward in tax parity for the craft distilling industry” said Margie A.S.Lehrman, Executive Director of the ACSA. “The U.S. Senate recognizes our fast growing industry and the impact we are having on main street job growth, tourism, manufacturing, and agriculture. The fact that this is one of the first bills to be introduced in the new Congress is a major step forward for our industry and recognition of the efforts ACSA members have made over the past several years in highlighting the need for this bill. We hope that this legislation can be enacted in 2017 so that we can bring tax and regulatory relief to our small businesses as soon as possible.”



ACSA members, state guilds, and suppliers, together with all friends of the industry, will be called upon to continue our work to urge Congress to support this legislation."

Is anything from HDA pinned to this Rick or Tom?
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Brewhaus »

I have contacted our lobbyist to get more information.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by jb-texshine »

Oh let it be the one!!!!
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Brewhaus »

Unfortunately, we are not part of the text in the bill referenced above. Senate Finance says that they still want to see us in there in some way, but there are a couple of parties (with power and deep pockets) that do not. They have not been responsive to working with us to find a middle ground, but we are continuing to push the issue.

There are two things that we all need to do if we are going to have any hope of success. First, contact your Senators and House Representative, and make sure that they hear you. Second, help us in finding ways to continue financing this effort so that we can see it through. That can be anything from helping to get the word out to people willing to donate to our GoFundMe campaign, or suggesting other avenues of funding. Our lobbyist succeeded in getting our cause known all over the Hill, and even had us included on the previous bill. We need to keep him working for us in order to have hope for success.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Rick Martin »

I read all the pages last night and did not know how close things are. So the first thing I did was to hit the button below and made a donation. Then I signed up on HDA. Then I wrote both Senators asking them to vote Yes on their appropriate bill. Then ask a few trusted people to do the same. Is there anything else I can do?
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by fortbuilder825 »

Dear Senator [Lastname],

As a [resident of my state] I am proud to call you my senator.
Last legislative session there was a bill I followed with great interest,
SB 1562 (114th Congress). I was very encouraged by the number of
co-sponsors this bill had, showing broad bipartisan support. Sadly, this
bill – which would have made legal the home distillation of alcohol never
made it out of committee.

Senator Wyden of Oregon has now introduced SB. 236, which has similarities
to the previously mentioned bill, except it doesn’t make home distillation
legal. I ask that you please amend this bill to fix that problem.

Currently, it is legal to make our own wine and to make our own beer. We
can posses products with alcohol, and we can posses distilled alcohol.
However, the process of taking the legal alcohol out of the legal wine or
beer is forbidden to us, in a holdover of prohibition-era regulation.

I thank you for your time and attention to this matter, please help not
only reduce needless regulation but also allow home distillation to do for
the economy what home winemaking and home brewing has.

Sincerely,
xxxxxxxxxxxx
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Brewhaus »

Thank you very much, Rick. It all helps, and is much appreciated. :D
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Rick Martin »

Fortbuilder that was beautiful


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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Brewhaus »

Excellent letter, Fortbuilder! Brief, to the point, and states why the law, as it is, is simply not sensible.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Rick Martin »

I just sent Fortbuilder,s letter to my Senator.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Rick Martin »

Is there any way to inform all the members about this? I am sure most sure unaware as I was till last night.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by TxBrewing »

Time to copy paste and donate


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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by nerdybrewer »

Rick Martin wrote:Is there any way to inform all the members about this? I am sure most sure unaware as I was till last night.
One way would be to add it to your signature - something like:

Support the HDA - working to make Home Distilling legal.
https://www.hobbydistillersassociation.org/

Donate by becoming a member or give to the cause here:
https://www.gofundme.com/federally-lega ... distilling
Cranky's spoonfeeding:
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=52975

Time and Oak will sort it out.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Rick Martin »

nerdybrewer wrote:
Rick Martin wrote:Is there any way to inform all the members about this? I am sure most sure unaware as I was till last night.
One way would be to add it to your signature - something like:

Support the HDA - working to make Home Distilling legal.
https://www.hobbydistillersassociation.org/

Donate by becoming a member or give to the cause here:
https://www.gofundme.com/federally-lega ... distilling

Thanks I just did
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by masonsjax »

Who are these other parties that want prohibition to continue? Can they be reasoned with? Can we buy them a drink and ask them to lighten up? Can we slap them with a dead trout?
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Rick Martin »

My guess is those companies that make the nasty spirits that we are stuck with in the stores. They don't want people to try something real good at an affordable price.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by fortbuilder825 »

Can't they see that home brewing didn't hurt the InBevs of the world, and it increased the economy via craft brewers.
Home distillation will do the same.


