Alcoholic beverages: appeals: decision: tied-house restrictions.

(1) Under existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act is administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and authorizes the department to impose a penalty or suspend or revoke a license issued pursuant to the act. Existing law authorizes a party aggrieved by a decision of the department to file an appeal with the State Board of Equalization, as provided. Existing law defines "decision," for these purposes, to mean any determination of the department imposing a penalty assessment or affecting a license which may be appealed to the board under Section 22 of Article XX of the California Constitution. This bill would revise the definition of "decision" when used in reference to the department to mean any final determination of the department imposing a penalty assessment or affecting a license which may be appealed to the board under Section 22 of Article XX of the California Constitution, and would not include any emergency decision for temporary, interim relief issued by the department, as provided. (2) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act provides that, except for the Supreme Court and the courts of appeal, a court shall not have jurisdiction to review, affirm, reverse, correct, or annul any order, rule, or decision of the department or to suspend, stay, or delay the operation or execution thereof, or to restrain, enjoin, or interfere with the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control in the performance of its duties, except as provided. This bill would provide that a superior court shall have jurisdiction to review an emergency decision issued by the department, as provided. The bill would further provide that the decision of a superior court following review of the emergency decision shall not be considered by the department in connection with specified adjudicative proceedings or by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board, court of appeal, or Supreme Court upon review of a final decision of the department. (3) Existing law, known as tied-house restrictions, generally prohibits a manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's agent, rectifier, California winegrower's agent, distiller, bottler, importer, and wholesaler, and any officer, director, or agent of any of those persons, from giving or lending money or a thing of value to a person operating, owning, or maintaining any on-sale premises where alcoholic beverages are sold. The law provides certain exceptions to this prohibition if specified requirements are met. Tied-house restrictions permit specified licensees to conduct or participate in, and serve specified alcoholic beverages at, an instructional event or instructional tasting event for consumers held at a retailer's premises, if specified conditions are met. In this regard, these parties may list certain information in advertisements for the event provided that particular information in the advertisement be relatively inconspicuous in relation to the advertisement as a whole. This bill would require that any pictures, illustrations, or depictions in the advertisement are also relatively inconspicuous in relation to the advertisement as a whole. (4) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.