2024 Chaptered Legislation

Code Section Changes by Bill Number

AB 1940 (Villapudua, Chapter 218, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverages: beer returns.

Amends Section 23104.2 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill allows a wholesaler or manufacturer, when accepting the return and exchange of a discontinued or seasonal brand of beer, to provide the retailer with beer produced by a different manufacturer if the original manufacturer has ceased doing business, as specified. Such exchanges will be subject to the existing rules in law, including, but not limited to, that the wholesaler or manufacturer must receive ABC approval for the exchange. This bill also clarifies that the return and exchange of a seasonal or discontinued brand of beer from a retailer to a wholesaler, as authorized in current law, requires the exchanged beer to be of similar quality.

AB 2069 (Gallagher, Chapter 306, Statutes of 2024) Sale of soju and shochu.

Amends Section 23398.5 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill allows domestically produced soju and shochu to qualify for an exception in law currently limited to soju and shochu imported into the United States. As a result, an on-sale licensed premises with wine privileges (e.g. type 41 or type 42 license) may sell soju or shochu that is up to 24 percent alcohol by volume and derived from agricultural products, regardless of where it was produced. To qualify for the exception, the alcohol must be legitimate soju or shochu and be labeled as such.

AB 2094 (Flora, Chapter 213, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverage control: public community college stadiums: City of Bakersfield.

Amends Section 25608 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill authorizes the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages at a public community college stadium with a capacity of at least 19,000 people in the City of Bakersfield for sporting events or concerts sponsored by a public community college or other events sponsored by noncollege groups.

AB 2174 (Aguiar-Curry, Chapter 308, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverages: beer caterer’s permit.

Amends Section 23320 of, and adds Section 23399.01 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill establishes a beer catering permit (known as a type 91) that can be issued by ABC to a licensed beer manufacturer. The permit authorizes the sale of beer produced by or for the beer manufacturer for consumption at conventions, sporting events, trade exhibits, picnics, social gatherings, community events, or similar events held any place in the state approved by ABC.

In order to exercise the privileges of the permit, the beer manufacturer needs to apply to ABC for a catering event authorization and receive local law enforcement approval. If approved, the beer manufacturer could sell beer produced by or for them within a specified area at the event. The privileges of the permit are exclusively on-sale, meaning alcohol cannot be removed from the licensed area of the event. At all approved events, the beer catering permit holder will be restricted to only privileges authorized by their license and permit, and will be required to comply with all provisions of the ABC Act, such as completion of Responsible Beverage Service training. Violations at a catered event are grounds for discipline against the license, including suspension or revocation, as if the violation occurred at their licensed premises.

Limits on Events and Sales
A beer catering permitholder will be capped at receiving no more than 36 total event authorizations in a calendar year, and no more than two beer caterers may participate per day at a single event. At each event, a beer caterer will be limited to selling no more than 124 gallons of beer. Beer caterers will be required to maintain records of all beer sales conducted under their permit for a minimum of three years.

Associated Fees
Beginning January 1, 2025, the type 91 beer catering permit will have an annual fee of $275 that is subject to increases, as authorized in current law for other ABC license types, in amounts not to exceed annual differentials in the California Consumer Price Index. Separately, an event authorization will carry a fee of $100 when anticipated attendance is less than 1,000 people; $325 when anticipated attendance is 1,000-4,999; and $1,000 when anticipated attendance is 5,000 or more. A beer catering permit may be renewed annually at the same time as the licensee’s beer manufacturing license.

AB 2177 (McKinnor, Chapter 61, Statutes of 2024) Winegrowers: spirits of wine.

Amends Sections 23358 and 23502 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – Under current law, a winegrower is authorized under their license to produce spirits of wine and blend those spirits of wine into wine produced by the winegrower, to sell those spirits of wine to an industrial alcohol dealer (e.g. a hand sanitizer manufacturer) or to a distilled spirits manufacturer, or to destroy them. The authorization to sell spirits of wine to a type 04 distilled spirits manufacturer was codified last year under AB 1704.

This bill expands the authorization granted under AB 1704 to include any person holding a license authorizing the manufacture or rectification of distilled spirits, thereby enabling sales to rectifiers and craft distillers rather than solely type 04 licensees. This bill also makes a conforming update to the Craft Distillers Act of 2015 to reflect that the craft distillers license privilege of producing distilled spirits includes spirits of wine produced by a winegrower.

