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Archive for the ‘Florida Alcohol News’ Category

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As a retail liquor license holder, you are aware of both the benefits and responsibilities of serving alcohol. To help you better control the risks and enjoy the benefits, the state of Florida enacted the Responsible Vendor Program. This voluntary program can protect your license, your customers, and your employees when implemented correctly. The RV program works to ensure proper alcohol service by your employees in an attempt to minimize risk to your customers and the public. By following the guidelines as presented under the State of Florida Responsible Vendors Act, you not only have the benefits of a protected clientele, business, and employees but also the benefit of a possible reduction in your insurance liability premiums. Further, the state of Florida promises not to suspend your license if someone on your staff makes a mistake, and the state may even give you a break when it comes to fees or fines for your employee’s actions.

DIY Steps to become a Responsible Vendor

How do you obtain Responsible Vendor status to qualify for these benefits? We can help you with our simple, do-it-yourself guide specifically tailored to help you both attain and retain your Responsible Vendor status. We make it easier for you:

•  To comply with the Florida Responsible Vendor Program
• To maintain your liquor license
• To train you staff
• To potentially save money

We provide online training for both employees and managers  without inconvenience or cost to you.  The easy-to-access format encourages learning and keeps costs down– no special appointment, equipment, or instructor is needed. Participants take the training at their convenience needing only a computer with internet access.  Our system provides all the information and steps that you need to take the worry out of Responsible Vendor compliance.

We have built the training around the knowledge gleaned from over 41 years of industry expertise to help you efficiently and effectively comply with minimal complications. With our high-quality, extensive alcohol compliance training, we provide you with the information you need to be in compliance but also with the tools you need to stay there.

We have published the necessary steps on our website. Please visit us today for our simple step-by-step guide for compliance that you can do yourself with minimal hassle and maximum results.

The Serving Alcohol Team

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Source: 10 News

Adam Freeman

Dec 31st

With New Year’s Eve only days away, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration expects this to be one of the deadliest weeks of the year on the roads. But now a new weapon is being used in the fight against drunk driving. It’s a change that could make you more likely to be convicted. “I think it’s a great deterrent for people,” said Linda Unfried, from Mother’s Against Drunk Driving in Hillsborough County.

Florida is among several states now holding what are called “no refusal” checkpoints.

It means if you refuse a breath test during a traffic stop, a judge is on site, and issues a warrant that allows police to perform a mandatory blood test.

It’s already being done in several counties, and now Unfried is working to bring it to the Tampa Bay area. “I think you’ll see the difference because people will not drink and drive. I truly believe that,” she said. Not everyone is on board, though. DUI defense attorney Kevin Hayslett sees the mandatory blood test as a violation of constitutional rights.

“It’s a slippery slope and it’s got to stop somewhere,” Hayslett explained, “what other misdemeanor offense do we have in the United States where the government can forcefully put a needle into your arm?”

The federal government says Florida has among the highest rates of breathalyzer refusal.

“Now you’ve got attorneys telling their clients, don’t blow, don’t blow! Because we know from the results from these machines that they’re not operating as the state or the government says they’re supposed to operate,” said Stephen Daniels, a DUI consultant and expert witness.

Supporters, though, say you could see the “no refusal” checkpoints in the Bay area by October. “We don’t want to violate people’s civil rights. That’s the last thing we want to do, but we’re here to save lives,” Unfried said. She adds that this type of checkpoint would be heavily advertised, with the goal of deterring any drunk driving. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has recently said he wants to see more states hold similar programs.

Source: CNBC

Date: Sept. 28, 2010

Thanks to new laws, restaurant patrons in Massachusetts can now start ordering cocktails at 10 a.m. on Sundays, instead of noon. In Arizona they can start hitting the bottle at 6 a.m.-four hours earlier than previously allowed.

Fans of the new rules can clink their glasses and toast the recession, which has state and county leaders looking to revise their alcohol sales laws in order to give small businesses in their borders more sales and also increase tax revenue as they face large budget deficits.

Other law revisions are in the works. City and state politicians in Connecticut and Virginia are leading efforts to modify alcohol laws in their states.

“I have followed the ebb and flow of blue laws for 30 years, and in my opinion the pattern is that repeal efforts tick upward every time there’s a downturn in the economy,” said David Laband, economics and policy professor at Auburn University, who wrote a book on the laws that restrict alcohol sales on Sundays.

In the case of Massachusetts, the extra two hours of alcohol sales are meant to give small businesses a needed boost, officials in the state said, but it will also give some added revenue to the state.

“We have noticed a definite increase in our liquor sales and overall traffic on Sunday mornings,” says Alexa Demarco, the general manager of Mooo., a restaurant within the XV Beacon Hotel in Boston. “This has been also an added luxury to our Sunday morning brunch guests who are looking to order a bloody Mary, mimosa or one of our signature cocktails we now have listed on our brunch menu.”

Expanding alcohol sales hours also keeps residents to stay and spend money within a municipality’s borders, rather than leaving to buy alcohol from a neighboring state or county, says Laband. That was the case in Zephyrhills, Fla. The city passed legislation this year that allowed alcohol to be sold starting at 11 a.m. on Sundays instead of 1 p.m. because local restaurants and convenience stores were losing customers to surrounding counties that were selling alcohol at earlier hours, says Linda Boan, the Zephyrhills city clerk.

In Arizona, allowing alcohol sales to start at 6 a.m. on Sundays is expected to give added revenue to businesses around the state and especially to resorts in Phoenix and Scottsdale, says Representative Matt Heinz (D) who backed the amendment after a resident complained about not being able to buy a bottle of wine while doing her Sunday morning shopping for the week. “It’s common-sense, pro-business legislature,” says Heinz.

In Virginia, the governor is proposing to change the entire alcohol sales structure altogether.

In that state, residents can buy alcohol only from government-owned stores. Governor Bob McDonnell (R) proposed a plan in early September to privatize the alcohol system by selling 1,000 alcohol licenses. The sale is expected to give the state $500 million that would be used to improve its transportation systems.

And in Connecticut, the mayors of the three largest cities-Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven-are pushing the governor to repeal the state’s blue laws, which ban alcohol sales on Sunday altogether. The mayor’s are saying the state could reap in $8 million in tax revenue after the repeal.

Experts say that with states and cities continuing to face large deficits, more of them will move to relax their laws.

“The economy is definitely a factor,” says Lisa Hawkins, spokesperson at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. “States are realizing they’re missing out on much needed revenue.”

Learn more about your state’s alcohol-related laws.

Route 60 Liquor store recently opened and is home to more cold beer than any other store in the area. The store has a “beer cave”, an 800-square-foot walk-in cooler, that holds popular packs, cases and kegs of beer. The beer cave is kept at 35 degrees. Along with it’s wide variety of domestic, import and craft beers Route 60 Liquor also sells wine and liquor.

Learn more about Florida’s Responsible Vendor Act at servingalcohol.com