MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Finance
By: Senator(s) Harkins
AN ACT TO BRING FORWARD SECTIONS 27-3-31, 67-1-37, 67-1-41, 67-1-43 AND 67-1-45, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; TO PROVIDE THAT THE LEGISLATURE SHALL APPROPRIATE FUNDS FOR NECESSARY UPGRADES TO THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL DIVISION WAREHOUSE; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 27-3-31, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
27-3-31. (1) It shall specifically be the duty of the Commissioner of Revenue, and he shall have power and authority:
(a) To adopt, amend or repeal those rules or regulations necessary and proper to effectively administer the Department of Revenue and implement the duties assigned to the commissioner in this section and in any other statute as well as any duties assigned to the Department of Revenue.
(b) To develop, implement and decide questions of policy as it relates to the operation of the Department of Revenue and/or any law which the commissioner or the Department of Revenue is required to administer.
(c) To supervise and direct all administrative and technical activities of the Department of Revenue.
(d) To organize the offices, bureaus and divisions of the Department of Revenue.
(e) To coordinate the activities of the various offices, bureaus and divisions of the Department of Revenue.
(f) To delegate such administrative functions, duties or powers as he deems necessary to carry out the efficient operation of the Department of Revenue.
(g) To make, execute and effectuate any and all agreements or contracts, including contracts for the purchase of goods and services, as are necessary.
(h) To enter into long-term or multiyear leases of real property with other state agencies.
(i) To appeal any decision of the Board of Tax Appeals that he determines should be appealed.
(j) To defend, pursue and/or appeal any suit or appeal brought by or against the Department of Revenue and/or by or against the Commissioner of Revenue in his official capacity.
(k) To confer with and advise assessing officers, boards of supervisors and other county officers as to their duties relative to ad valorem taxation under the law; and to advise them in the collection, filing and preservation of data relative to matters of assessment.
(l) To become familiar with property values and general conditions in the counties of the state and to direct the collection and preservation of data and information pertaining to the quantity and value of property in each county in the state, subject to assessment, necessary to enable the commissioner to determine the assessed value of classes of property and whether assessments comply with acceptable performance standards as required by Section 27-35-113.
(m) To direct the collection, preparation and preservation of data and information pertaining to the quantity, value and location of property belonging to railroads, persons, corporations and associations which is required to be assessed by the commissioner.
(n) To supervise and direct the preparation of forms for the assessment of property of railroads and public service corporations assessed by the commissioner, and the filing of their rolls or schedules of assessment.
(o) To determine the location of all property subject to assessment by the commissioner in the various counties of the state, the municipalities and taxing districts therein, and to ascertain and report as far as practicable the value and ownership of all such property.
(p) To keep informed of the work of the assessors and supervisors of the various counties of the state as required by Section 27-3-51, and to have charge of the details necessary to the equalization by the commissioner of assessments among the various counties pursuant to Section 27-35-113.
(q) To prepare all forms for tax lists, assessment rolls and perform other duties relating thereto.
(r) To prepare data and statistics relating to property assessments which are deemed advisable for publication or which may be required by the Legislature.
(s) To confer with assessors, supervisors and other local taxing officials who may have business with the Department of Revenue.
(t) To consider and approve or disapprove all orders of boards of supervisors granting homestead exemptions.
(u) To administer and enforce the "Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law," being Section 67-1-1 et seq.
(v) To adopt and enforce rules and regulations prescribing the manner and method by which tax returns and documents may be filed with the Department of Revenue as provided under Section 27-3-83.
(2) The Commissioner of Revenue and any agent duly authorized by the commissioner are empowered to administer and certify oaths.
SECTION 2. Section 67-1-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brough forward as follows:
67-1-37. The Department of Revenue, under its duties and powers with respect to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division therein, shall have the following powers, functions and duties:
(a) To issue or refuse to issue any permit provided for by this chapter, or to extend the permit or remit in whole or any part of the permit monies when the permit cannot be used due to a natural disaster or act of God.
