The House Regulatory Reform Committee
approved a substitute version of Senate Bill
505 this week, sending the measure to the full House for debate, and
representing a potential compromise in one of the more hard-fought legislative
battles of the session regarding barware bearing the logos of drink brands.
The measure, sponsored by Senator Joe Hune
(R-Hamburg Township), passed the Committee on a 12-0 vote with Representative
Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) abstaining and Representatives David Nathan
(D-Detroit) and Woodrow Stanley (D-Flint) absent at the time of the vote.
The measure allows for retailers to purchase
13 specific types of items featuring logos and provides for strict limits on
adding new items to that list. The bill also establishes a specific process by
which retailers purchase the items.
The list is: trays, coasters, napkins,
shirts, hats, pitchers, drinkware intended for reuse, bar mats, buckets, bottle
openers, stir rods, alcoholic drink menus, patio umbrellas, and packaging used
to hold and deliver liquor by the retailer. The Liquor Control Commission,
under the proposal, can add or remove an item once 18 months have passed from
the time the bill takes effect – and can only add one item per rule
promulgation.