AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 57, Chapter 3, relative to manufacturing of alcohol.
Summary
HB1803 amends Tennessee’s alcohol manufacturing definitions in Title 57, Chapter 3. The bill revises the statutory definitions of “manufacture” and “manufacturer” to expressly include brewing high alcohol content beer, distilling distilled spirits, rectifying distilled spirits, bottling distilled spirits, and operating a winery, and to define the corresponding manufacturers as brewers, distillers, rectifiers, bottlers, and vintners. In practical terms, it updates the Alcoholic Beverage laws to align the code’s terminology with the types of alcohol production businesses regulated by the state.
The bill’s effect is limited to the definitional section of Tennessee alcohol law, but those definitions are foundational for how the state regulates licensing, compliance, and enforcement for alcohol producers. By clarifying who qualifies as a manufacturer and what activities count as manufacturing, the bill can affect wineries, breweries, distilleries, bottling operations, and related permit holders under the state’s alcoholic beverage regulatory framework. The act takes effect immediately upon becoming law.
Impact
This bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated § 57-3-101 by replacing the existing definitions of “manufacture” and “manufacturer” in the alcohol code. It does not create a new licensing scheme or tax change, but it updates the statutory language that underpins regulation of alcohol production businesses, including breweries, distilleries, rectifiers, bottlers, and wineries. The change may influence how state agencies interpret and administer alcohol manufacturing rules for affected producers and permit holders.
Sentiment
The available voting history shows strong, unanimous support for the bill at every stage. It received favorable recommendations in subcommittee and full committee and then passed the House on the consent calendar with 93 yeas and 0 nays. The absence of recorded opposition or committee debate suggests the measure was viewed as a routine, noncontroversial technical update to alcohol manufacturing definitions.
Contention
No notable contention appears in the available record. The bill moved through committee and floor votes without any recorded dissent, and there are no committee transcripts indicating disagreement. The likely reason for the smooth passage is that the measure is a narrow definitional amendment rather than a substantive policy change, so any concerns would have been limited to technical drafting or regulatory clarity rather than broader policy objections.
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 43; Title 57 and Title 67, relative to tax credits for alcoholic beverage byproducts donated for agricultural use.
AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 43; Title 57 and Title 67, relative to tax credits for alcoholic beverage byproducts donated for agricultural use.