S.C. Code § 61-6-1155

Current through 2024 Act No. 225.

Section 61-6-1155 - Micro-distilleries; on-premises consumption of liquors

(A)

(1) In addition to alcoholic liquor production or manufacturing and sales authorized by this subarticle, a holder of a valid micro-distillery or manufacturer license issued by the State is authorized to sell the alcoholic liquors distilled at the licensed premises to consumers for on-premises consumption within an area of its licensed premises physically partitioned from the distilling and manufacturing operation and bona fide engaged primarily and substantially in the preparation and serving of meals, as required by Section 61-6-1610.

(2) These establishments also may apply for separate beer and wine licenses for on-premises consumption and alcoholic liquor by the drink, and local option permits authorizing the purchase for resale of beer, wine, and alcoholic liquors from wholesalers through the three-tier distribution chain and as required by Section 61-6-1636.

(3) The micro-distillery or manufacturer must:

(a) not sell or allow the consumption of alcoholic liquor by the drink on that part of the micro-distillery or manufacturer's premises designated and permitted for the distilling and manufacturing operations;

(b) maintain the books, records, and bank accounts of the restaurant operation separately from the books, records, and bank accounts of the distilling and manufacturing operations, and allocate expenses common to both operations in a manner the micro-distillery or manufacturer considers reasonable, when applicable; and

(c) maintain a physical partition between the distilling and manufacturing operations and the food establishment operations. The physical partition may be a permanent wall or a divider permanently affixed to the premises in a manner that the general public may not freely enter the distilling and manufacturing operations area, and may contain a door or doors which remain locked during hours when the micro-distillery or manufacturer is not in operation.

(B) The department shall terminate and a micro-distillery or manufacturer shall surrender each permit and license issued to the micro-distillery or manufacturer pursuant to subsection (A) immediately following inspection, determination, and report by the division to the department that distilling and manufacturing operations have ceased on the micro-distillery or manufacturer's permitted premises. This includes liquor by the drink authorization and licenses. Following reinstitution of distilling and manufacturing operations on the formerly permitted premises, a micro-distillery or manufacturer may reapply for the applicable permits and licenses authorized by subsection (A).

(C) A micro-distillery or manufacturer selling beer, wine, or liquor at its licensed premises pursuant to authorization set forth in subsection (A) must:

(1) establish appropriate protocols to ensure that a consumer sold or served alcoholic liquors pursuant to this section is not intoxicated and is not under twenty-one years of age;

(2) sell the alcoholic liquors distilled on the licensed premises at a price approximating retail prices generally charged for identical beverages in the county where the permitted premises are located;

(3) remit appropriate taxes to the department for alcoholic liquor distilled and sold at retail on the licensed premises in an amount equal to and in a manner required for excise taxes assessed by the department. The micro-distillery or manufacturer also must remit appropriate sales, use, and other state and local taxes applicable to retail sale of beer, wine, and liquor;

(4) post information that states the alcoholic content by volume of the various types of alcoholic liquors available in the micro-distillery or manufacturer and the penalties for convictions for:

(a) driving under the influence;

(b) unlawful transport of an alcoholic container; and

(c) unlawful transfer of alcohol to minors.

And, the information shall be in signage that must be posted at each entrance, each exit, and in places in a micro-distillery or manufacturer seen during a tour;

(5) provide department- or DAODAS-approved alcohol enforcement training for the employees who serve alcoholic liquors on the permitted premises to consumers for on-premises consumption, so as to prevent and prohibit unlawful sales, transfer, transport, or consumption of alcoholic liquors by persons who are under the age of twenty-one or who are intoxicated;

(6) maintain all liability insurance required pursuant to Section 61-2-145;

(7) comply with all state and local laws concerning the hours of operation applicable to eating and drinking establishments and other food service establishments holding permits to sell alcoholic liquors by the drink; and

(8) comply with the discount pricing provisions of Sections 61-4-160 and 61-6-4550, as applicable.

(D) The establishment licensed pursuant to subsection (A) may sell the bottles of alcoholic liquor produced on its licensed premises as provided in and subject to the restrictions set forth in Sections 61-6-1140 and 61-6-1150. These bottles may not be considered in determining whether the establishment is bona fide engaged primarily and substantially in the preparation and serving of meals, as required by Section 61-6-1610.

S.C. Code § 61-6-1155

Added by 2021 S.C. Acts, Act No. 60 (SB 619),s 9, eff. 5/17/2021.

