Doyle uses veto on Wisconsin budget bill
October 26th, 2007
There was a flurry of activity this week in Wisconsin related to DTC shipping and self-distribution. You will recall that last month a host of onerous shipping provisions were included in the House version of the budget. These proposals would have repealed the existing reciprocal shipping statutes, replacing them with an entirely unworkable and exorbitantly expensive permit system. Just this week, we were able to amend the language related to DTC shipping in the final budget package to an acceptable package that would have allowed for a reasonable permit fee, as well as a 12-case per consumer limit (up from the 3 case original proposal). Unfortunately, the local wine industry was unable to secure a fix to the language banning self-distribution, which remained in the final budget. Early this morning, Governor Jim Doyle vetoed the entire section dealing with alcohol statutes, saying
“While the changes to the distribution system included in these sections may help address some concerns with sales of alcohol to minors, they also may have stifling economic effects on the small wineries around the state, forcing them out of business…While I am vetoing these provisions, I support the concept of a three-tier distribution system. The language included in the bill, however, does not adequately address the needs of small entrepreneurial wineries…”
