Representative Jeff LaRe, 73rd House District — House Bill 86 Sponsor Testimony

Summary

Sponsor testimony on House Bill 86 from Representative Jeff LaRe, 73rd House District, to Chairman Johnson, Vice-Chair Manchester, Ranking Member McNally and members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee. The testimony says the bill is House Bill 629 from the 134th General Assembly, which would increase micro-distillery production limits and revise the cost for liquor tasting samples. It states that holders of an A-3a liquor permit could distill up to 1,000,000 gallons of spirituous liquor per year, up from 100,000 gallons, and that stores with a D-8 permit could offer tasting samples on-site. It adds a provision removing grains of paradise from the list of substances prohibited for use in the adulteration of liquor.

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                             Representative Jeff LaRe
                               73rd House District

                         House Bill 86 Sponsor Testimony



Chairman Johnson, Vice-Chair Manchester, Ranking Member McNally, and

members of the House Commerce and Labor Committee, thank you for the

opportunity to testify today on House Bill 86. This piece of legislation is House

Bill 629 from the 134th General Assembly which would increase micro-distillery

production limits and revise the cost for liquor tasting samples.



The first part of House Bill 86 allows those who have an A-3a liquor permit to be

able to distill up to 1,000,000 gallons of spirituous liquor per year, up from the

original 100,000 gallons. This increase in allowable liquor production for micro-

distillers will help create opportunities for small businesses to expand and have

more sales freedom in the State of Ohio. Further, this will help the pandemic

recovery of these small businesses who are still finding ways to make up for lost

revenue.
The second part of House Bill 629 removes the 25 cent liquor sample cost

requirement and allows stores with a D-8 permit to offer consumable tasting

samples on-site. This aspect of the bill will allow products to be sampled before

purchase and allow smaller distillers to showcase their product, without the burden

of charging consumers for samples. This bill would allow local distillers to grow

their product, ultimately creating a stronger representation from the small business

community in alcohol sales.



Finally, a slight addition to this bill from the 134th is a provision that removes

grains of paradise, a spice from the ginger family that is currently used in Bombay

Sapphire, from the list of substances that are prohibited for use in the adulteration

of liquor. The grains of paradise was originally outlawed after the Civil War as a

public health issue, however as modern medicine has revealed, that is far from the

case. Other than being a good spice to use in craft beers or gin, it also has shown to

reduce inflammation and kill certain bacteria. The grains of paradise provision in

the banned substances is outdated and this bill simply seeks to correct it.



Thank you again for the opportunity to provide testimony on House Bill 86. I am

happy to answer any questions the Committee may have at this time.


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