Who Are The Greedy Ones?
February 20, 2008 – 9:40 am
“All they care about is their own greed, about selling wine.”
One must be struck by the extraordinary disregard some people have for their own integrity.
On Monday, the state of Maryland heard testimony in committee on HB 1260, a bill that would allow wineries and retailers both inside Maryland and outside Maryland to sell and ship wine directly to Marylanders. The bill is being pushed by Scott Ehlers, executive director of Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws and the bill’s sponsor Senator Sen. Jamie B. Raskin.
The usual course of a bill is that it is heard by a committee. The Committee votes on whether to send the bill on to the full legislature for a vote. When bills don’t become laws it’s usually because they “die” in committee either because they don’t come to a vote or the committee votes not to send it to the legislature for a vote.
This is why it’s most often in these committees where you hear the most extreme sort of rhetoric from opponents and proponents of a bill. This committee hearing was no exception.
Before commenting on the accusation of greed by wineries made by Bruce C. Bereano, a lobbyist for Licensed Beverage Distributors of Maryland, let’s first review the situation in Maryland.
In Maryland it is illegal for any wine to be sold that does not first go through the hands of a Maryland distributor. Put another way, a very small set of private company’s are in a position of authorizing who may do business in Maryland. Usually it is the state that issues things like permits or licenses for people to do business. In Maryland, it’s distributors who have complete say as to which wineries may do business in the state and which wines a Marylander may purchase. (no, believe it or not, this isn’t the part about “greed”).
Put another way, if Maryland distributors don’t want to carry a wine from an out of state winery, that winery may not do business in the state because it may not sell its wines directly to consumers, to retailer or to consumers, no matter how much their wines may be desired. I wonder when Maryland decided that it would cede its oversight of alcohol sales to distributors?
One would think that if you are going to give a very small, but powerful cartel of distributors total say over alcohol distribution in the state, if you are going to guarantee that this cartel get a 33% cut of every bottle of alcohol sold in the state whether they do anything to earn it, you might at least mandate that wholesalers be required to accept do business with any winery anywhere that wants to do business in the state. Not the case.
So imagine when the distributors cartel’s paid flunky gets up in front of the Maryland committee and says, “They don’t give a damn about the state of Maryland. All they care about is their own greed, about selling wine.”
The retailers and wineries in and outside Maryland aren’t asking for a free pass. Maryland consumers, whose choice in wine is terrible due to the distributors’ inability and unwillingness to sell even a fraction of what is available, to bypass paying taxes. All that’s being requested is that Wineries and Retailers be able to do business directly with one another, that they each be able to remit taxes to the state and that they each accept restrictions on how much they can sell and buy.
Meanwhile, Bruce and his distributors are demanding that every single bottle of alcohol sold in the state of Maryland only be sold if they get a cut. They are demanding that they have complete control over which wines are sold in the state.
Now, who is the greedy one?
The state of Maryland has a long history of not merely caving in to the craven greed of the distributor cartel but of doing the dirty work for them. Early on back in the 1990s when the direct shipping issue came to the fore, Maryland actually passed a law making it a FELONY for winemakers to sell a bottle of wine to a consumer. A Felony. Just like Rape, Murder, and Kidnapping.
Who are the greedy ones?
2 Responses to “Who Are The Greedy Ones?”
Great post on this issue which as a resident and winery owner in Virginia I have been closely following as well. If you want to talk about rhetoric though, you left out the one lobbyist for the retailers association who referred to how this legislation will open the floodgates for “Tony Soprano’s winery” to ship into Maryland. I blogged about the ridiculous nature of their arguments over at pinotlaw.com. Your blog is great and I will be back for more!
By Kevin Rupy on Feb 20, 2008
I just received this note from Maryland Delegate Carolyn Krysiak explaining why HB1260 did not pass.
Thank you for your correspondence. Let me explain why House Bill 1260 has failed to pass.
First, the Baltimore City Liquor Board or any other local board in the State would not have jurisdiction over, or the ability to revoke the license of, out-of-state retailers or wineries. We impose significant consequences upon in-State retailers who sell to minors, but would not have a similar ability to impose these same sanctions upon out of state retailers who ship wine to minors in Maryland. If we cannot closely control the activities of these shippers and discipline them in the same way we do in-State retailers, then it’s my view that we shouldn’t give them the same privileges.
Second, couriers that deliver wine across state lines cannot be properly regulated by the State. A recent Supreme Court decision made clear that whatever policies and procedures we put in place in Maryland to ensure that wine is not delivered to minors cannot be enforced, because they are pre-empted by federal law.
Finally, for wine connoisseurs who seek certain wines that are not currently carried by stores, there is already a way to do that. The wine can be shipped to a local retailer directly from the winery by obtaining a $10 permit from the Comptroller’s Office. While this does
not deliver the product to your doorstep, it still provides access to the wine at minimal inconvenience. And, most importantly, it does not open another means for minors to access alcohol.
I am hoping that we can work out a mechanism to handle these shipments better and in the future we can more fully satisfy your needs.
Delegate Carolyn Krysiak
Room 314 Lowe Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401
410-841-3303
By Marc on Mar 13, 2008