OCEAN CITY — A bill introduced in the General Assembly would, if approved, establish a Class 9 craft distillery license in Worcester, allowing eligible license holders to produce their own distilled spirits on their premises in the county and conduct guided tours and tastings, for example.
Senate Bill 523, sponsored by Senator Jim Mathias, would create a Class 9 craft distillery license in Worcester, creating opportunities for those who obtain the license to distill spirits on their licensed premises and market them under their own label. While the new craft distillery license on the surface would be open to any business in Worcester that sought it, it is essentially tailored to one existing operation.
Last year, Seacrets launched its new line of craft distilled spirits including a white rum, spiced rum, vodka and gin under its own label. The Seacrets spirits are sold at the iconic nightclub and restaurant and are available to wholesalers for distribution, but the craft spirits are not produced locally. Seacrets reached out to the Delaware Distilling Company in Rehoboth, which crafted the unique alcoholic beverages under the Seacrets label.
Senate Bill 523 would allow Seacrets, and presumably other businesses that acquired the new Class 9 license to produce their own distilled spirits in Worcester County. The Class 9 license holders would open and operate distilleries right on site and would be able to conduct guided tours, tastings and other enhanced visitor experiences.
“This bill would allow Seacrets and others to establish their own distilleries in Worcester County,” said Mathias this week. “I think it’s a smart bill. It would bring jobs and capital investment to Worcester. Seacrets is the only one doing it thus far, but they have to produce it in Delaware. This would allow them to move the operation to Seacrets proper and Worcester County.”
The bill would establish a Class 9 craft distillery license in Worcester County. The craft distillery license would be available for holders on a Class D beer, wine and liquor license and would allow the licensee to establish and operate a plant for distilling and bottling spirits such as rum, vodka, whiskey, brandy etc.
The license would allow a Class 9 license holder in Worcester County to acquire bulk alcoholic beverages and store, sell and deliver its product. The licensee would be allowed to operate a distillery on is licensed premises and conduct guided tours and serve a certain number of samples to visitors under certain defined circumstances.
Language in the bill maintains the holder of the Class 9 craft distillery license may only maintain one brand at any one time for each product, such as vodka, gin, rum and whiskey for example. The licensee would not be able to manufacture a distilled spirit for another entity, essentially meaning the distillery would be reserved for products of the licensed premises only. However, the licensee would be able to sell its products to licensed wholesalers for distribution.
The bill, if approved, would put limitations on the amount of distilled spirits a Class 9 license holder could produce. For example, the licensee could not produce more than 100,000 gallons of distilled in each calendar year and would only be able to sell at retail on the licensed premises no more than 15,500 gallons of the product in each calendar year.
Another bill co-sponsored by Mathias would create an Open Space Incentive Program whereby the state would make annual payments to the counties crediting them for maintaining state parks, forests and wildlife management areas, for example. Currently, Maryland makes revenue sharing payments to the individual counties based on the revenue their state park areas generate, but Senate Bill 134, if approved, would make it a flat payment based on acreage preserved.
The bill defines a unit of open space held in state parks, forests and wildlife management areas as 10,000 acres. Under the proposed Open Space Incentive Program, the state would pay the counties $250,000 for each unit of defined open space. In Worcester, under the new definition, there are five 10,000-acre units spread out in the Assateague State Park and Pocomoke State Park, for example, meaning the state would pay the county $1.25 million under the program beginning in fiscal year 2017. Wicomico has three units of open space under the proposal and would receive $750,000, while Somerset also has five units and would be paid $1.25 million.
Another bill co-sponsored by Mathias in the Senate would phase in the restoration of highway user funds to the counties and municipalities to pre-recession levels. Over the last several years, the state has raided the Transportation Trust Fund (TTP), which earmarks funds for road projects across the state, to make up for shortfalls in the general budget.
As a result, Maryland counties and municipalities have seen their state TTP funding shrink to almost nothing. Senate Bill 181 would phase in the restoration of the TTP funding to local jurisdictions. Under the legislation, Worcester would see its TTP funding increase by $1.9 million in 2016, $3.7 million in 2017 up to $6.8 million by 2020. Wicomico would see its highway funding increase by $2.6 million in 2016 up to $9.4 million by 2020.