Connecticut SB 230: AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER PROTECTION'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING LIQUOR CONTROL.

Bill Text

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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 230
February Session, 2026

AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSUMER
PROTECTION'S RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING LIQUOR
CONTROL.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 30-18a of the 2026 supplement to the general 1
statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof 2
(Effective from passage): 3
(a) As used in this section: 4
(1) "Out-of-state" (A) means (i) any state other than Connecticut, (ii) 5
any territory or possession of the United States, (iii) the District of 6
Columbia, or (iv) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and (B) does not 7
include any foreign country; 8
(2) "Retailer" means any business entity that (A) is primarily engaged 9
in selling alcoholic liquor in sealed bottles or other containers for off-10
premises consumption, and (B) holds a retailer permit issued by the 11
alcohol beverage authority of its home state; and 12
(3) "Wine" includes, but is not limited to, (A) cider not exceeding six 13
per cent alcohol by volume, and (B) apple wine not exceeding fifteen per 14
cent alcohol by volume. 15

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[(a)] (b) (1) An out-of-state winery shipper's permit for wine shall 16
allow the sale of wine to manufacturer and wholesaler permittees in this 17
state as permitted by law and for those shippers that produce not more 18
than one hundred thousand gallons of wine per year, the sale and 19
shipment by the holder thereof to a retailer of wine manufactured by 20
such permittee in the original sealed containers of not more than fifteen 21
gallons per container. [For purposes of this section, "wine" shall include 22
cider not exceeding six per cent alcohol by volume and apple wine not 23
exceeding fifteen per cent alcohol by volume.] 24
(2) An out-of-state retailer shipper's permit for wine shall allow the 25
sale and shipment of wine directly to a consumer in this state. 26
[(b)] (c) Subject to the provisions of this subsection, the permits under 27
subsection [(a)] (b) of this section shall allow the sale and delivery or 28
shipment of wine manufactured or sold by the permittee directly to a 29
consumer in this state. Such permittee, when selling and shipping wine 30
directly to a consumer in this state, shall: (1) Ensure that the shipping 31
labels on all containers of wine shipped directly to a consumer in this 32
state conspicuously state the following: "CONTAINS ALCOHOL—33
SIGNATURE OF A PERSON AGE 21 OR OLDER REQUIRED FOR 34
DELIVERY"; (2) obtain the signature of a person age twenty-one or older 35
at the address prior to delivery, after requiring the signer to demonstrate 36
that he or she is age twenty-one or older by providing a valid motor 37
vehicle operator's license or a valid identity card described in section 1-38
1h; (3) not ship more than five gallons of wine in any two-month period 39
to any person in this state and not ship any wine until such permittee is 40
registered, with respect to the permittee's sales of wine to consumers in 41
this state, for purposes of the taxes imposed under chapters 219 and 220, 42
with the Department of Revenue Services; (4) pay, to the Department of 43
Revenue Services, all sales taxes and alcoholic beverage taxes due under 44
chapters 219 and 220 on sales of wine to consumers in this state, and file, 45
with said department, all sales tax returns and alcoholic beverage tax 46
returns relating to such sales, with the amount of such taxes to be 47
calculated as if the sale were in this state at the location where delivery 48
is made; (5) report to the Department of Consumer Protection a separate 49

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and complete record of all sales and shipments to consumers in the state, 50
on a ledger sheet or similar form which readily presents a chronological 51
account of such permittee's dealings with each such consumer; (6) 52
permit the Department of Consumer Protection and Department of 53
Revenue Services, separately or jointly, to perform an audit of the 54
permittee's records upon request; (7) not ship to any address in the state 55
where the sale of alcoholic liquor is prohibited by local option pursuant 56
to section 30-9; (8) hold an in-state transporter permit under section 30-57
19f or make any such shipment through the use of a person who holds 58
such an in-state transporter permit; (9) execute a written consent to the 59
jurisdiction of this state, its agencies and instrumentalities and the 60
courts of this state concerning the enforcement of this section and any 61
related laws, rules, or regulations, including tax laws, rules or 62
regulations; and (10) comply with the provisions of section 30-68m 63
regarding the prohibition of selling wine below cost. 64
[(c)] (d) The Department of Consumer Protection, in consultation 65
with the Department of Revenue Services, may adopt regulations in 66
accordance with the provisions of chapter 54 to as