Marc Levine takes aim at fellow Democrat over inaction on distillery bill

SACRAMENTO - A bill that would allow California’s distillers to sell products directly to consumers is on hold following an apparent political spat between a North Coast lawmaker and his Democratic colleague from Merced.

Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, went public this week with anger directed at Adam Gray, D-Merced, whom Levine accused of playing dirty procedural tricks to stall and possibly kill the distillery bill.

But Gray last week was removed from a committee that Levine chairs, in what some observers interpreted as payback for the Merced lawmaker’s not falling into line with Levine’s desires.

At his Capitol office Tuesday, Levine denied that political payback was the reason his bill hit the deep freeze this week.

“I don’t think so,” he said.

Gray refused comment through his spokesman.

The Merced lawmaker is chair of the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization, which on Monday was supposed to take up AB 1322, the bill authored by Levine that would allow producers of vodka, whiskey and other distilled spirits to sell up to three distilled spirits per person per day at their facilities.

The bill was the fifth item listed on Monday’s committee agenda. But according to Levine, Gray moved the item up to the start of the meeting and then brought a motion to hold it for further study - all while Levine was out of the room.

“This was a petty, small thing that occurred and makes the Legislature look bad,” Levine said.

The bill now faces an uncertain future, but in all likelihood is tabled until at least January.

Levine called Gray’s actions “the weasel’s way out for the chair.”

Mike Lynch, a spokesman for Gray, said the bill was directed for more study on a bipartisan 16-1 vote. Lynch declined to comment further on Levine’s concerns.

Last week, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins removed Gray from the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee after the committee the week prior narrowly approved Gray’s bill requiring the state to anticipate and address impacts of water cutbacks on three rivers in the Central Valley.

Levine, who chairs that committee, was against the bill’s moving forward.

However, he said Tuesday he had nothing to do with Atkins’ removing Gray from the committee.

“He was not removed at my request, and he’s aware of that,” Levine said. “I called him personally to tell him that.”

Distillers, apparently caught up in the political spat, expressed bewilderment this week over the sudden turn of events.

“I don’t really understand how this happened,” said Timo Marshall, president of the California Artisanal Distillers Guild and co-proprietor with his wife, Ashby, of Sebastopol’s Spirit Works Distillery. “I went up there expecting a conversation and debate on what we were presenting, but it became obvious all those decisions had been made before we stepped into the room.”

Distillers have sought to sell their products directly to consumers the same way that breweries and wineries do. A law that took effect in 2014 gave the state’s vodka, whiskey and other spirit distilleries the ability to offer tastings, limited to six per customer and capped at a quarter of an ounce per sample pour for a fee.

But the state’s powerful alcohol wholesalers, who use influential lobbyists and political donations to secure sway with lawmakers in Sacramento, have opposed such changes. Critics say wholesalers have taken unfair advantage of so-called “tied-house” rules that were meant to level the playing field and head off a monopoly by separating the liquor trade into three groups - producers, wholesalers and retailers.

Levine on Monday accused Gray of “doing the bidding of the lobbyists” by taking the bill out of order and thereby circumventing debate on the proposal.

Gray has received $57,605 in political contributions from the alcoholic beverage industry since 2012, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics. His biggest contributor in the sector was Southern Wine & Spirits, which gave him $13,400 and is one of the largest and most powerful wholesalers in the country. He also received $11,600 from the California Beer and Beverage Distributors and Tustin-based wholesaler Young’s Market, which gave him $7,000.

The wholesale industry has not publicly taken a position on Levine’s bill, despite inquiries from The Press Democrat.

Levine said he could not be present for the start of Monday’s hearing because he had to present another one of his bills before a different committee. He noted that standard practice when such conflicts arise is for committee leaders to wait until the author is present before calling the bill.

Levine’s options are to bring the bill back in January or to try and push it through this year at the end of the legislative season by inserting it into an existing bill that has reached the full Assembly. He said he hadn’t yet decided which course to pursue.

Staff Writer Bill Swindell contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.