(b) To revoke, suspend or cancel, for violation of or noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter, or the law governing the production and sale of native wines, or any lawful rules and regulations of the department issued hereunder, or for other sufficient cause, any permit issued by it under the provisions of this chapter. The department shall also be authorized to suspend the permit of any permit holder for being out of compliance with an order for support, as defined in Section 93-11-153. The procedure for suspension of a permit for being out of compliance with an order for support, and the procedure for the reissuance or reinstatement of a permit suspended for that purpose, and the payment of any fees for the reissuance or reinstatement of a permit suspended for that purpose, shall be governed by Section 93-11-157 or Section 93-11-163, as the case may be. If there is any conflict between any provision of Section 93-11-157 or Section 93-11-163 and any provision of this chapter, the provisions of Section 93-11-157 or Section 93-11-163, as the case may be, shall control.
(c) To prescribe forms of permits and applications for permits and of all reports which it deems necessary in administering this chapter.
(d) To fix standards, not in conflict with those prescribed by any law of this state or of the United States, to secure the use of proper ingredients and methods of manufacture of alcoholic beverages.
(e) To issue rules regulating the advertising of alcoholic beverages in the state in any class of media and permitting advertising of the retail price of alcoholic beverages.
(f) To issue reasonable rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the federal laws or regulations, requiring informative labeling of all alcoholic beverages offered for sale within this state and providing for the standards of fill and shapes of retail containers of alcoholic beverages; however, such containers shall not contain less than fifty (50) milliliters by liquid measure.
(g) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) of Section 67-1-51, to issue rules and regulations governing the issuance of retail permits for premises located near or around schools, colleges, universities, churches and other public institutions, and specifying the distances therefrom within which no such permit shall be issued. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Division shall not issue a package retailer's or on-premises retailer's permit for the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages in or on the campus of any public school, community or junior college, college or university.
(h) To adopt and promulgate, repeal and amend, such rules, regulations, standards, requirements and orders, not inconsistent with this chapter or any law of this state or of the United States, as it deems necessary to control the manufacture, importation, transportation, distribution and sale of alcoholic liquor, whether intended for beverage or nonbeverage use in a manner not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter or any other statute, including the native wine laws.
(i) To call upon other administrative departments of the state, county and municipal governments, county and city police departments and upon prosecuting officers for such information and assistance as it may deem necessary in the performance of its duties.
(j) To prepare and submit to the Governor during the month of January of each year a detailed report of its official acts during the preceding fiscal year ending June 30, including such recommendations as it may see fit to make, and to transmit a like report to each member of the Legislature of this state upon the convening thereof at its next regular session.
(k) To inspect, or cause to be inspected, any premises where alcoholic liquors intended for sale are manufactured, stored, distributed or sold, and to examine or cause to be examined all books and records pertaining to the business conducted therein.
(l) To investigate the administration of laws in relation to alcoholic liquors in this and other states and any foreign countries, and to recommend from time to time to the Governor and through him to the Legislature of this state such amendments to this chapter, if any, as it may think desirable.
(m) To designate hours and days when alcoholic beverages may be sold in different localities in the state which permit such sale.
(n) To assign employees to posts of duty at locations where they will be most beneficial for the control of alcoholic beverages and to take any other action concerning persons employed under this chapter as authorized by law and taken in accordance with the rules, regulations and procedures of the State Personnel Board.
(o) To enforce the provisions made unlawful by Chapter 3, Title 67 and Section 97-5-49.
(p) To delegate its authority under this chapter to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, its director or any other officer or employee of the department that it deems appropriate.
(q) To prescribe and charge a fee to defray the costs of shipping alcoholic beverages, provided that such fee is determined in a manner provided by the department by rules and/or regulations adopted in accordance with the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Law.
