Rep. Kevin Waters bill to assist breweries with food service receives committee approval

A bill from Rep. Kevin Waters that would allow breweries to subcontract food service has passed committee approval, with two other bills also moving forward in the legislative process.

Two other Waters bills receive public hearings

On Tuesday, the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee unanimously passed a bipartisan bill from Rep. Kevin Waters that would allow alcohol producers, including breweries, to sub out their kitchen space to people with restaurant experience.

In most cases, breweries that make and sell beer are not restauranteurs. Currently, a brewery must meet specific food service requirements if it wants to operate a new location using a restaurant liquor license. However, House Bill 1602 would change that.

“I started a brewery 13 years ago, and it’s still in operation today. I know a lot of the fine folks who open and operate breweries,” said Waters R-Stevenson. “However, not everyone who wants to open a brewery can because of certain statutes. In fact, there is a brewery in the 49th district trying to open right now but they can’t. They don’t want to run their own kitchen. They want to subcontract the restaurant part of their business, but they aren’t allowed to. So, this bill would help several breweries like this that literally can’t open their space until the Liquor Control Board gets this matter fixed.”

If HB 1602 becomes law, it would allow breweries to subcontract the restaurant part of their business to individuals or entities better suited for running the food service side.

“This is a nice, simple bill that helps our breweries and enables them to provide safely prepared food options to their customers,” added Waters. It would also provide consumers with more options and convenience when dining out. Lastly, it would allow many would-be breweries currently in limbo because of the different rules and requirements to open.”

The bill now waits for a vote from the entire House.

Meanwhile, the House Consumer Protection and Business Committee held a public hearing on House Bill 1698 on Tuesday. The bill makes changes to definitions under the alcohol server permit statutes, clarifying that all persons selling and serving alcohol for on-premises consumption at a licensed facility need to obtain an alcohol server permit. It would also eliminate special liquor permits and public house liquor licenses.

“This bipartisan legislation would help create an easy and balanced process to determine who needs to be a licensed server in Washington,” said Waters. “In other words, it would ensure that if you pour alcoholic beverages at a site that serves alcohol, you will need a permit. This bill would provide clarity and a uniform standard for everyone.”

Lastly, House Bill 1731, which received a hearing in the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, would allow museums to notify museum item owners in a more modern way that they have unclaimed property. Currently, they use publications in newspapers and other older methods of contact, which the public doesn’t often see. This would allow them to contact property owners via email, phone, or text and document their contact.

“I served on the board of Skamania County Museum for a time, and believe it or not, the number one issue we had was unclaimed property,” said Waters. “It takes up a tremendous amount of space in our museums. The current way of trying to notify property owners is antiquated and ineffective. This bill would simply provide a better way to inform property owners that their items can be picked up.”

Under HB 1731, museums or societies would have to post a notice at least once a week for three consecutive weeks using one or more of the following methods: