Pandemic Darlings The pandemic economy, in original documents
Home Source documents Sponsor Testimony on House Bill 306 — State Representative Tim Barhorst (November 14th, 2023)

Sponsor Testimony on House Bill 306 — State Representative Tim Barhorst (November 14th, 2023)

Summary

This is sponsor testimony on House Bill 306 from State Representative Tim Barhorst to the House Commerce & Labor Committee, dated November 14th, 2023. It states that the legislation seeks to address a long-standing burden for craft breweries in Ohio by exempting them from the state's Alcohol Franchise Law. It states that HB 306 allows craft breweries who produce 250,000 barrels of beer or less to enter into agreements that work best for their distribution needs. It also states that the bill will not negatively impact distributors because craft breweries make up a small percentage of alcohol sales overall.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“Sponsor Testimony on House Bill 306 — State Representative Tim Barhorst (November 14th, 2023).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2023-11-14-commerce-labor-testimony-testimony-8199-ce8f4376dc/, SHA-256 7573e17deff8acab5d045ff12e51cbeee2e400907e3d73d22201117f402e6586.

Full text

                            State Representative Tim Barhorst
                               House Bill 306 Sponsor Testimony
                              House Commerce & Labor Committee
                                     November 14th, 2023


Chairman Johnson, Vice-Chair Manchester, Ranking Member McNally and members of the
House Commerce & Labor Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide sponsor
testimony on House Bill 306.

This legislation seeks to address a long-standing burden for craft breweries in Ohio by exempting
them from our state’s Alcohol Franchise Law. For nearly half a century, current franchise law
has governed the brewing industry and no significant changes or adjustments have been made to
reflect current market dynamics.

Craft breweries in Ohio are resilient small businesses who have been catalysts for economic
development no matter the place, from rural small towns to urban population centers. They are
responsible for creating jobs, driving community revitalization, and being a source of
entrepreneurial innovation.

Today, there are over 400 craft breweries in Ohio and many of us can probably name one that
operates in our districts or a place where some of the beer they produce can be happily
consumed.

HB 306 allows craft breweries who produce 250,000 barrels of beer or less to have the flexibility
to enter into agreements that work best for their distribution needs. This provision is guided by
the logic that Ohio’s small businesses should be given the space to determine what is best for
their models to succeed. It also eliminates the threat of any cost burden on the part of craft
breweries, who do not have the resources to sustain litigation against million-dollar distributors
to end a contract.

It should be highlighted that this bill will not negatively impact the distributors and their business
given craft breweries make up a small percentage of alcohol sales overall. HB 306 simply
provides the space for both parties to negotiate and enforce contracts like any other agreement.

Chairman Johnson and members of the committee, thank you again for the opportunity to
provide sponsor testimony on HB 306 and we will be happy to answer any questions at this time.

File and source

File
2023-11-14_commerce-labor_testimony_testimony-8199.pdf
Size
110,938 bytes
SHA-256
7573e17deff8acab5d045ff12e51cbeee2e400907e3d73d22201117f402e6586
Our copy
2023-11-14_commerce-labor_testimony_testimony-8199.pdf
Original
No public link identified.
Back to top