LOBBYIST REPORT

The 2024 legislative session will begin January 8, 2024. The Arizona Legislature

convenes each year on the second Monday in January to meet in regular session.

The purpose of the regular session is to have Arizona legislators consider any

changes to Arizona’s laws and to appropriate money for the operation of State

government. While some states put limits on the length of their legislative

sessions, Arizona does not. Therefore, the legislative session ends only when the

Legislature deems that their work is done and does not end on any specific date.

In recent years, the sessions have extended until the end of June, with the 2023

session extending until July 30.

For liquor legislation, the common committees in which liquor bills are considered

in the House and Senate are the Commerce Committees. These committees

meet weekly throughout the session and generally consider all business – related

legislation introduced in the Legislature, as well as licensing – related proposals

for individuals and entities. It is in those committees that bills are presented and

considered in formal hearings. In these committees, testimony is presented on

the bills, and the bills are often further amended with additional recommendations.

The 2024 legislative session will be a little bit different. While the House maintains

its Commerce Committee chaired by Representative Justin Wilmeth, the Senate

has eliminated their Commerce Committee. As a result, it is believed that liquor

legislation will be considered in the Senate by the Senate Finance Committee,

chaired by Senator J.D. Mesnard.

It is our understanding that Representative Matt Gress intends to be the sponsor

of the 2024 omnibus liquor bill. That means that the bill will be considered first in

the House of Representatives, assigned to the House Commerce Committee.

Assuming that the omnibus liquor bill successfully passes through the House of

Representatives, it will then begin the same process again in the Senate.

ALBA will closely follow the introduction of the bill, the assignment to Committee,

the Committee hearings and the following legislative process. We will report

progress in the ALBA newsletter.

Although not “official“, every year at the Arizona Legislature there has traditionally been a

“liquor omnibus bill.” This is a bill that is the result of the entire industry collaborating

necessary changes to Arizona’s liquor laws, and then developing a consensus list of

changes. Any objection by any member of the group removes the legislative item from the

omnibus bill. The particular liquor interest can still have that separate subject introduced as a

separate bill, but it no longer carries the title of a provision of the omnibus bill.

It is important for supporters of liquor industry measures to have their requested provisions in

the omnibus bill, because the omnibus bill carries a certain amount of weight as having been

pre-approved by the entire industry and at least not opposed by the DLLC.

Work on the 2024 omnibus bill began this past September. The industry group formulating the

bill has met three times and will meet one more time in December. While the specific terms of

the bill have not been formally adopted as yet, here are some of the provisions that will likely

be included in the legislation:

• Clarification of the temporary extension of premises, adopting recommendations by the DLLC and by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns;
• Permitting series 6 and nine licenses to be “stacked.” This will allow both licenses to be sited simultaneously in place in a specific premise. While ALBA and the Arizona Food Marketing Alliance (grocery stores and convenience stores) are generally opposed to stacking, as a shortcut around valuable 6, 7 and 9 licenses, they do not oppose this stacking proposal, as it involves two quota licenses;
• Clarification for use of sampling requirements in series 9 establishments, including the degree, to which the sampling area needs to be separated from the remainder of the premises.

Possibly, also, there may be other proposed changes as well. We will write again when the

omnibus bill has been finalized. One proposed change would allow craft brewers to have their

product made by another brewer, under certain specified conditions. Secondly, there is a

proposal to make a change in the “cocktails to go” program that would allow a restaurant to

continue to operate in the program if 90% of its receipts were from food, even though its “to

go” alcohol receipts exceeded 30% of the overall receipts of the restaurant. There has not yet

been agreement by the liquor omnibus group on these two proposals, and they may or may

not be included in the final draft of the liquor omnibus bill.

Respectfully,

Don Isaacson
ISAACSON LAW FIRM, P.C.