DIRECT SHIPPING/RETAIL WINE OUTLET LEGISLATION PASSES ASSEMBLY BUDGET COMMITTEE TODAY
ATTENTION NOW TURNS TO THE ENTIRE ASSEMBLY
TAKE ACTION NOW AND URGE ASSEMBLY SPEAKER OLIVER TO POST A-4436/S-3172 FOR AN ASSEMBLY VOTE ON MONDAY!
Thanks to thousands of letters from NJ wine consumers in support of A-4436/S-3172, legislation which will preserve NJ's retail wine outlets and permit direct shipping from small wineries to NJ residents, the Assembly Budget Committee voted this afternoon in favor and sent the bill to the Assembly for a full vote.
UnCorkNJ thanks the bill sponsors, Senate President Steve Sweeney, Assemblyman John Burzichelli, Deputy Speaker John Wisniewski and Assemblywoman Celeste Riley, for their leadership and unwavering support for the legislation. We would also like to thank the members of the Assembly Budget Committee who rejected the liquor lobby's false claims, and sided with NJ's wine consumers and wine growers and voted in favor of the bill.
"The limited access people have to New Jersey wines has suffocated an industry that has enormous potential for growth," said Senate President Sweeney. "New Jersey's wine industry can grow by leaps and bounds if we act to change our current flawed policies. This in turn will be spur the kind of economic growth we sorely need in the state right now."
"This bill balances the modern needs of our wine industry with the need of liquor stores and distributors and positions both for even more economic, job-creating success," said Assemblyman Burzichelli. "This bill is pro-consumer and pro-business, and it ensures our blossoming wine industry will be competitive and modern. It's a common sense approach."
"This bill is good news for consumers and businesses alike," said Deputy Speaker Wisniewski. "It's a carefully crafted plan that ensures our wine industry can become a key economic engine for our state while protecting the local liquor stores and the many jobs they provide our state. It's a long overdue plan to modernize our laws to meet the reality of how consumers now shop."
"Consumers can purchase just about anything these days through shipping," said Assemblywoman Riley. "Wine, as long as it's as carefully regulated as this bill would do, should be no different. Our current laws are holding our wine industry back and ensuring they remain less competitive with wineries in other states, and that must change for the better."
Your commitment to this effort was critical to the successful vote today. Consumers from every legislative district sent a strong message to members of the Assembly Budget Committee about the many benefits of this legislation to NJ's economy.
The focus now turns to the entire Assembly. UnCorkNJ urges Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver to post A-4436/S-3172 for a vote on Monday, January 9, the last day of the legislative session. UnCorkNJ is asking all of its thousands of supports to please continue the fight to make NJ the 39th state to allow for direct shipping. The state's liquor lobby is working every day to never allow NJ wine consumers with the same ability as millions of Americans in 38 states. We only have a few days to communicate with Assembly members about the need for this legislation.
Please take action today and ask Assembly Speaker Oliver to post A-4436/S-3172 for a vote on Monday!
NJ's wine consumers and wineries received another major boost this week as the COURIER-POST and the EXPRESS-TIMES joined six other newspapers to endorse direct shipping legislation. Additionally, highly noted national newspaper, the WALL STREET JOURNAL, published a major article on the NJ effort to permit direct shipping and preserve NJ's retail wine outlets. To read the COURIER-POST editorial, please click here; to read the EXPRESS-TIMES editorial, please click here; and to read the WALL STREET JOURNAL article, please click here.
We thank you for your past support and encourage you to once again take action now and spread the word to other wine consumers!
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