Yankee Brew News Archive

Brewpub Bill Plodding Through Connecticut Legislature

Originally Published: 07/95

By: Ernie Adamo

After a circuitous and frustrating process, the 'brewpub' bill passed the Connecticut General Assembly and now sits on governor John Rowland's desk awaiting his signature.

Some say that cats have nine lives. The same may be said about the brewpub bill which survived several parliamentary maneuvers on its way to passage. The bill began its journey in the legislature's General Law Committee as one that would simply allow the Hartford Brewery to sell beer for consumption off premises. A public hearing was held in which a representative from the Hartford brewery, who is also a Connecticut citizen and microbrew aficionado, testified in favor of the legislation.

More importantly, a lobbyist for the state Package Store Association testified against the measure. This was an omen of things to come. Several weeks later the bill came before the General Law Committee for a possible Joint Favorable vote. This is a very important step in the legislative process since the only way to get a bill out of committee (that is not voted out) is to have a certain number of legislators sign a petition to report the bill to the floor for a vote with an unfavorable recommendation (most bills that receive an unfavorable report do not survive).

The Committee ended with a split vote, which normally would have killed the bill. But they decided to try again at their next meeting. A week later, after some delicate negotiations and some arm twisting, a compromise was reached. The Committee narrowly voted the bill out to the floor of the House with a favorable report, but with a promise to amend the bill in the House with some less-than-minor changes.

The substitute language essentially watered the bill down by placing an one-year sunset on the brewpub's ability to sell for consumption off premises. The brewery would now only be able to sell beer to-go from October 1 1995 to October 1 1996, and could only sell one two-liter container per person, per day, during regular package store hours.

This version of the bill passed the House and continued its journey to the Senate. This is when the parliamentary procedures began in earnest: A few weeks later the Senate voted to Recommit the bill (effectively killing it), but, as we would later find out, it was far from dead.

Sometimes certain bills are used as bargaining chips or to send a message. In Connecticut, the House is controlled by Democrats and the Senate by Republicans. The bill's main supporter, Tom Ritter (D - Hartford), happens to be the Speaker of the House. Because of this, the Senate Republicans were not exactly jumping in line to support the bill initially.

As a bargaining tool, the Senate Republicans had a beer tasting bill that would allow the state's two microbreweries to offer free tastings and to sell up to two six-packs after a tour. It had died in committee but was later petitioned out to the Senate.

Since Speaker Ritter vowed early in the session that the House would not vote on bills that were petitioned out of committees to his chamber, the Senate leadership naturally attached the Brewpub bill language as an amendment to the 'beer-tasting' bill and passed it to the House.

Essentially, this bill was used to tweak the speaker, since it was known that would have to call a vote on this petition bill. It finally was voted on and passed, putting it on the Governor's desk.

If anyone is wondering why Connecticut has only three micros and one brewpub, look no further than this example of bureaucracy at its best. In a state that often proclaims itself as business-friendly, the strange and arduous journey taken by the bill, and the time and effort put into what should have been a minor change to the state's antiquated liquor statutes, is proof positive that Connecticut is not friendly to every industry.

This is all anyone needs to know to understand why the 'brew renaissance' in New England has so far passed by the Nutmeg State.

Ernie Adamo is a legislative liaison and research analyst for the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. He has eaten voraciously at Redbones in Somerville, Massachusetts.