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S 2748Alcohol

Alcoholic Beverages - Manufacturing and Wholesale Licenses

Allows small alcohol makers to distribute their own products if they sign an agreement with a labor union.

Held for study
Population
Affected
15
Introduced Feb 27, 2026Committee Senate Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs

Plain-English Summary

This bill modifies Rhode Island's alcohol laws to allow small alcohol manufacturers (such as breweries or distilleries producing under 5,000 barrels annually) to obtain a wholesaler license. This allows them to distribute up to 3,000 barrels of their own product directly to retailers. To qualify for this self-distribution privilege, the manufacturer must enter into a "labor peace agreement" with a labor union, ensuring no strikes or picketing occur. The bill also waives the annual fee for this wholesaler license if the applicant already holds a manufacturer's license.

For younger readers

In Rhode Island, the people who make drinks like soda or beer usually aren't allowed to be the same people who drive the trucks to deliver them to stores. This bill changes the rules so that small drink makers can deliver their own bottles to stores. However, to do this, the business owners must promise to work nicely with a group that protects workers, called a union. This promise is to make sure everyone gets along and the work doesn't stop.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Alcohol ManufacturersWholesale DistributorsLabor UnionsRetail Liquor StoresRestaurant Owners
Impacted communities
All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

The requirement to sign a "labor peace agreement" with a union to obtain a license could be challenged as compelled speech or a violation of freedom of association under the First Amendment. Additionally, opponents may argue that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) preempts state laws that attempt to regulate labor organizing tools (like strikes) through licensing mandates, despite the bill's disclaimer regarding federal law.

Estimated cost
None
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Empowers labor unions by making "labor peace agreements" a mandatory condition for self-distribution licenses, ensuring workers have organized representation.
  • Supports small, local businesses by allowing them to bypass large corporate distributors, keeping more revenue within the local economy.
  • Encourages stability for workers by requiring agreements that define wages and working conditions, potentially raising standards in the industry.
  • Labor peace agreements technically restrict the workers' right to strike or picket, which are fundamental tools for labor activism and leverage.
  • The strict production limits (5,000 barrels) may penalize successful local businesses that grow beyond "small" status, forcing them back into the corporate distribution system.
  • The complexity of negotiating union contracts might create a barrier to entry for the very smallest, minority-owned, or underfunded startups lacking legal resources.
For Conservatives
  • Deregulates the market by allowing businesses to vertically integrate, breaking the rigid state-mandated separation between making and selling products.
  • Eliminates the wholesaler license fee for qualifying manufacturers, effectively cutting taxes on small business operations.
  • Fosters competition by allowing small producers to bypass established distributors, potentially lowering costs through market forces.
  • Coerces private businesses into contracts with labor unions as a condition of operating, violating principles of free enterprise and voluntary association.
  • Weaponizes the licensing process to favor unionized shops, effectively creating a government-mandated advantage for labor organizations over business owners.
  • Imposes arbitrary production caps (5,000 barrels) that punish business growth and success, rather than allowing the free market to determine size.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 41 additions · 3 deletions

SECTION 1. Sections 3-6-1 and 3-6-15 of the General Laws in Chapter 3-6 entitled "Manufacturing and Wholesale Licenses" are hereby amended to read as follows: 3-6-1. Manufacturer’s license.

(a) A manufacturer’s license authorizes the holder to establish and operate a brewery, distillery, or winery at the place described in the license for the manufacture of beverages within this state. The license does not authorize more than one of the activities of operator of a brewery or distillery or winery and a separate license shall be required for each plant.

