Lawmakers hear code reorganization bill for beer and table‑wine distribution licenses

Helena — The House Business and Labor Committee heard from sponsor Representative Ed Buttry and agency officials on House Bill 86, a technical reorganization of statutes to reflect a combined beer wholesaler and table wine distributor license created in 2023.

Representative Ed Buttry told the committee the 2023 Legislature combined the two license types into one and the 2025 bill is intended to clean up statutory language so requirements that once appeared in separate sections are consolidated under a single “Beer and Table Wine Distribution Act.” He said the measure is intended as code cleanup and does not change fees or generate a general‑fund impact.

Becky Schlau, the department’s Alcoholic Beverage Control administrator, said the bill would repeal approximately 25 statutes and adopt around 20 new ones; the department reorganized existing statutory language rather than creating new policy. She outlined several specific substitutions and told the committee the department would supply a short amendment with minor edits — singular/plural changes, insertion of the term “table wine” in a few places and switching some reporting from monthly to quarterly to match current practice.

Industry witnesses including Deborah Pittasi of the Montana Beer and Wine Distributors Association and representatives from the Montana Distillers Guild and Montana Tavern Association supported the bill as a straightforward cleanup that should make the code easier to read and administer. Pittasi told lawmakers distributors welcome having related requirements in a single place and said the reorganization should reduce confusion when companies and regulators look up licensing rules.

Buttry said the bill carries a fiscal note stating no change to existing fees or revenue streams and described the measure as intended to simplify administration for both the department and the private sector. The committee heard no opposition during the public hearing.