THE UNIFORM LAW COMMISSION – ENCOURAGING CONSISTENT STATE BY STATE DEFINITIONS, PROTOCOLS AND PROCEDURES

The Uniform Law Commission Has Made Lives Easier for All of Us.

By Robert M. Tobiassen *   

The Uniform Law Commission was founded in 1892 to formulate uniform and model laws for the States to consider adopting to ensure consistency in commerce, child custody rules, easement relocations, and accuracy of criminal records, among others, between the States. Over 300 model and uniform acts have been completed and presented to the various states as recommendations and best practices.  As nationwide commerce grew so did the number of uniform and model acts.  The ULC works by consensus among the members and observers.

The best example of the work that the ULC does is the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The UCC makes our daily lives easier (and results in many law school courses for aspiring practitioners).   Every time you buy a car and take out a loan, the lender takes a security interest in your car to collateralize the loan.  Checks you write, wire transfers you make, shipping terms like “FOB” are commercial conditions governed by the UCC, enacted now in all States in various forms.  Of importance is the fact that unique state commercial practices are usually retained by the states when adopting the recommendations of the ULC. The ULC does not dictate; rather, it analyzes issues and recommends solutions that will further the interest of the American public in consistency in their daily life.

This “obscure” institution became a topic of conversation after respected Wine Journalist, W. Blake Gray, posted an article on Wine Searcher, questioning the current work being done on a uniform act on administration and enforcement of State laws authorizing “direct to consumer” sales, where such laws exist.  The Alcohol Direct Shipping Compliance Act and the ULC Committee information is here. This three-year project is coming to a close with final text being approved but subject to a “style” review before completion.  What happens next is the text is sent to the various states for consideration, debate, and potential adoption (or rejection) where the legislators of the states involved either see the value of consistency of regulation or, just as likely, are locked into their 21st Amendment based system and reject the ULC recommendations.

Direct Wine Shipping Comes Under Fire

The future of wine shipping within the US could take a sharp turn for the worse.

Wine wholesalers won a battle in their fight against US wine lovers on Wednesday, as the Uniform Law Commission passed a model Alcohol Direct-Shipping Compliance Act that could make shipping wine more difficult and expensive.

This does not mean that ordering wine online from wineries will become more difficult overnight. But it does hand a powerful weapon to distributors. They deliver wine from a winery to retail stores, and get about 30 percent of the retail cost of each bottle you buy for doing so. Naturally they want to protect that cut, which they don't get if you order directly from wineries.

State-by-state guide for shipping spirits DTC

Though wine makes up the lion’s share of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) market in the United States, a handful of states allow DTC shipments of spirits. A few states are thinking about amending their policies, but for now, most state efforts to expand DTC shipping rights to distilleries seem to have stalled.

As of this writing, distilleries can make interstate DTC shipments to the following states:

• Alaska (allowed by state law but prohibited in dry communities)
• Arizona
• Kentucky
• Nebraska
• New Hampshire (allowed by state law but prohibited in dry communities)
• North Dakota
• Washington, D.C.

VA-Inside job? ABC embezzlement case points to leaks in hunt for rare bottles of bourbon. Two men face felony charges in alleged scheme to sell access to internal liquor data

In the search for hard-to-find bottles of bourbon at Virginia ABC stores, some liquor enthusiasts have been worried about leaks of a more serious kind.

Employees of the government-run liquor monopoly would have access to highly valuable inside information about which products were going where, and the system could lead to some buyers getting tipped off early about stores that would be selling rare bottles of Blanton’s, Buffalo Trace or other brands, many bourbon collectors complained.

In April, when ABC was announcing a new, randomized “drop” system, where only a few stores are selected to put out their supply of limited-availability bottles, one commenter on the agency’s public Facebook page suggested someone had been trying to sell intel to bourbon buyers on where the best bottles would be.

“I had someone tell me that they have a back door in to the VABC computer system… when they had the Stagg release they knew how many bottles were going to be at what stores,” another commenter wrote, adding a shrug emoji.

“Somewhat true but not entirely,” another commenter replied. “Insider info.”

The conspiracy theories apparently weren’t wrong.

An ABC investigation led to four felony indictments against two men who were arrested last month and charged with computer trespass and embezzling ABC’s inventory list. 

CA-ABC Revokes the License of Grandma’s Sports Bar and Grill in Bakersfield

The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) has revoked the liquor license of Grandma’s Sports Bar and Grill, located at 1901 Flower Street in Bakersfield. Alcohol sales are immediately prohibited.

ABC agents opened an investigation after receiving complaints from the community and found that Grandma’s, also known as Catrina’s, was operating a disorderly premises. The Kern County Sheriff’s Office responded to multiple assaults that occurred at the location.

The owner of the premises recently signed an agreement accepting the penalty of revocation stayed. The revocation stayed order means the license is suspended indefinitely and the owner must transfer it within 180 days to a new owner at a new location.

