PERMANENT RULES
Date of Adoption: January 21, 2004.
Purpose: The purpose of this change to WAC 314-20-020 Beer labels -- Certificate of label approval required -- Labels to be submitted, is to require labels for strong beer to list the beer's alcohol content. Strong beer is defined in law as a malt beverage containing more than 8% alcohol by weight (approximately 10% by volume).
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 314-20-020.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 66.08.030, 66.04.010, 66.28.120.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 03-22-092 on November 5, 2003.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 0,
Repealed 0;
Pilot Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 0,
Repealed 0;
or Other Alternative Rule Making:
New 0,
Amended 1,
Repealed 0.
Effective Date of Rule:
Thirty-one days after filing.
February 18, 2004
Merritt D. Long
Chair
(2) A request for certificate of label approval must be submitted on a form prescribed by the board which is one copy of the federal certificate of label approval for such beer, issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, U.S. Treasury Department.
(3) Any change in label or product which requires reissuance of federal certificate of label approval, must also be submitted to the board, in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this regulation.
(4) No label shall be used that is misleading.
(5) Every producer, importer, or distributor of beer shall, upon request of the board or its authorized representative, furnish without cost to the board, samples of any brand of beer upon its premises for the purpose of analysis in order to determine whether the beer conforms to commercial standards.
(6) No label will be approved which is designed to be especially appealing to children or other persons under legal age to consume. Persons who appear to be under legal age to consume may be depicted on a label when, in the discretion of the board, the depiction is dignified and does not promote illegal consumption of liquor.
(7) For strong beer, the label must contain the beer's alcohol content, stated in terms of percentage of alcohol by volume. Per RCW 66.04.010, strong beer means any malt beverage that contains more than eight percent of alcohol by weight, which is approximately ten percent of alcohol by volume.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 66.08.030, 15.88.030, 19.126.020, 66.04.010, 66.08.180, 66.16.100, 66.20.010, 66.20.300, 66.20.310, 66.24.150, 66.24.170, 66.24.185, 66.24.200, 66.24.206, 66.24.210, 66.24.230, 66.24.240, 66.24.244, 66.24.250, 66.24.375, 66.24.380, 66.24.395, 66.24.400, 66.24.420, 66.24.425, 66.24.440, 66.24.450, 66.24.455, 66.24.495, 66.24.540, 66.28.010, 66.28.040, 66.28.050, 66.28.170, 66.28.180, 66.28.190, 66.28.200, 66.28.310, 66.44.190, 66.44.310, 66.98.060 and 82.08.150. 98-18-097, § 314-20-020, filed 9/2/98, effective 10/3/98. Statutory Authority: RCW 66.08.030. 92-03-109, § 314-20-020, filed 1/21/92, effective 2/21/92. Statutory Authority: RCW 66.08.030 and 66.28.160. 91-08-022, § 314-20-020, filed 3/27/91, effective 4/27/91. Statutory Authority: RCW 66.08.030. 90-18-008, § 314-20-020, filed 8/24/90, effective 1/1/92; 89-02-015 (Order 275, Resolution No. 284), § 314-20-020, filed 12/28/88. Statutory Authority: RCW 66.08.030 and 66.28.120. 88-14-131 (Order 255, Resolution No. 264), § 314-20-020, filed 7/6/88. Statutory Authority: RCW 66.28.120 and 66.28.110. 87-21-036 (Order 230, Resolution No. 239), § 314-20-020, filed 10/13/87. Statutory Authority: RCW 66.28.120. 87-08-015 (Order 215, Resolution No. 224), § 314-20-020, filed 3/24/87; Order 42, § 314-20-020, filed 11/6/75; Order 19, § 314-20-020, filed 8/10/72; Rule 38, filed 6/13/63.]