HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-064 CC Resolution RESOLUTION NO. 10 -64
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF TEMECULA TO OPPOSE H.R. 5034, THE
COMPREHENSIVE ALCOHOL REGULATORY
EFFECTIVENESS ACT OF 2010, IN ORDER TO PROTECT
AND PRESERVE THE ABILITY OF CALIFORNIA
WINERIES, AND ALL WINERIES IN THE UNITED
STATES, TO SHIP WINE DIRECTLY TO CONSUMERS
WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN IN -STATE AND
OUT -OF -STATE WINE PRODUCERS.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF TEMECULA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE
AS FOLLOWS:
WHEREAS, California is the fourth largest wine producing region in the world;
and
WHEREAS, California winegrowers ship over 193 million cases, representing
some 467 million gallons of wine to the United States wine market; and
WHEREAS, the California wine industry creates more than 330,000 jobs, billions
of dollars in economic impact, and preserves agricultural land and family farms; and
WHEREAS, the California wine industry generates higher taxes than more
industries because, as a regulated industry, it pays excise taxes to the state and federal
government on every gallon of wine; and
WHEREAS, the California wine industry has an annual impact of $61.5 billion on
the state economy and produces the number one finished agricultural product in the
state; and
WHEREAS, California's wine industry attracts 20.7 million tourists annually to all
regions of California and generates wine - related tourism expenditures of $2.1 billion;
and
WHEREAS, currently 37 states and the District of Columbia allow direct shipping
of wine from winegrowers to consumers; and
WHEREAS, the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of small California wineries
drives the entire industry to improve and progress; and
WHEREAS, in order to reach consumers in other states, many California
wineries have turned to direct marketing and shipping of their wines; and
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WHEREAS, since 1985 California has pioneered consumer access to wine
through reciprocal and permit shipping to alleviate scarcity at the retail level of California
wines; and
WHEREAS, over the past 10 years, consolidation trends within the wholesale tier
have made it difficult for California wineries to achieve adequate distribution, and, as a
result, have limited consumer choice; and
WHEREAS, California wineries have offered voluntarily to have their direct
marketing and shipping permitted and regulated by other states to ensure that those
states collect the same taxes that wines sold through the three -tier system must pay,
that direct deliveries would be made only to adults, and that direct deliveries are not
made in "dry" areas, as defined under the laws of each state; and
WHEREAS, the California wine industry has developed comprehensive model
direct shipping legislation to address all of the concerns expressed by state alcohol
regulators across the country; and
WHEREAS, California has enacted a law to open direct shipping of wine from
other states to its own residents without limitation through a simple permit system to
comply with the decision in Granholm v. Heald (2005) 544 U.S. 460; and
WHEREAS, States' rights to regulate wine and alcohol granted by the 21
amendment to the United States Constitution have always been subject to constitutional
limitation and judicial review; and
WHEREAS, Court decisions over the last 40 years balance state authority to
regulate alcohol with the framer's belief that the nation would only succeed if interstate
commerce thrived; and
WHEREAS, the Commerce Clause has been applied judiciously by the courts to
foster national economic goals while preserving nondiscriminatory state authority; and
WHEREAS, the landmark 2005 United States Supreme Court case, Granholm v.
Heald, reaffirmed states' rights under the 21 Amendment to the United States
Constitution to regulate wine as long as they do not discriminate between in -state and
out -of -state producers, and correctly rules that these rights do not supersede other
provisions of the Constitution; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 5034 would severely limit consumer choice in California wine
throughout the nation as direct -to- consumer laws are amended or repealed; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 5034 would imperil markets access for California wineries that
cannot secure effective wholesale distribution; and
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WHEREAS, H.R. 5034 would stunt competition among the nation's 7,011 wine
producers as markets are artificially constrained and access is limited; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 5034 would allow certain state alcohol laws to avoid judicial
scrutiny through a presumption of validity; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 5034 would reverse decades of long- established jurisprudence
that has balanced interstate commerce concerns with state regulatory authority and
fostered a dramatic growth in wine production, sales and tax revenue; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 5034 would insulate and sanction discriminatory state laws by
reversing evidentiary rules for Commerce Clause legal challenges and increasing the
burden of proof for plaintiffs; and
WHEREAS, H.R. 5034 would be an unprecedented shift in the relationship
between federal and state authority over wine; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City of Temecula to oppose H.R.
5034, the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2010 in order to
protect and preserve the ability of California wineries, and all wineries in the United
States, to ship wine directly to consumers without discrimination between in -state and
out -of -state wine producers.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of
Temecula this 24th day of August, 2010.
•? ��
Jeff Comerchero, Mayor
ATTEST:
aon
[SEAL]
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STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss
CITY OF TEMECULA )
I, Susan W. Jones, MMC, City Clerk of the City of Temecula, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Resolution No. 10 -64 was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of
the City of Temecula at a meeting thereof held on the 24th day of August, 2010, by the
following vote:
AYES: 5 COUNCIL MEMBERS: Edwards, Naggar, Roberts, Washington,
Comerchero
NOES: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSTAIN: 0 COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
Susan . Jones, MMC
City Clerk
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