“ABC is committed to keeping communities safe,” said ABC Director Eric Hirata. “We will continue working with our local law enforcement partners to hold ABC licensees accountable when a location becomes a nuisance in the community.”

ABC protects communities through education, prevention, and enforcement programs designed to increase compliance with California’s alcoholic beverage laws.

MO-This Kansas City area Twin Peaks shuts down — again — after selling alcohol to minors

For the second time in less than a year, the Independence Twin Peaks temporarily closed for selling alcohol to a minor. The Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control cited KC Lodge Ventures II LLC, doing business as Twin Peaks. According to the report, a Twin Peaks employee sold a bottle of Bud Light beer to an 18-year-old and a bottle of Modelo beer to a 19-year-old during a compliance check by the Independence Missouri Police Department on Jan. 8. After a months-long appeals process, Twin Peaks’ liquor license was suspended for three days — July 7 to 9. It could have opened for business but would not have been able to serve alcohol. Instead the restaurant and bar, at 19821 E. Jackson Drive, temporarily closed.

In September, it also was fined $200 for “unlawful sale or supply to minor” and had a 10-day suspension for “unlawful sale or supply to intoxicated person.” A 19-year-old was involved in a single car accident on U.S. 40 in August 2020 and said he had been drinking at the Independence Twin Peaks. According to the report, the officer went to Twin Peaks and got a copy of the teen’s sales receipt, which showed seven Long Island iced teas and two shots of Patrón Silver. The Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control conducted a training program with the bar’s 56 employees and management in January.

Healthy Alcohol Marketplace

Drunk Driving Deaths Increase by 14%!

By Pamela Erickson

Over the years we have made substantial progress on drunk driving deaths, but that was reversed during 2020. As the chart below illustrates, we made good progress from 1985 when there were 18,125 deaths due to an alcohol-impaired driver. In 2019, there were 10,196. We even dipped below 10,000 deaths in 2011 and 2014. But, 2020 seemed to reverse this downward trend. Impaired deaths zoomed up to 11,654; and, the percentage of alcohol-impaired fatalities shot back up to 30%. The increase in impaired-caused fatal crashes in 2020 represents a 14% increase over 2019.

Partners in Prevention

The Role of Institutes of Higher Education in Combating Violent Extremism

Institutes of higher education (IHEs) are valuable partners in law enforcement’s shared strategy to understand and deter domestic terrorism. Those who commit acts of terrorism are often young, educated, and vulnerable. “Young people are a vital source of support for many terrorist groups.”1 Understanding this vulnerability and where radicalization may occur, points to a need to strengthen the connections between IHE and law enforcement officials. By serving as trusted, connected hubs within their communities, IHEs provide educational, enrichment, and cultural opportunities for learners of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities and are therefore well-positioned to embrace and share the responsibility for reducing harmful ideologies and actions. For the purposes of addressing the local domestic terrorism threat, a Brookings report authored by Madiha Afzal states,

Extremism and terrorism are twin problems: extremism can lead directly to violence and it also gives terrorist groups oxygen by providing them with an environment for survival, in terms of logistical and financial support, potential recruits, and most broadly, ideological space.2

By fostering a whole community approach to education and training, today’s IHEs have established partnerships with law enforcement leaders, other public safety sector agencies, business leaders, nonprofit, faith-based, social, and disability community leaders; colleges and schools; and local, state, and federal governments. It is through these services and relationships that IHEs become valuable partners in the local war on terrorism. As a part of this shared responsibility, consider the contributions toward education and empowerment, connecting individuals and agencies, and systematically producing change. Local law enforcement leaders are encouraged to expand their view of partnerships with IHEs and consider the following areas.

Risky Drinking Can Put a Chill on Your Summer Fun

Summer is typically a wonderful season for outdoor activities and spending additional time with family and friends. For some people, these activities include drinking alcohol beverages. This summer, take measures to protect your own health and that of your loved ones. 

Be smart this summer—think before you drink. Avoiding alcohol beverages while piloting a boat, driving a car, exploring the wilderness, and swimming or surfing can also help keep you and your loved ones safe.

Download free materials to displaybelow.  

How do we deal with a problem like the alcohol industry? Four lessons on how to protect science based on recent study

Researchers, clinicians, and policymakers generally agree that there is no place for the tobacco industry in public health science or policy. The same cannot be said for the alcohol industry (Marten et al., 2020), even though the industries are deeply connected in multiple ways, including in ownership, control, and political strategy (Bond et al., 2010; Hawkins & McCambridge, 2018; Lesch & McCambridge, 2022). Concerns have been raised for decades about alcohol industry’s scientific activity (McCambridge & Mialon, 2018), yet we do not know much about researcher experiences of encountering the alcohol industry in alcohol science. To fill this gap, we interviewed 37 alcohol researchers based in 10 high-income countries. We found that they all had some form of contact with the alcohol industry, whether or not they had sought such contact. Here we present four lessons based on our findings that could help protect science from industry interference.