2021 Act No. 60, Sections 1 and 11, provide as follows:

"SECTION 1. The General Assembly finds and declares that:

"(A) The State has a substantial interest in regulating alcoholic liquors and other beverages containing alcohol; the activities of manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, and retailers; and the influences that affect the consumption levels of alcoholic liquors and other beverages containing alcohol by the people of the State.

"(B) The State has a substantial interest in exercising its police power to promote the public health, safety, and welfare of the State by regulating the business of manufacturing, distributing, and retail sales of alcoholic liquors and other beverages containing alcohol in the manner and to the extent allowed by law to promote and preserve public health and safety through legitimate, nonprotectionist measures, which include regulating and controlling alcoholic beverage transactions in this State and the means and manner in which licensed micro-distilleries and alcoholic liquor manufacturers may sell alcoholic beverages to the state's qualifying consumers.

"(C) Selling alcoholic liquors from manufacturers outside the State directly to residents of this State poses a serious threat to the state's efforts to prevent underage drinking, to state revenue collections, and to the public health and safety of the state's residents.

"(D) By this act, the General Assembly intends to promote the public health, safety, and welfare of residents of this State with laws intended to strictly regulate alcoholic liquors and other beverages containing alcohol by preserving and promoting a robust, stable system of distribution of beverages containing alcohol to the public that does not provide for economic protectionism. Excessive use of alcoholic liquors and other beverages containing alcohol has wide-ranging deleterious health effects, including death. The General Assembly acknowledges that, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control, during the period from 2011 to 2015, an average of one thousand six hundred seventy-nine of this state's residents suffered alcohol attributed deaths due to excessive alcohol use and the rate of binge drinking in this State is ranked among the highest in the nation. The General Assembly acknowledges that, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this State had two hundred eighty-five alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2019, which accounted for twenty-eight percent of the total traffic fatalities in the State. Attributed deaths due to alcohol-impaired driving in this State is ranked among the highest in the nation.

"(E) This act has been enacted pursuant to the authority granted to the State by the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the powers reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the inherent powers of the State under the Constitution of the State of South Carolina, 1895, and the statutes promulgated thereunder. It is the intent of the General Assembly that this act do all of the following:

"(1) further regulate and control transactions in this State as to beverages containing alcohol under the control and supervision of the Department of Revenue;

"(2) strictly regulate alcoholic beverage transactions by fostering moderation and responsibility in the use and consumption of beverages containing alcohol;

"(3) promote and assure the public's interest in fair and efficient distribution and quality control of alcoholic beverages in this State;

"(4) promote orderly marketing of alcoholic beverages;

"(5) prevent unfair business practices, discrimination, and undue control of one segment of the alcoholic beverage industry by any other segment;

"(6) foster vigorous and healthy competition in the alcoholic beverage industry and protect the interests of consumers against fraud and misleading practices in the sale of alcoholic beverages, and avoid problems associated with indiscriminate price cutting and excessive advertising of alcoholic beverages;

"(7) provide for an orderly system of public revenues by facilitating the collection and accountability of this State and local excise taxes;

"(8) facilitate the collection of state and local revenue;

"(9) maintain trade stability and provide for the continuation of control and orderly processing by the State over the regulation of alcoholic beverage manufacturing locations and the process of selling alcoholic beverages to the state's consumers;

"(10) ensure that the Department of Revenue and State Law Enforcement Division are able to monitor licensed operations through on-site inspections to confirm compliance with state law and that any alcoholic beverages shipped into, distributed, and sold throughout this State:

"(a) have been registered for sale in this State with the Department of Revenue, as prescribed by law;

"(b) are not subject to a government-mandated or supplier-initiated recall;

"(c) are not counterfeit;

"(d) are labeled in conformance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations;

"(e) can be inspected and tested by the Department of Revenue or the State Law Enforcement Division; and

"(f) are not prohibited by this State;

"(11) promote and maintain a sound, stable, and viable three-tier system of distribution of beverages containing alcohol to the public; and

"(12) ensure that statutes and regulations relating to alcoholic beverages exist to serve the interests of the State of South Carolina and its citizens rather than to serve or protect the interests of market participants by adopting protectionist measures with no demonstrable connection to the state's legitimate interests in regulating alcoholic beverages."

"SECTION 11. A state agency with regulations specifying alcohol content percentages different from the percentages passed in this act must promulgate revised regulations to conform to the changes in this act. Until such time as the regulations are conformed, the percentages in the statutory provisions passed in this act supersede any differing percentages in the regulations."