AB 2359 (Ting, Chapter 393, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverage control: neighborhood-restricted special on-sale general licenses.

Amends Section 23826.13 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill allows 10 new type 87 licenses to be issued by increasing the cap from 30 to 40 total authorized licenses in specified census tracts. Of the new 10 licenses, five may be issued, in any combination, in the following census tracts: 612000, 232000, 234000, 233000, 230030; the other five new licenses may be issued, in any combination, in census tracts 255010, 255020, 256000, 260020, 260010, 260040, 261000, or 263010. This bill also repeals the preapplication meeting requirements currently applicable to the type 87 license. Additionally, this bill grants off-sale privileges for type 87 licenses that are issued on or after January 1, 2025, unless conditioned or prohibited by ABC as part of the existing licensing process. This bill also provides that the holder of a type 87 license issued before January 1, 2025, may submit a petition to ABC requesting to exercise off-sale privileges. If ABC determines good cause exists to deny the petition, in whole or in part, ABC shall endorse the prohibition or other restriction as a condition on the license. If denied, the licensee may make a written request for hearing as prescribed in current law.

AB 2375 (Lowenthal, Chapter 714, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverages: on-sale general public premises: drink lids.

Amends Section 25624 of, and adds and repeals Section 25625 of, the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages.(Effective July 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill requires applicants for, and holders of, type 48 licenses to provide a lid with a customer’s drink upon their request. A “lid” is defined to mean a removable cover of any size that attaches to the rim of a beverage. The lid is not required to fit all containers in which alcoholic beverages are served on the premises but must fit at least one. Licensees will be authorized to offer the lid complimentary or charge a fee that does not exceed a reasonable amount based on the wholesale cost.

Type 48 applicants and licensees are also required by this bill to update their signage mandated by last year’s AB 1013 (Lowenthal) pertaining to drug testing kits so that the sign also references lids. Specifically, the signs must read, “Don’t get roofied! Drink lids and drink spiking drug test kits available here. Ask a staff member for details.”

This bill takes effect July 1, 2025, and is scheduled to repeal January 1, 2027, unless extended by the Legislature.

AB 2378 (Calderon, Chapter 309, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverage control: licensing exemption: apprenticeship program for bartending or mixology.

Amends Section 23399.5 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill establishes an alcohol license exemption for bartending or mixology apprenticeship programs approved by the Chief of the Division of Apprenticeship Standards within the Department of Industrial Relations, provided all of the following requirements are met:

1. Students enrolled in the apprenticeship program are at least 21 years of age.
2. The apprenticeship program adopts a policy that the students may taste, but may not consume, the alcoholic beverages served.
3. There is no extra charge or fee for the alcoholic beverages served.

AB 2389 (Lowenthal, Chapter 310, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverages: on-sale general – eating place and on-sale general public premises: drug reporting.

Adds Section 25624.5 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages.(Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill requires an applicant for, or holder of, a type 48 license to contact and provide any of the following information to law enforcement or emergency medical services when they are notified by a customer that the customer or another customer believes they have been a victim of drink spiking:

1. A positive test result from a drug testing device.
2. Observation of someone tampering with a customer’s drink.
3. Verbal communication to staff that a customer has been drugged.
4. Observation of symptoms associated with the effects of drink spiking or the controlled substances used for drink spiking.

After contacting law enforcement or emergency medical services, the licensee or their staff must, to the best of their ability, follow any instructions provided by law enforcement or emergency medical services and, to the best of their ability, monitor the customer until law enforcement or emergency medical services arrive at the premises to assess the customer. For purposes of these laws, drink spiking includes, but is not limited to, adding a controlled substance or alcohol to a person’s drink without their knowledge or consent.

AB 2402 (Lowenthal, Chapter 829, Statutes of 2024) Drink spiking.

Amends Section 25681 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2027)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill requires, beginning January 1, 2027, Responsible Beverage Service training to include best practices on how to prevent or protect a person from drink spiking and best practices if a person has been drugged from drink spiking. For purposes of this bill, “drink spiking” means putting alcohol or drugs into another person’s drink without their knowing and express consent, also known as roofying.

AB 2589 (Joe Patterson, Chapter 312, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverages: additional licenses: County of El Dorado and County of Placer.