(b) The license also authorizes the sale at wholesale, at the licensed place by the manufacturer of the product of the licensed plant, to another license holder and the transportation and delivery from the place of sale to a licensed place or to a common carrier for that delivery. The license does authorize the sale of beverages for consumption on premises where sold; provided that the manufacturer does not sell an amount in excess of forty-eight ounces (48 oz.) of malt beverage or four and one-half ounces (4.5 oz.) of distilled spirits, or fifteen ounces (15 oz.) of wine per visitor, per day, or a combination not greater than three (3) drinks where a drink is defined as up to sixteen ounces (16 oz.) of beer or one and one-half ounces (1.5 oz.) or five ounces (5 oz.) of wine of spirits, for consumption on the premises. The license also authorizes the sale of beverages produced on the premises in an amount not in excess of forty-eight (48) twelve-ounce (12 oz.) bottles or cans or forty-eight (48) sixteen-ounce (16 oz.) bottles or cans of malt beverages, or one one-sixth (1/6) barrel keg or any otherwise permitted vessel containing not more than this amount of malt beverage, or one thousand five hundred milliliters (1,500 ml) of distilled spirits per visitor, or three (3) seven hundred fifty milliliter (750 ml) bottles of wine or the equivalent amount of wine sold by the can or other container, per day, to be sold in containers that may hold no more than seventy-two ounces (72 oz.) each. These beverages may be sold to the consumers for off-premises consumption, and shall be sold pursuant to the laws governing retail Class A establishments. The containers for the sale of beverages for off-premises consumption shall be sealed. The license does not authorize the sale of beverages in this state for delivery outside this state in violation of the law of the place of delivery. The license holder may provide to visitors, in conjunction with a tour or tasting, samples, clearly marked as samples, not to exceed three hundred seventy-five milliliters (375 ml) per visitor for distilled spirits and seventy-two ounces (72 oz.) per visitor for malt beverages at the licensed plant by the manufacturer of the product of the licensed plant to visitors for off-premises consumption. The license does not authorize providing samples to a visitor of any alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption that are not manufactured at the licensed plant. All manufacturer licenses conducting retail sales or providing samples shall be subject to compliance with alcohol server training and liquor liability insurance requirements set forth in §§ 3-7-6.1 and 3-7-29 and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

(c) The annual fee for the license is three thousand dollars ($3,000) for a distillery producing more than fifty thousand gallons (50,000 gal.) per year and five hundred dollars ($500) for a distillery producing less than or equal to fifty thousand gallons (50,000 gal.) per year; five hundred dollars ($500) for a brewery; and one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for a winery producing more than fifty thousand gallons (50,000 gal.) per year and five hundred dollars ($500) per year for a winery producing less than fifty thousand gallons (50,000 gal.) per year. All those fees are prorated to the year ending December 1 in every calendar year and shall be paid to the general treasurer for the use of the state. 3-6-15. Manufacturer’s interest in business of wholesaler restricted.

(a) Except as provided for in this section, no No manufacturer of distilled spirits or wines whose principal place of manufacture is outside of this state alcoholic beverages shall hold a wholesaler’s license issued under this title or shall have any interest in a wholesaler’s license, either directly or indirectly, as an owner or part owner, or through a subsidiary or affiliate, or by any officers, directors, or employees of the manufacturer, or by stock ownership, interlocking directors, trusteeship, loan, mortgage or by being a guarantor, endorser or surety of any obligation of a wholesaler.

(b) Manufacturers of alcoholic beverages shall be eligible to hold a wholesaler’s license issued under this chapter, provided the following:

(1) The manufacturer has an executed labor peace agreement with a bona fide labor union for the wholesale affiliate licensed pursuant to this chapter;

(2) The sale or delivery to licensed retailers or wholesalers of the affiliated manufacturer’s product shall be allowed; provided that, the affiliated manufacturer produces less than five thousand (5,000) barrels aggregate annually of their own product. Additionally, the wholesale affiliate shall be limited to three thousand (3,000) barrels for wholesale distribution solely of their own product. An annual certification of total barrels produced and distributed shall be submitted, to the department of business regulation.

(3) The annual fee for the license shall be waived when holding a valid manufacturer’s license.

(c) Labor peace agreements-requirements.

(1) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(i) “Bona fide labor organization” is a labor union that represents or is actively seeking to represent wholesale distribution workers.

(ii) “Labor peace agreement” means an agreement between a licensee and a bona fide labor organization that, at a minimum, protects the state’s proprietary interests by prohibiting labor organizations and members from engaging in picketing, work stoppages, boycotts, and any other economic interference with the licensed entity.

(iii) “Collective bargaining agreement” means an agreement between a licensee and a bona fide labor organization that set the terms for employees for wages, hours and other working conditions and otherwise meets the requirements of a labor peace agreement for the purposes of this section.

(2) All wholesale distribution licensees with a relationship to an alcoholic beverage manufacturer pursuant to this section shall enter into, maintain, and abide by, the terms of a labor peace agreement, and shall annually submit to the department of business regulation an attestation by a bona fide labor organization stating that the applicant meets this section’s requirements.

(3) Compliance with the requirements of this section shall be an ongoing material condition of the license, and any violation may result in suspension, revocation and/or non-renewal of the license.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C ch. 7 §§151-169, Labor-Management Relations Act, also known as Taft-Hartley, 29 U.S.C § 186, the Railway Labor Act 45 U.S.C §§ 151 et seq. or any other applicable federal laws.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.