BILL REQ. #:  H-4758.1 

Read first time 01/23/08.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to authorizing wine warehouses to handle bottled wine; and amending RCW 66.24.185.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 66.24.185 and 1999 c 281 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) There shall be a license for bonded wine warehouses which shall authorize the storage and handling of bottled wine ((only)). Under this license a licensee may maintain a warehouse for the storage of wine off the premises of a winery.
     (2) The board shall adopt similar qualifications for a bonded wine warehouse license as required for obtaining a domestic winery license as specified in RCW 66.24.010 and 66.24.170. A licensee must be a sole proprietor, a partnership, a limited liability company, or a corporation. One or more domestic wineries may operate as a partnership, corporation, business co-op, or agricultural co-op for the purposes of obtaining a bonded wine warehouse license.
     (3) All bottled wine shipped to a bonded wine warehouse from a winery or another bonded wine warehouse shall remain under bond and no tax imposed under RCW 66.24.210 shall be due, unless the wine is removed from bond and shipped to a licensed Washington wine distributor. Wine may be removed from a bonded wine warehouse only for the purpose of being (a) exported from the state, (b) shipped to a licensed Washington wine distributor, ((or)) (c) returned to a winery or bonded wine warehouse, or shipped to a consumer pursuant to RCW 66.20.360 through 66.20.390.
     (4) Warehousing of wine by any person other than (a) a licensed domestic winery or a bonded wine warehouse licensed under the provisions of this section, (b) a licensed Washington wine distributor, (c) a licensed Washington wine importer, (d) a wine certificate of approval holder (W7), or (e) the liquor control board, is prohibited.
     (5) A license applicant shall hold a federal permit for a bonded wine cellar and may be required to post a continuing wine tax bond of such an amount and in such a form as may be required by the board prior to the issuance of a bonded wine warehouse license. The fee for this license shall be one hundred dollars per annum.
     (6) The board shall adopt rules requiring a bonded wine warehouse to be physically secure, zoned for the intended use and physically separated from any other use.
     (7) Every licensee shall submit to the board a monthly report of movement of bottled wines to and from a bonded wine warehouse in a form prescribed by the board. The board may adopt other necessary procedures by which bonded wine warehouses are licensed and regulated.
     (8) Handling of bottled wine, as provided for in this section, includes packaging and repackaging services; bottle labeling services; creating baskets or variety packs that may or may not include nonwine products; and picking, packing, and shipping wine orders direct to consumer. A winery contracting with a bonded wine warehouse for handling bottled wine shall be responsible for compliance and financial transactions in direct to consumer shipping activities.