Adds Section 23826.20 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill authorizes ABC to issue up to 10 additional new original type 47 licenses in a “retail center” in each the County of El Dorado and the County of Placer. Retail center is defined to mean “a multitenant shopping center that contains at least 300,000 square feet of retail shopping space open to the public”, and 3 of the 10 total licenses per county are reserved for premises in a retail center that contains at least 1,000,000 square feet of retail shopping space open to the public.

ABC may not issue more than 4 licenses per county in the first year this bill takes effect, and the respective county board of supervisors will be authorized to adopt and submit a resolution to ABC that further restricts the number of licenses that may be issued pursuant to the bill, as specified.

The licenses authorized by this bill will be subject to existing priority drawing laws. Existing 47s in a retail shopping center will be precluded from acquiring a license under this bill for their existing premises. Further, licenses issued pursuant to this section cannot be transferred to other counties or to premises not qualifying pursuant to this bill. Additionally, licenses issued pursuant to this bill cannot be sold or transferred for a price greater than the original fee paid. Among other provisions, these licenses may be issued as “for special use” by ABC, and the cancellation or revocation of a license issued pursuant to this bill will authorize ABC to issue an additional license during the regular priority drawing process.

AB 2991 (Valencia, Chapter 426, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverage control: retailer payments: electronic funds transfers.

Amends, repeals, and adds Section 25509 of, and adds Section 25509.1 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages.(Effective January 1, 2026)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill requires, beginning January 1, 2026, payment from a licensed retailer to a licensed wholesaler for the delivery of alcoholic beverages to occur via an electronic funds transfer (EFT), as specified. EFT payments pursuant to this bill will be subject to all of the following requirements:

1. The wholesaler must initiate the EFT through the withdrawal of funds from the retailer’s bank account.
2. The EFT must occur by the expiration of the 30th day from the date of delivery.
3. Any costs related to the electronic payment services must be paid by the party that incurred the costs. Wholesalers cannot pay for electronic payment fees incurred by retailers, and retailers cannot pay for electronic payment fees incurred by wholesalers, and service fees must be applied in an equitable manner to the licensee to match the services they receive. Retailers are precluded from accepting a rebate, incentive, or other thing of value from a third-party payment processor for EFTs required by this bill.

This bill designates the wholesaler licensee with the power to select the third-party payment processor used to facilitate the EFT transfer. The wholesaler and retailer may agree on the third-party payment processor, but if the parties are unable to agree, they must use the third-party payment processor used by the retailer as of July 1, 2025 to pay for wholesale alcohol purchase; and, if by July 1, 2025, the retailer does not use a third-party payment processor, the parties must use the third-party payment processor selected by the wholesaler.

This bill authorizes wholesalers to choose to accept credit card payments in lieu of an EFT. If payment is made using a credit card, the retailer will bear the cost of the transaction. In addition, this bill contains a narrow authorization for other non-EFT payments. Specifically, it allows the payment of cash, check, or money order only in the following instances:

1. During temporary service interruptions of the third-party payment processor.
2. If accepting payment following an EFT of insufficient funds.
3. If the retailer licensee holds an interim operating permit or a temporary permit pursuant to existing law.
4. During the first 30 days following the issuance of a license to the retailer.

AB 3069 (Davies, Chapter 429, Statutes of 2024) Tied-house restrictions: advertising exceptions: City of Oceanside.

Amends Section 25503.6 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. (Effective September 22, 2024)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This urgency bill authorizes alcohol manufacturers (including beer manufacturers, winegrowers, rectifiers, craft distillers, distilled spirits manufacturers or their agents) to purchase advertising space and time from, or on behalf of, an on-sale retail licensee that is the owner or operator of a fully enclosed arena with a fixed seating capacity in excess of 5,000 seats located in the City of Oceanside. Advertisements and sponsorships authorized by this bill will be subject to the existing requirements generally applicable to other arenas in the state with similar tied-house exceptions (particularly those specified in Business and Professions Code section 25503.6).

AB 3203 (Aguiar-Curry, Chapter 318, Statutes of 2024) Craft distillers: direct shipping.

Amends Section 23504.5 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill temporarily extends direct-to-consumer shipping privileges of California craft distillers from January 1, 2025, until January 1, 2026. Spirits shipped by a California craft distiller must still comply with the requirements set forth in current law, Business and Professions Code section 23504.5.

AB 3206 (McKinnor, Chapter 977, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverages: hours of sale: arenas in the City of Inglewood.