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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Bushman »

masonsjax wrote: Can we slap them with a dead trout?
That reminds me of a story when I was commercial fishing but that would take the thread off topic. This might be a good time to write those letters as it would be a refreshing decision the senators can make with today's political climate that both sides can agree on.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by nickbbb »

If memory serves me right, a local Distillery is one that has gone publicly against legalizaton. The person in short said that he had to spend lots of time, money, and effort to travel to the "hometowns" of liquors, and they don't feel that it's right that people would be able to just do it in their garage. AGAIN THIS IS IF MY MEMORY SERVES ME RIGHT! I may have had a whisky or 2 since I heard this.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by Rick Martin »

I guess he is afraid of what he sees as competition
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by TxBrewing »

Not sure if it was right, but because my home of record is Texas and my current state of residence is Colorado....

I sent out a lot of letters just now

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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by AB Normal »

Sent this off today - thanks for the base text fortbuilder. I'd humbly suggest that we mention that we're not looking to sell product and we're not looking to produce a gazillion gallons (Missouri - 100 gallons per adult, up to 200 gallons per household). Keep in mind we're dealing with lawyers who enjoy a tasty drop themselves so it probably wouldn't hurt to strategically insert the word 'craft' here & there.

Dear Senator Blunt,

As a Missourian I am proud to call you my senator. Last legislative session there was a bill I followed with great interest, SB 1562 (114th Congress). I was very encouraged by the number of co-sponsors this bill had, showing broad bipartisan support. Unfortunately this bill – which would have made legal the small-scale home craft distillation of alcohol - never made it out of committee.

You and Senator Wyden of Oregon have now introduced SB 236, the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017, which has similarities to the previously mentioned bill except that it doesn’t currently address the legality of home distillation. I ask that you please amend the bill to address this topic.

Currently, it is legal to make our own wine and to make our own beer. We can possess products with alcohol, and we can possess distilled alcohol. However, the process of taking the legal alcohol out of the legal wine or beer is forbidden to us under Federal law, in a holdover of prohibition-era regulation. Please note that the State of Missouri has taken great strides to eliminate these archaic laws at the state level.

The provisions of previous bill 1562 retained prohibitions against the sale of unlicensed home-crafted beverages, similar to laws concerning home brewing and winemaking. Those of us with similar interests believe this remains a common-sense approach, as would a limit to the amount of product based on the number of household adults. Missouri statute concerning this topic is often cited as model legislation.

I thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Please help to not only reduce needless regulation but to also allow home distillation to do for Missouri's economy what home winemaking and home brewing has.

Sincerely,
[Redacted]
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by fortbuilder825 »

AB Normal wrote:Sent this off today - thanks for the base text fortbuilder. I'd humbly suggest that we mention that we're not looking to sell product and we're not looking to produce a gazillion gallons (Missouri - 100 gallons per adult, up to 200 gallons per household). Keep in mind we're dealing with lawyers who enjoy a tasty drop themselves so it probably wouldn't hurt to strategically insert the word 'craft' here & there.

Dear Senator Blunt,

As a Missourian I am proud to call you my senator. Last legislative session there was a bill I followed with great interest, SB 1562 (114th Congress). I was very encouraged by the number of co-sponsors this bill had, showing broad bipartisan support. Unfortunately this bill – which would have made legal the small-scale home craft distillation of alcohol - never made it out of committee.

You and Senator Wyden of Oregon have now introduced SB 236, the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017, which has similarities to the previously mentioned bill except that it doesn’t currently address the legality of home distillation. I ask that you please amend the bill to address this topic.

Currently, it is legal to make our own wine and to make our own beer. We can possess products with alcohol, and we can possess distilled alcohol. However, the process of taking the legal alcohol out of the legal wine or beer is forbidden to us under Federal law, in a holdover of prohibition-era regulation. Please note that the State of Missouri has taken great strides to eliminate these archaic laws at the state level.

The provisions of previous bill 1562 retained prohibitions against the sale of unlicensed home-crafted beverages, similar to laws concerning home brewing and winemaking. Those of us with similar interests believe this remains a common-sense approach, as would a limit to the amount of product based on the number of household adults. Missouri statute concerning this topic is often cited as model legislation.

I thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Please help to not only reduce needless regulation but to also allow home distillation to do for Missouri's economy what home winemaking and home brewing has.

Sincerely,
[Redacted]
Excellent!
I'm asking friends and family to also send emails. I'll give them this as a template.


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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by AB Normal »

Thanks Fortbuilder.

Just as an aside, Senator Blunt's office was the location of a protest today regarding recent actions of a certain person in DC so the Senator might be somewhat distracted with other matters at the moment.