SECTION 3. Section 67-1-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
67-1-41. (1) The department is hereby created a wholesale distributor and seller of alcoholic beverages, not including malt liquors, within the State of Mississippi. It is granted the right to import and sell alcoholic beverages at wholesale within the state, and no person who is granted the right to sell, distribute or receive alcoholic beverages at retail shall purchase any alcoholic beverages from any source other than the department except as authorized in subsections (4), (9) and (12) of this section. The department may establish warehouses, purchase alcoholic beverages in such quantities and from such sources as it may deem desirable and sell the alcoholic beverages to authorized permittees within the state including, at the discretion of the department, any retail distributors operating within any military post or qualified resort areas within the boundaries of the state, keeping a correct and accurate record of all such transactions and exercising such control over the distribution of alcoholic beverages as seem right and proper in keeping with the provisions or purposes of this chapter.
(2) No person for the purpose of sale shall manufacture, distill, brew, sell, possess, export, transport, distribute, warehouse, store, solicit, take orders for, bottle, rectify, blend, treat, mix or process any alcoholic beverage except in accordance with authority granted under this chapter, or as otherwise provided by law for native wines.
(3) No alcoholic beverage intended for sale or resale shall be imported, shipped or brought into this state for delivery to any person other than as provided in this chapter, or as otherwise provided by law for native wines.
(4) The department may promulgate rules and regulations which authorize on-premises retailers to purchase limited amounts of alcoholic beverages from package retailers and for package retailers to purchase limited amounts of alcoholic beverages from other package retailers. The department shall develop and provide forms to be completed by the on-premises retailers and the package retailers verifying the transaction. The completed forms shall be forwarded to the department within a period of time prescribed by the department.
(5) The department may promulgate rules which authorize the holder of a package retailer's permit to permit individual retail purchasers of packages of alcoholic beverages to return, for exchange, credit or refund, limited amounts of original sealed and unopened packages of alcoholic beverages purchased by the individual from the package retailer.
(6) The department shall maintain all forms to be completed by applicants necessary for licensure by the department at all district offices of the department.
(7) The department may promulgate rules which authorize the manufacturer of an alcoholic beverage or wine to import, transport and furnish or give a sample of alcoholic beverages or wines to the holders of package retailer's permits, on-premises retailer's permits, native wine retailer's permits and temporary retailer's permits who have not previously purchased the brand of that manufacturer from the department. For each holder of the designated permits, the manufacturer may furnish not more than five hundred (500) milliliters of any brand of alcoholic beverage and not more than three (3) liters of any brand of wine.
(8) The department may promulgate rules disallowing open product sampling of alcoholic beverages or wines by the holders of package retailer's permits and permitting open product sampling of alcoholic beverages by the holders of on-premises retailer's permits. Permitted sample products shall be plainly identified "sample" and the actual sampling must occur in the presence of the manufacturer's representatives during the legal operating hours of on-premises retailers.
(9) The department may promulgate rules and regulations that authorize the holder of a research permit to import and purchase limited amounts of alcoholic beverages from importers, wineries and distillers of alcoholic beverages or from the department. The department shall develop and provide forms to be completed by the research permittee verifying each transaction. The completed forms shall be forwarded to the department within a period of time prescribed by the department. The records and inventory of alcoholic beverages shall be open to inspection at any time by the Director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division or any duly authorized agent.
(10) The department may promulgate rules facilitating a retailer's on-site pickup of native wines sold by the department, so that those wines may be delivered to the retailer at the native winery instead of via shipment from the department's warehouse.
(11) [Through June 30, 2023] This section shall not apply to alcoholic beverages authorized to be sold by the holder of a distillery retailer's permit or a festival wine permit.
(11) [From and after July 1, 2023] This section shall not apply to alcoholic beverages authorized to be sold by the holder of a distillery retailer's permit.