Adds and repeals Sections 23398.7 and 25631.5 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages.(Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill allows, until January 1, 2030, alcohol service between 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. at an on-sale licensed premises operated in a fully enclosed arena with a seating capacity of at least 18,000 seats located in the City of Inglewood, as specified. The Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers, is the only qualifying arena. Alcoholic beverage sales pursuant to this bill must be limited to the morning immediately following a sporting event, concert, or other public or private event at the arena, and can only occur in a private area of the arena available only to members of a private club who are assessed dues in order to gain access to the area, and guests of those members. To exercise these privileges, the City of Inglewood must adopt a specified ordinance and the arena operator needs to receive a permit from ABC established by the bill.

AB 3285 (Committee on Governmental Organization, Chapter 230, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverage control.

Amends Sections 23827 and 25600 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverage control.(Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill extends the sunset date, from January 1, 2025, until January 1, 2030, applicable to provisions of law that allow specified alcohol manufacturers to donate a portion of the purchase price of an alcoholic beverage to a nonprofit charitable organization if certain conditions are met. This bill also clarifies the authorization provided in existing law for the issuance of new on-sale general licenses in counties with populations of less than 7,000 so that 1) such licenses are available if the county depends upon tourism and 2) such licenses cannot be transferred to a premises that does not meet the requirements for which the license is issued.

SB 969 (Wiener, Chapter 869, Statutes of 2023) Alcoholic beverages: entertainment zones: consumption.

Amends Sections 23039.5, 23357, 23358, 23396, and 25690 of, and adds Sections 25691 and 25692 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill extends the entertainment zone provisions in law established by SB 76 (Wiener, Chapter 700, Statutes of 2023) so that they apply to any city or county rather than solely San Francisco. This bill also repeals provisions in SB 76 that limit alcohol consumption in an entertainment zone to only areas adjacent to and at the same time as a special event licensed by ABC, thereby allowing alcohol consumption in certain public areas of an entertainment zone regardless of whether a licensed special event is occurring. This means that a licensed beer manufacturer, winegrower, and on-sale licensed premises in an entertainment zone may sell alcoholic beverages, allowed by their license and local ordinance, for consumption within the entertainment zone. Specifically, those licensees will be allowed to permit consumers to leave their premises with open alcoholic beverages, not in metal or glass containers, if the premises is located within the entertainment zone, consumption of that type of alcoholic beverage is authorized by the local ordinance creating the zone, open alcohol containers only leave the premises during the hours allowed by the ordinance establishing the zone, and patrons with open containers exit the premises directly into the zone. Only alcohol purchased in an entertainment zone may be consumed within the zone, and licensees are prohibited from allowing alcoholic beverages on their premises that were acquired from another licensed location, among other various provisions. Before participating, the licensee is statutorily required to provide annual notice to ABC of their intent to do so.

SB 1224 (Ochoa Bogh, Chapter 132, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverage control: on-sale general license: County of Riverside.

Amends Section 23824 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill exempts a premises operated as the Riverside County Fairgrounds, on land owned by the County of Riverside, from the requirement of operating as a bona fide public eating place while serving alcoholic beverages if food service is available to the public at all times during which licensed privileges are exercised.

SB 1371 (Bradford, Chapter 606, Statutes of 2024) Alcoholic beverage control: proof of age.

Amends Section 25660 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill establishes that utilization of a biometric system, as defined, that reviews bona fide evidence of majority and identity of a person and that verifies and authenticates the validity of that bona fide evidence, may qualify as an affirmative defense in a criminal prosecution or administrative hearing involving the licensee. For purposes of this bill, “biometrics” is defined to mean the unique characteristics of a person, including, but not limited to, fingerprints, iris, face, or other similar biometric characteristics, or any combination thereof. Further, a “biometric system” is defined as technology that links the identity of a person to that person’s biometrics.

SB 1495 (Wilk, Chapter 137, Statutes of 2024) Tied-house restrictions: for-profit cemeteries: City of Los Angeles.

Adds Section 25503.63 to the Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages. (Effective January 1, 2025)

Summary of Code Section Changes – This bill establishes a tied-house exception that allows alcohol manufacturers (including beer manufacturers, winegrowers and their agents, importers who do not also hold a wholesaler or retail license, distilled spirits manufacturers and their agents, and rectifiers) to purchase advertising space or event sponsorships from the operator of a for-profit cemetery that meets specified requirements. Hollywood Forever Cemetery is the only qualifying cemetery at this time. Advertising and sponsorships authorized by this bill must comply with specified requirements.