Audio By Carbonatix
Freeze! Drop that Cabernet
Assault with bodily injury. Burglary of a motor vehicle. Criminal trespass. Shipping a bottle of wine to a Texas resident. Such activities may soon be on the same criminal footing. Legislation recently introduced by state Sen. David Sibley (R-Waco) would stiffen penalties for producers and out-of-state retailers who ship alcohol directly to Texas consumers. Texas law currently prohibits alcohol shipments to anyone other than licensed distributors. Violations are a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $100-$1,000 and up to a year in jail. Sibley’s bill would increase the potential fines to $4,000 and retain the threat of jail time.
A second offense would be elevated to an extraditable felony punishable by prison time. Why the harsh penalties? “Direct shipping is giving minors direct access to alcohol,” says Sibley in a written statement. “Underage drinkers are using credit cards to purchase liquor over the Internet and have it delivered.”
When asked to provide proof of such widespread mischief, a spokeswoman in Sibley’s office admits that the evidence, generated by a few interest groups, is all anecdotal. Apparently the purported epidemic of teens getting plastered on home-delivered vintages is hard to document. So what’s the real reason?
State Rep. Anna Mowery (R-Fort Worth) believes she’s nailed the real impulse behind Sibley’s bill: state wholesalers and retailers fearing the tiniest chink in their lock on alcoholic beverage distribution. After touring wineries near Lubbock with a group that included constituents, Mowery says her fellow tasters popped a cork when wineries refused to ship wine to their homes. The sippers urged her to modify what she says is a widely flouted state law banning direct wine shipments to consumers. So she drafted legislation legalizing the shipment of limited amounts of wine to eligible consumers (over the age of 21 in wet areas) for personal use. It was then, Mowery charges, that the Texas liquor industry mobilized and sparked Sibley’s bill.
Backed by wholesalers, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and four Texas wineries constituting the bulk of state production, Sibley’s measure is opposed by out-of-state winery organizations, some smaller Texas wineries, and Texas consumers who fear they will lose access to prized wines from small producers not distributed in Texas.
“Penal code offense categories generally impose harsher punishments for conduct which places the public in harm’s way,” says Texas trial bar lobbyist Tom Krampitz in a written statement to bill opponents. “This bill is designed to protect a certain part of the alcoholic beverage industry–hardly something that deals with public safety.”
–Mark Stuertz