(12) (a) An individual resident of this state who is at least twenty-one (21) years of age may purchase wine from a winery and have the purchase shipped into this state so long as it is shipped to a package retailer permittee in Mississippi; however, the permittee shall pay to the department all taxes, fees and surcharges on the wine that are imposed upon the sale of wine shipped by the department. No credit shall be provided to the permittee for any taxes paid to another state as a result of the transaction. Package retailers may charge a service fee for receiving and handling shipments from wineries on behalf of the purchasers. The department shall develop and provide forms to be completed by the package retailer permittees verifying the transaction. The completed forms shall be forwarded to the department within a period of time prescribed by the department.
(b) The purchaser of wine that is to be shipped to a package retailer's store shall be required to get the prior approval of the package retailer before any wine is shipped to the package retailer. A purchaser is limited to no more than ten (10) cases of wine per year to be shipped to a package retailer. A package retailer shall notify a purchaser of wine within two (2) days after receiving the shipment of wine. If the purchaser of the wine does not pick up or take the wine from the package retailer within thirty (30) days after being notified by the package retailer, the package retailer may sell the wine as part of his inventory.
(c) Shipments of wine into this state under this section shall be made by a duly licensed carrier. It shall be the duty of every common or contract carrier, and of every firm or corporation that shall bring, carry or transport wine from outside the state for delivery inside the state to package retailer permittees on behalf of consumers, to prepare and file with the department, on a schedule as determined by the department, of known wine shipments containing the name of the common or contract carrier, firm or corporation making the report, the period of time covered by said report, the name and permit number of the winery, the name and permit number of the package retailer permittee receiving such wine, the weight of the package delivered to each package retailer permittee, a unique tracking number, and the date of delivery. Reports received by the department shall be made available by the department to the public via the Mississippi Public Records Act process in the same manner as other state alcohol filings.
Upon the department's request, any records supporting the report shall be made available to the department within a reasonable time after the department makes a written request for such records. Any records containing information relating to such reports shall be kept and preserved for a period of two (2) years, unless their destruction sooner is authorized, in writing, by the department, and shall be open and available to inspection by the department upon the department's written request. Reports shall also be made available to any law enforcement or regulatory body in the state in which the railroad company, express company, common or contract carrier making the report resides or does business.
Any common or contract carrier that willfully fails to make reports, as provided by this section or any of the rules and regulations of the department for the administration and enforcement of this section, is subject to a notification of violation. In the case of a continuing failure to make reports, the common or contract carrier is subject to possible license suspension and revocation at the department's discretion.
(d) A winery that ships wine under this section shall be deemed to have consented to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state, of the department, of any other state agency regarding the enforcement of this section, and of any related law, rules or regulations.
(e) Any person who makes, participates in, transports, imports or receives a shipment in violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months, or both. Each shipment shall constitute a separate offense.
(13) If any provision of this chapter, or its application to any person or circumstance, is determined by a court to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall be construed in accordance with the intent of the Legislature to further limit rather than expand commerce in alcoholic beverages to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the state's residents, and to enhance strict regulatory control over taxation, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages through the three-tier regulatory system imposed by this chapter upon all alcoholic beverages to curb relationships and practices calculated to stimulate sales and impair the state's policy favoring trade stability and the promotion of temperance.
SECTION 4. Section 67-1-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
67-1-43. Any authorized retail distributor who shall purchase or receive intoxicating liquor from any source except from the department, unless authorized by rules and regulations of the department promulgated under Section 67-1-41, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), nor more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), to which may be added imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six (6) months. Any authorization of such person to sell intoxicating beverages may be revoked as provided by law.
SECTION 5. Section 67-1-45, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:
67-1-45. No manufacturer, rectifier or distiller of alcoholic beverages shall sell or attempt to sell any such alcoholic beverages, except malt liquor, within the State of Mississippi, except to the department, or as provided in Section 67-1-41, or pursuant to Section 67-1-51. A producer of native wine may sell native wines to the department or to consumers at the location of the native winery or its immediate vicinity.
Any violation of this section by any manufacturer, rectifier or distiller shall be punished by a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), and not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00), to which may be added imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six (6) months.
SECTION 6. The Legislature shall appropriate funds for necessary upgrades to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division warehouse.
SECTION 7. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.