Florida Brewers List
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As I mentioned at last month's meeting, Bradley and I set up a Florida Brewers List email group on the HBD server. I envision this as a means of building communication in the brewing community. I think it will be especially useful in the upcoming fight to get the bottle bill passed this next legislative session.
Following is a post to the Fl Brewers List from Ed Canty, of the Florida Brewers Guild. Things are looking very positive at this point!!! I will pass along any important info from the list to our HB list, but if you'd like to subscribe to the Florida Brewers List yourself, you can send an email to florida-request@hbd.org with the word Subscribe as the body of the message (you don't need anything in the subject field). You will then get an authentication message back from the server. Reply back according to the directions in the message and you will then be subscribed. You can then send posts to the list by sending to florida@hbd.org The list works similarly to our HB list - a post sent to the list will go to everyone on the list.
Here is Ed's post - - -
8/24/2000 I would like to update everybody about the FBG's recent actions regarding the bottle law in response to Andy's (Palm Beach Draughtsmen) post titled "some stuff." I spoke with Senator Lee's office at the end of last week and received some very positive news about the chances of the bottle size law being amended this coming year. Senator Lee has already filed the bill and is waiting for it to receive a number at this time. The outlook is very positive for the bill to move through the process quickly and relatively unobstructed. This is due in part to some interesting factors that have come into play. á Speaker Thrasher, as we all know, is out. Replacing him will likely be Representative Feeney (R 33) in Oviedo. á Feeney met with representatives of NABI (National Association of Beverage Importers) in Orlando recently. Reportedly he has not committed to either side of the issue, but has indicated that he will afford the bill the proper opportunity to be addressed in the House. It was the lack of this kind of opportunity last year (Speaker Thrasher) that lead to the final demise of the bill in the House. á Reportedly, the Beer Industry of Florida (non A-B wholesaler association) will be for the bill this year, rather than taking a neutral stance as they did last year. á Reportedly, the Florida Beer Wholesalers Association (A-B wholesalers) will take a neutral stance this year, rather than fighting it intensely as they did last year. Although it sounds as if we may already be 98% there, it is important to remember that there are still a couple of significant hurtles to overcome. Who in the House will sponsor a sister bill and who in the House will support it? This is where the grassroots power of the brewing community can and should come into play. Now is the time for us to get to know our current and future (the election is near) local Representatives (and Senators). Find out where they stand on this issue and why. Let them know why it is important to you the change in the law takes place. Let potential future legislators know what kind of support they will receive at the polls from the local brewing community if they are in favor of the changes to the law. Remember that encouragement works a whole lot better than threats when trying to influence somebody's decisions. By addressing the issue now with your local legislators, they will know the pros (and cons) of the issue before the session starts in Tallahassee and they will get to know you and the brewing community. You better believe the few opponents we do have are already doing this (and have been doing it for years). In other words, if you want your legislators to represent you and your views, you need to let them know what those views are and who you are. Which brings me to the ideas about a lawsuit· Andy wrote: "One of our newer members, who is a lawyer, is contemplating suing the state to get the bottle law repealed." I spoke with Christopher Hopkins early yesterday afternoon (I believe this is the newer member referred to). He personally is not considering suing the state. After discussing all of the above information with him and more, he agreed with me that it might not be prudent to start a lawsuit at this time. Because of the significantly better chance the law has of being changed this year as compared to last year (even though we got about 95% of the way there), starting a lawsuit at this time could have the result of "stirring up the mud" in such a way that the bill gets dropped like a rock by our Representatives and Senators and the ensuing lawsuit with the state stretches on past the time when the amendment to the law would have been enacted if the bill passed (this could be as early as July 1st or earlier). However, we also agreed that if there was specific interest on somebody's part in approaching the issue at this level the best direction would be to have the case ready to be presented the day after session ends in Tallahassee if the law is not changed. That way any possibility we have of changing the law through legislation is given a full opportunity to run its course. I think it is important to understand that the idea of a lawsuit is not a new one. Christopher and I have been discussing it for close to a year now. He is very knowledgeable and has even offered in the past to work pro bono on such a project. At this time, the Florida Brewers Guild will not be pursuing such a lawsuit. I would strongly encourage all others to think twice about the possible effects of such a move. Further response and discussion about these issues is also strongly encouraged and recommended. Cheers, Ed Canty President Florida Brewers Guild FBGuild@aol.com PS: I would like to suggest that all future postings to the Florida Brewers List include the individual's first and last name, affiliation or city and email address in the body of the posting for clarity and identification purposes -- EC
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