A proposal to allow growler fills at bars and restaurants in Michigan is back on the front burner.
At the start of the new year the Michigan legislature was wiped clean; new and returning members automatically took office and the cache was cleared on all the bills that were introduced over the last two years that didn’t become law.
The same state senator who introduced the growler fill legislation last year, Senator Dave Hildenbrand (R-Lowell), is again behind this latest proposal – which appears to be a copy and paste of the previous legislation.
We first told you about Senator Hildenbrand’s proposal last October.
Here’s the exact language of the bill:
(10) AN ELIGIBLE MERCHANT MAY REFILL GROWLERS WITH BEER FOR CONSUMPTION OFF THE PREMISES UNDER THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS:
(A) THE PREMISES WHERE THE REFILLING OF GROWLERS TAKES PLACE COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENTS UNDER THE FOOD LAW OF 2000, 2000 PA 92, MCL 289.1101 TO 289.8111.
(B) THE GROWLER IS CLEARLY LABELED AND SEALED IN A MANNER THAT COMPLIES WITH EXISTING REQUIREMENTS FOR LABELING AND SALE FOR CONSUMPTION OFF THE PREMISES.
(C) THE ELIGIBLE MERCHANT COMPLIES WITH ALL APPLICABLE RULES PROMULGATED BY THE COMMISSION.
(11) AS USED IN THIS SECTION:
(A) “ELIGIBLE MERCHANT” MEANS A PERSON THAT HOLDS A SPECIALLY DESIGNATED MERCHANT LICENSE AND A CLASS C LICENSE.
(B) “GROWLER” MEANS ANY CLEAN, REFILLABLE, RESEALABLE 10 CONTAINER WITH A LIQUID CAPACITY THAT DOES NOT EXCEED 1 GALLON.
The legislation, Senate Bill 27, has been assigned to the Committee on Regulatory Reform, which was the final resting place for the bill Senator Hildenbrand introduced last year.