Last night the Michigan Legislature passed and sent on to Governor Rick Snyder SB 1088. If signed this bill will discriminate against out of state retailers. It will prohibit Michigan consumers from purchasing wine from out-of-state retailers, internet retailers, wine clubs and auction houses. It is a pure special interest bill driven by Michigan wholesalers. You can read about the bill here: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(fqj2guqaffct3b1kgltxun2x))/mileg.aspx?page=BillStatus&objectname=2016-SB-1088
A quick phone call from Michigan residents to the Governor urging him to veto SB 1088 is needed urgently. Below is the Governor’s Constituent Services phone number. If you are a resident of Michigan please make the quick phone call. If you have friends or family in Michigan, please urge them to do so. Below are some points callers can make beyond telling him you oppose the bill and urge him to veto it.
Common sense will NOT prevail: Republican legislature, republican Governor, lots of lobbyists (and money) behind bill…and this Governor, in particular, lacks insight and courage, not to mention leadership.
I should point out that this is a bi-partisan bill and more about lobbyists green than red or blue. It is of course anti-consumer, anti free trade and likely anti the relatively few fine wine dealers in the state. I would hazard a guess that those number fewer than 100. So there is is small chance, other than some well to do wine consumer funding as court action, of this not being the law of the state for the foreseeable future.
Good luck but I suspect it will be hard to get the bill vetoed. This might be the perfect case to take to the Supreme Court though, as it clearly discriminates in a way that violates the Commerce law. but I have a feeling that here, too, the 21st Amendment will likely trump the Commerce clause.
In reading Granhold, the court made clear that the 21st did not trump the commerce clause with respect to discrimination. It seems that this bill clearly creates two classes and thus a discriminatory act. It would seem like a prefect vehicle, however, it would take a deep pocket to shoulder the costs in the federal system.
Perhaps, but would Amazon risk capital for little to no gain. Here in NC, Amazon was involved in a protracted litigation over sales tax. NC essential told Amazon to start charging sales tax or else. Of course Amazon told them to pound sand. 3 years later, Amazon is charging sales on items purchased out of state.
The sales tax issue is very different. States have a right to charge sales tax, and purchases out of state that don’t collect it are costing the state (and its citizens) the needed dollars to fund the government.
Wine shipping is on a different plane altogether; while the state does have the right to regulate importation of alcohol, it doesn’t (we all agree, and as an extension of the Granholm decision for winery shipping) have the right to deny retail shipping into the state (unless it prohibits intrastate retail shipping as well).
I doubt Amazon would take on the battle, unless wine shipping becomes a much bigger part of its business. But someone will. I assume Tom’s organization will be part of that.
You will still be able to get wine from out of state by using Vinfolio, which is located in California, but it takes longer and is more costly. I don’t think Vinfolio ever shipped to Michigan, so if you order wine online, it will have to ship to Vinfolio, then you will have to have a third party pick it up and ship it to you (such as Stagecoach Express). This means you have to pay for shipping to California, then pay for shipping from California to you. You will also have to pay Vinfolio’s fees, which aren’t that bad.
There is also Domaine Wine Storage in Chigaco and New York, but be aware that the owner is currently in trouble for selling wine without a license in St. Louis. Domaine Wine Storage should still go on, but there may be delays and other issues while they get this sorted.
Vinfolio can be mostly managed using their VinCellar app; Domaine Wine Storage doesn’t have as complete a system as Vinfolio does.
This is probably happening because distributors got similar laws successfully passed in Illinois and Missouri.
Lebamoff Enterprises, Inc. is the law firm that has filed a lawsuit in Illinois, Sarasota Wine is the Plaintiff in Missouri (not sure if the law firm is Lebamoff there or someone else); I’m not sure who is going to be involved in Michigan. In Illinois, Wine Spectator wrote that they are prepared to take this to the Illinois Supreme Court, which could take as long as two years. Not sure if that is also the plan in Missouri and Michigan; I suspect it is.
I know that this has been tried in Michigan before, but was overturned.
I can’t determine when this was originally posted, but I want to say something like early 2011?
That of course was overturned. If I remember right, from a lawsuit from a Florida retailer and Michigan resident, but I can’t find the details on Google ATM.
Edit - The Florida / Michigan thing I think it was from 2005, but I don’t think that addressed retailers specifically, only distributors and wineries:
Not sure what the wine.com article was about. I e-mailed Gregg Stephenson asking him if he remembers.
I know this can be hard, but if this is signed into law, as a Michigan resident you can protest this anti consumer and unconstitutional law be refusing to purchase any wine and beer from any Michigan retailer. That’s tough, unless you have a nice cellar to hold you over. You should also inform your local retailers of this; I just did mine (G.B. Russo & Son). Make sure you let them know this isn’t personal against them, just your own way of protesting the law.
George, thanks for the wealth of information. I don’t follow why stagecoach express can ship under these circumstances, but glad there is a workaround if this passes.
I have no problem boycotting wine purchases from local retailers. Beer on the other hand is tougher- this is a great beer state and my family drinks a ton of it.
Don’t try to cellar here. It is a felony in IL for a retailer to ship it into the state. Now, you could try Indiana. There are Kinko/FedEx offices and UPS hubs that will take a shipment and hold it for 5 days. Good luck.
You should also inform your local retailers of this; I just did mine (G.B. Russo & Son). Make sure you let them know this isn’t personal against them, just your own way of protesting the law.