Senate Bill No. 584
(By Senators Mitchell, McCabe and Rowe)
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[Introduced March 26, 2001; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section six, article eight, chapter sixty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to providing that retailers licensed to sell wine in this state have the same right to ship wines to purchasers within and without West Virginia as nonresident retailers.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section six, article eight, chapter sixty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

§60-8-6. License or registration required for sale or shipment of wine; shipment of limited quantities of wine to adult residents permitted.

(a) Except as to the commissioner and except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, no person may offer for sale or sell wine in this state, or offer wine for shipment into this state, except to a distributor who is duly licensed under this article. Every person, whether resident or nonresident in this state, who is engaged in or desires to engage in the sale or shipment of wine to a distributor for resale under this article shall, prior to engaging in such activities, register with the commissioner. If any such person violates the provisions of this article, he or she shall may not be permitted to sell, ship or deliver any wine to a distributor or to the commissioner, or otherwise engage in the wine business in this state for a period of one year from the date a notice is mailed to such that person by the commissioner of the fact that such person has violated the provisions of this article. During such the one-year period, it shall be unlawful for any distributor within this state to buy or receive wine from such that

that person with respect thereto. Hearings and appeals on such notices may be had in the same manner as in the case of revocations of licenses under this article.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or any other law to the contrary, an adult resident or a duly licensed retailer or distributor of alcoholic beverages in a another state or nation which affords adults and duly licensed retailers and distributors of this state an equal reciprocal shipping privilege may ship, for personal use and not for resale, not more than two cases of wine per month, not to exceed eighteen liters of wine in any month to any adult resident in this state. Delivery of a shipment into this state from a duly licensed retailer or distributer in another state or nation pursuant to this section shall not be deemed to does not constitute a sale in this state. Any retailer licensed to sell wine in this state under the provisions of this article may deliver wine by private carrier or by licensed carrier to a retail consumer in this state or to a retail customer in any other state which grants retailers similar reciprocal privileges in that state. The shipping container of any wine sent into or out of this state under this subsection shall be clearly labeled to indicate that the package cannot be delivered to any person under the age of twenty-one or to an intoxicated person. No adult resident or duly licensed retailer or distributor may advertise the availability of wines by shipment to residents of this state.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to recognize that retailers licensed to sell wine in this state have the same right to ship wines to purchasers within and without West Virginia as nonresident retailers.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.