🟡Relating to liquor sales on credit by the holder of a distiller’s and rectifier’s permit to a wholesaler.

🟡 SB 1355: Late payment rules shift to private contracts

What it says it does:
Addresses late payments from liquor wholesalers to Texas distilleries, creates a process for invoices and complaints, and lets TABC take action when payments are overdue.

What it actually changes:
There is no universal 30 day deadline. Payment timing is whatever the contract or written agreement says. A violation occurs only after the due date passes and the distiller sends a demand for payment. TABC can discipline based on factors like days late, amount owed, and prior history, and must set documentation rules for complaints. Earlier ideas like a public delinquency list and automatic permit consequences are not in the final text. Effective date is September 1, 2025.

Who is pushing for it:
Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Texas, a consultant for Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, and multiple individuals associated with the Texas Distilled Spirits Association registered in support in the witness lists. TABC staff appeared on. Two individuals registered against.

Who benefits:
Large wholesalers that can standardize longer contract terms and navigate a case by case enforcement process. Distillers who have clear agreements and clean paperwork to trigger complaints. TABC, which gains discretion and rulemaking authority.

Who gets left out or exposed:
Small or rural distilleries with less leverage and limited staff capacity. They carry the burden to send demands, compile documents, and pursue complaints, and there is no public list to pressure repeat late payers.

Why this matters long term:
It shifts power from a public, uniform standard to private contracting plus agency discretion. That reduces transparency and relies on who holds negotiating leverage. It also sets a precedent for using private terms to define when a legal violation begins.

What to watch next:
TABC’s rules on required documentation and penalty factors, whether the agency publishes basic outcome metrics, and whether industry contract templates move to longer timelines.

Bottom line:
SB 1355 recognizes a real problem, but it trades bright line deadlines and sunlight for private timelines and discretionary enforcement. It can help if rules and metrics are clear, but without transparency and firm backstops, bigger buyers will manage the process while smaller Texas makers wait to be paid.

Questions to ask lawmakers:

1. What tradeoffs did you consider when replacing a clear statewide deadline with contract-based timelines, and how will you make sure smaller producers are not squeezed?
2. Why remove public transparency tools like a delinquency list instead of improving them, and what metrics will you publish so Texans can see if the law is working?
3. How will TABC keep the complaint process simple enough that small operations can actually use it without extra staff or lawyers?

#SB1355 #TexasPolicy #WatchTheRules #TABC #AlcoholPolicy #TexasDistillers