March comes in like a lion in Chicago, as starting March 1, 2026 the liquor tax system changes. Previously there was a gallonage tax remitted by wholesalers for the sale of liquor in Chicago.
The new system changes the status quo and makes it a bifurcated tax collection system.
Off-Premise/Package Goods
For off premise/package goods sales retailers are […]
With new laws on the books and new administrative changes Illinois will look different in 2026.
Change 1: Cocktails-to-go becomes permanent! This is a little personal to me as I started this grass roots effort with my partners to legalize cocktails-to-go five years ago. Now the industry will have certainty going forward.
The law is strict and […]
Illinois Senate Bill 618 passed in the House and is on its way to the governor’s office where it is expected to be signed. I covered the Illinois Veto Legislation in a previous post
For the sake of not repeating, I will cover significant legislation and anything that has changed.
Cocktails-to-go becomes […]
Recent Illinois legislation makes significant but not seismic changes to the Illinois liquor code. Under Illinois Senate Bill 618, which will pass in veto session, distillers, brewers and retailers will see enhanced privileges, but Illinois wineries don’t seem to obtain the privileges they were seeking.
Craft distillers
The craft distillers will see enhanced […]
Summary
The Illinois legislature adjourns on May 31st, so the next couple of weeks will determine what fails and what becomes law. Before the session heats up, I wanted to provide a synopsis of the major liquor bills.
Before I get into individual bills, I wanted to provide an introduction to what I am seeing. […]
Nearly 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized interstate winery shipping in Granholm v. Heald, Mississippi is making interstate winery shipping available to its residents.
Mississippi has not exactly been at the vanguard of the liquor industry. Spirits were illegal in Mississippi until 1966, thirty-three years after Prohibition ended. It was also the first state […]
Politicians never fail to live up to their reputation of exercising a lack of foresight when proposing policy. In the wonderful Corn Husker state, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen, has proposed a 287% increase on the liquor excise tax for spirits. The excise tax would increase from $3.75 a gallon to $14.50 a gallon.
It would result […]
The New York legislature passed legislation, AB 3132, that would allow the interstate shipping of cider and spirits into the state subject to restrictions.
Specifically, this legislation would limit shipping to distillers producing below 75,000 gallons.
Under the terms of the legislation, an out-of-state distiller can ship up to thirty-six cases of liquor to a resident […]
Previously, I gave a synopsis of important liquor bills in Illinois. Today, I provide an update. There is also a new bill on hemp regulation.
SB 3926-Would ban the sale of hemp products to anyone under 21 and require testing of hemp products. Concerns are arising because when infused with Delta 8, hemp products can become […]
Happy Hour comes to Indiana
The Governor signed into law legislation that brings back Happy Hour to Indiana after nearly a 40-year hiatus. The new law takes effect on July 1, 2024. Happy hour is limited to four hours in one day, and fifteen hours in one week. The four hours in […]