Notice of Third Modification to Text of Proposed Regulations

Pursuant to the requirements of Government Code section 11346.8(c), and section 44 of Title 1 of the California Code of Regulations, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is providing notice of changes that have been made to the text of the proposed addition of Title 4 of the California Code of Regulations Title 4 sections 105-105.2.

The proposal to update California Code of Regulations Title 4 sections 105-105.2 was originally noticed to the public on October 28, 2022. The proposed regulation had a 45-day comment period that ended at 5:00 pm on December 13, 2022. A public hearing was also held on December 13, 2022. Modifications to the proposed regulations were noticed to the public on January 31, 2023. The 15-day comment period for the modifications to the proposed regulations ended at 12:00 pm on February 16, 2023. An additional 15-day comment period for the second modifications to the proposed regulations began on March 28, 2023, and ended at 12:00 pm on April 12, 2023. Based on comments received during the additional comment period for the proposed modifications, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has made the following changes to the proposed regulations:

1. Clarified definitions for the online price posting system
2. Added a definition of “customer” to ensure no confusion over the word being applied to retail customers.
3. Grammatical change to the “delivered” definition
4. Clarification of the “Price Promotion” definition
5. Clarification of the “Depletion Allowance” definition
6. Clarification of Wholesaler’s discretion when participating in price promotions
7. Grammatical and typo corrections for clarity
8. Clarification of the authority to bring administrative actions under this section

The necessity of each of these changes will be explained in the Final Statement of Reasons to be submitted at the close of this rulemaking record and the Response to Comments.

A copy of the full text of the regulation with the proposed changes indicated is attached for your review. The third modifications to the proposed language will appear in double underlined italics and deletions will appear in double strikethrough italics.

Any interested person may submit a written statement relating to the modified language during the 15-day public comment period from August 16, 2023 to September 1, 2023. The written comment period will close at 12:00 p.m. on September 1, 2023. Submit written comments to:

The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
3927 Lennane Drive, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95834

Attention: Law and Policy Unit

Comments may also be submitted by email to rpu@abc.ca.gov.

All written comments received by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control by 12:00 pm on September 1, 2023, which pertain to the indicated changes, will be reviewed and responded to by the Department’s staff as part of the compilation of the rulemaking file. Please limit your comments to the third modifications to the proposed language that appear in double underlined italics and deletions that appear in double strikethrough italics.

Inquiries concerning the proposed regulatory action may be directed to the agency representative Robert de Ruyter, Assistant General Counsel, (916) 419-8958, (designated backup contact) Sarah Easter, Associate Governmental Program Analyst, Law and Policy Unit, (916) 823-1310 or via email at rpu@abc.ca.gov