Alcoholic beverage control: tied-house restrictions: compensation.

Existing law generally restricts certain alcoholic beverage licensees from paying, crediting, or compensating a retailer for advertising in connection with the advertising and sale of alcoholic beverages and expressly authorizes exceptions to this prohibition. This bill would authorize, until January 1, 2022, a person, as defined, who has an ownership interest in an on-sale retail license, subject to a numerical limitation, to be compensated by an authorized licensee, as defined, for promotional or marketing services of the authorized licensee's products subject to specified conditions, including that the compensation be based solely on the promotional and marketing activities. The bill would create several new crimes, including that an authorized licensee who, through coercion or other illegal means, induces the holder of a wholesaler's license to provide compensation pursuant to these provisions guilty of a misdemeanor. The bill would additionally make an authorized licensee or a person who violates these provisions guilty of a misdemeanor. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.