New alcohol laws impact out-of-state shipments
Aimee Majoue is a Crowe & Dunlevy attorney and member of the Administrative and Regulatory Practice Group. How have the recent changes to our state's statutes regulating alcohol sales impacted deliveries from out of state? Oklahomans who enjoy an adult beverage now and then are familiar with the restrictions on when and where consumers may purchase alcohol. In October, new laws relaxed those restrictions making it easier for consumers to purchase alcohol, including purchasing wine from our couches. Out-of-state wineries, once licensed, are now allowed to ship wine directly to consumers. Or, in other words, consumers are now allowed to purchase wine and have it delivered directly to their home. However, when the statute became effective, permitting such shipments, Oklahoma regulations did not keep pace. As a result, Oklahomans have conflicting laws to decipher. We have a statute that allows consumers to have wine delivered to their home from a licensed winery and, at the same time, we have a state agency regulation that requires every consumer, which means you and me as individuals, to have a permit to make these purchases.
What agency regulates alcohol sales and how is it interpreting the law?
The Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission (ABLE) regulates all licenses and sales related to alcohol in Oklahoma. In 2018, the Oklahoma Legislature created a new state statute allowing direct wine shipment to Oklahomans' homes from licensed wineries at 37A O.S. § 3-106. The statute title includes “Direct Wine Consumer's Permit,” but the statute itself is silent on requirements for consumers
other than needing to be over the age of 21. The statute's legislative history from the Oklahoma Legislature shows an intent to remove any consumer permitting requirements so as to enable wineries to become direct shippers. However, ABLE also has a regulation, OAC 45:255-5, requiring consumers to have a permit to purchase direct wine shipments to their home. To get a Direct Consumer's Permit under ABLE's regulation, a consumer has to complete an application, provide identification proving the applicant is more than 21 years old and pay a fee. Once this confusion was brought to ABLE's attention, ABLE agreed to interpret the statute and its intent as controlling and to not enforce consumer permitting despite the language of the regulation.
Can Oklahomans now join wine clubs?
Yes, Oklahomans may now join wine clubs as long as the wineries in the wine club are each permitted as Direct Wine Shippers in Oklahoma. The wine club should regulate which wines may be purchased or shipped through wine club membership based on the Oklahoma shipping requirements. Additionally, a consumer's shipments to their home are limited to six nine-liter cases of wine, which is six standard 12-bottle cases, per Direct Wine Shipper. In other words, a consumer can buy 72 standard bottles of wine per winery per year. With multiple wineries contributing to most wine clubs, you be the judge of whether that is enough.