Californians who have grown used to ordering small-batch whiskey, gin and other craft spirits online and having them show up on their doorstep may soon have to find another way to stock their home bars.

A policy that has allowed the state’s craft distillers to ship directly to customers is set to expire at the end of the year, and a fierce, largely behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign is working to make sure it stays dead. The fight offers a telling glimpse into how deep-pocketed industry players can shape the fate of legislation in Sacramento.

The direct-shipping allowance traces back to the pandemic, when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order letting distillers ship spirits straight to consumers as bars and tasting rooms shut down. Lawmakers have since renewed the temporary measure multiple times, with the latest extension due to lapse Dec. 31.

A Republican lawmaker representing the Sacramento region is pushing to make the shipping option permanent. But the effort faces stiff opposition from national alcohol distributors, the Teamsters union representing truck drivers, and California’s powerful wine industry — all of which have been lobbying quietly to keep the temporary rule from becoming law.

Opponents say they’re not out to crush small distillers, even as alcohol consumption continues to decline nationwide. Still, it’s difficult to ignore the financial muscle behind the opposition. While the exact amount spent specifically fighting this bill isn’t clear, these interests have poured at least $11 million into California political campaigns since 2000, according to CalMatters’ Digital Democracy database — including at least $738,000 already this legislative session alone.

Some of Sacramento’s most influential lawmakers have received substantial contributions from groups opposing the shipping extension. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas has taken in at least $108,000 over the years, and Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón has received at least $33,000. Sen. Susan Rubio and her sister, Assemblymember Blanca Rubio — who each chair committees overseeing alcohol regulation — have collected at least $65,000 and $129,000, respectively.

By comparison, California’s craft distillers reported spending just $53,000 on lobbying this year. Cris Steller, acting executive director of the California Distillers Association and owner of two distilleries in El Dorado Hills, said he’s already begun scaling back home deliveries in anticipation that the law will not survive.

“I don’t want to keep putting money into a program that’s going to get yanked,” Steller said.

For local distillers throughout the Inland Empire and across Southern California who built pandemic-era direct-to-consumer business models, the coming change could mean rethinking how they reach loyal customers — many of whom came to rely on shipped bottles when tasting rooms were closed and have kept ordering ever since.

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In other statewide news, the California Highway Patrol has lost a six-year battle to fire a Los Angeles-based officer caught up in an overtime fraud scandal that rocked the department’s East Los Angeles patrol division. Nathaniel Partridge was one of dozens of officers disciplined in 2020 after CHP discovered inflated overtime claims totaling more than $200,000. Felony charges brought against 54 officers largely fell apart in court, and a state appellate panel recently ruled that a one-year unpaid suspension — not termination — was the appropriate penalty for Partridge, finding no clear evidence he intended to deceive the department.

Meanwhile, health officials are warning that looming federal Medicaid cuts won’t just hurt low-income Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal — they’re likely to ripple outward and raise costs for people with private insurance as well. As many as 2.2 million Californians could lose coverage by 2030 under provisions in President Trump’s 2025 spending law. Because hospitals are required to treat anyone who arrives in an emergency room regardless of insurance status, uncompensated care costs are expected to balloon by as much as $2 billion to $4 billion annually, according to the California Hospital Association. More than 3,000 hospital workers statewide have already been laid off as facilities brace for the fallout, and some financially strained hospitals could be forced to close.

Original source: CalMatters

The post California’s Pandemic-Era Liquor Delivery Law Set to Expire After Industry Lobbying Push appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

For six years, Californians have been able to order a bottle of small-batch whiskey, gin or vodka online and have it delivered straight to their door. That convenience is set to disappear unless state lawmakers act before the legislative session ends this month — and distillers say that outcome looks increasingly unlikely.

The direct-shipping allowance dates back to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s pandemic-era executive order, which let craft distillers — those producing up to 150,000 gallons annually — mail their products to customers when tasting rooms and retail shelves went dark. Lawmakers have extended the policy several times since, but the latest extension expires Dec. 31.

Assemblymember Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, tried this year to make the shipping allowance permanent by attaching it to one of his bills. He’s not optimistic it will survive.

“I don’t have a lot of hope that we’re going to be able to salvage this,” Hoover said.

Behind the scenes, a coalition of well-funded interests — including major alcohol wholesalers, the Wine Institute and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters — has spent more than $1 million lobbying the Legislature and state agencies this year, according to disclosure filings. Those same groups have donated at least $11 million to California lawmakers since 2000, including more than $738,000 since the start of the current two-year legislative session.

By contrast, the state’s craft distillers have spent only about $54,000 on lobbying this year and have made just a handful of political contributions over the past decade — including a $42 bottle of whiskey given to former state Sen. Bill Dodd in 2022.

“They went directly to legislators’ offices and basically torpedoed any effort we came up with,” said Cris Steller, acting executive director of the California Distillers Association and owner of Amador and Dry Diggings Distillery in El Dorado Hills.

Hoover’s Assembly Bill 2211, which would let craft distillers hold tastings and sell spirits away from their distilleries, has moved through the Legislature without a single “no” vote. But Hoover’s effort to attach a permanent direct-shipping provision to the bill has stalled amid the quiet opposition.

Teamsters lobbyist Matt Broad said his union isn’t against letting small distillers ship their products — but insists deliveries should go through established carriers with actual employees, such as UPS, rather than independent contractors.

“We are absolutely not opposed to the little guys being able to ship directly to consumers,” Broad said, “but with meaningful guardrails that protect our members and protect the public.”

Representatives for the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, the California Beer & Beverage Distributors and the California Family Beer Distributors said in a joint statement that the shipping allowance “was always meant to be temporary pandemic relief” and is “expiring exactly as designed.” They noted that consumers can still have spirits delivered through third-party services such as DoorDash.

Steve Gross, president and CEO of the Wine Institute, said his industry — which has shipped directly to California consumers for decades — isn’t necessarily opposed to distillers gaining the same right. But he argued it would be unfair to grant small distillers delivery privileges while larger spirits producers remain excluded.

“They have the option to go in and try and fight for a bill that we and others could also support,” Gross said. “They’ve chosen not to, because those larger distillers are not their members.”

With the Legislature set to adjourn Aug. 31, any changes to Hoover’s bill would likely need approval from top Democratic leaders, who have shown little sign of intervening. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who has received at least $108,000 from groups opposing the shipping extension, declined interview requests. Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón, who has received at least $33,000 from the same interests, said in a statement that the bill “will continue to work its way through the legislative process as intended.”

Sen. Susan Rubio and her sister, Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, both Democrats who chair committees overseeing California’s alcohol industry, also declined to add the shipping provision when Hoover’s bill passed through their panels. A spokesperson for Sen. Rubio said there is currently no formal proposal before the committee to extend the policy, adding that she has supported previous extensions.

For distillers like Steller, the uncertainty is already affecting business decisions. He said he’s begun scaling back on shipments to customers rather than invest further in a program that appears headed for extinction.

“I don’t want to keep putting money into a program that’s going to get yanked,” he said.

The dispute underscores how, in Sacramento, deep-pocketed industries can quietly reshape or kill legislation through private negotiations — leaving small businesses like California’s craft distilleries with little leverage against organized opposition.

Original source: CalMatters

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