But for us members in Missouri, our own Senator introduced this bill. Let's get off our asses. Ditto for you guys in Oregon.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by AB Normal »

fortbuilder825 wrote:
AB Normal wrote:Sent this off today - thanks for the base text fortbuilder. I'd humbly suggest that we mention that we're not looking to sell product and we're not looking to produce a gazillion gallons (Missouri - 100 gallons per adult, up to 200 gallons per household). Keep in mind we're dealing with lawyers who enjoy a tasty drop themselves so it probably wouldn't hurt to strategically insert the word 'craft' here & there.

Dear Senator Blunt,
...
Currently, it is legal to make our own wine and to make our own beer. We can possess products with alcohol, and we can possess distilled alcohol. However, the process of taking the legal alcohol out of the legal wine or beer is forbidden to us under Federal law, in a holdover of prohibition-era regulation. Please note that the State of Missouri has taken great strides to eliminate these archaic laws at the state level.

The provisions of previous bill 1562 retained prohibitions against the sale of unlicensed home-crafted beverages, similar to laws concerning home brewing and winemaking. Those of us with similar interests believe this remains a common-sense approach, as would a limit to the amount of product based on the number of household adults. Missouri statute concerning this topic is often cited as model legislation.

...


Excellent!
I'm asking friends and family to also send emails. I'll give them this as a template.


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So I appreciate that there's a wide spectrum of opinions regarding terms of legalization of our hobby. In that letter I assumed that a Missouri senator might view legislation passed by his own state & party favorably, which for Missouri means - 100 gallons spirits per adult per year, 200 max per household. That's for household consumption. Anyone think that's unreasonably low?

IIRC, last year's bill called for a boiler size limit - I think it was in the neighborhood of 15.5 gallons, but I don't recall if it specified any limits on annual production.

I'm kinda curious what realistic self-imposed boundaries you folks would suggest to make legalization more palatable to Congress in the interest of getting something done this year. Did some searching but couldn't find anything on that topic here.
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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by fortbuilder825 »

AB Normal wrote:
fortbuilder825 wrote:
AB Normal wrote:Sent this off today - thanks for the base text fortbuilder. I'd humbly suggest that we mention that we're not looking to sell product and we're not looking to produce a gazillion gallons (Missouri - 100 gallons per adult, up to 200 gallons per household). Keep in mind we're dealing with lawyers who enjoy a tasty drop themselves so it probably wouldn't hurt to strategically insert the word 'craft' here & there.

Dear Senator Blunt,
...
Currently, it is legal to make our own wine and to make our own beer. We can possess products with alcohol, and we can possess distilled alcohol. However, the process of taking the legal alcohol out of the legal wine or beer is forbidden to us under Federal law, in a holdover of prohibition-era regulation. Please note that the State of Missouri has taken great strides to eliminate these archaic laws at the state level.

The provisions of previous bill 1562 retained prohibitions against the sale of unlicensed home-crafted beverages, similar to laws concerning home brewing and winemaking. Those of us with similar interests believe this remains a common-sense approach, as would a limit to the amount of product based on the number of household adults. Missouri statute concerning this topic is often cited as model legislation.

...


Excellent!
I'm asking friends and family to also send emails. I'll give them this as a template.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


So I appreciate that there's a wide spectrum of opinions regarding terms of legalization of our hobby. In that letter I assumed that a Missouri senator might view legislation passed by his own state & party favorably, which for Missouri means - 100 gallons spirits per adult per year, 200 max per household. That's for household consumption. Anyone think that's unreasonably low?

IIRC, last year's bill called for a boiler size limit - I think it was in the neighborhood of 15.5 gallons, but I don't recall if it specified any limits on annual production.

I'm kinda curious what realistic self-imposed boundaries you folks would suggest to make legalization more palatable to Congress in the interest of getting something done this year. Did some searching but couldn't find anything on that topic here.


I think the Missouri standard is better. This is what the previous bill said (which still would have me doing backflips for joy).

“(i) IN GENERAL.—A home distillery establishment shall be treated as producing distilled spirits for personal or family use if—

“(I) any stills or distilling apparatuses contained in such establishment have a mash capacity of not greater than 15.5 gallons,

“(II) such establishment produces no more than—

“(aa) in the case of a household with 1 adult, 24 proof gallons of distilled spirits during the calendar year, or

“(bb) in the case of a household with 2 or more adults, 48 proof gallons of distilled spirits during the calendar year, and

“(III) no distilled spirits produced by such establishment are sold to any person, or transferred to any person (for payment or otherwise) for sale by such person.



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Re: H.R. 2903 is up to 83 co-sponsors...

Post by fortbuilder825 »

That reads to me that you're allowed a maximum of 48 proof gallons if you have two adults. Not 24 per adult, but if there's three adults it's still 48 proof gallons.
Which is a fair amount.


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