For those not on the mailing list<div>
</div><div><div style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Raise Your Pints,
Just a quick update on where we stand right now at the half-way point in the 2012 Legislative Session.
ABW:
We have one bill raising the permissible alcohol by weight from the current 5% to 8% that has completely cleared the House of Representatives (with one minor procedural hurdle that we should hop over soon). That bill,<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_1">HB1422</span>by Rep. DeLano, will then be sent to the Senate where Lt. Governor Reeves will assign it to a committee which it will need to pass out of by 3 April. We hope that this bill will be referred to Economic Development and/or Tourism because our Senate ABW bill has already cleared those committees with no problems.
Speaking of the Senate, our bill in that chamber,<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_2">SB2878</span>by Sen. Horhn, has passed out of it's committees, (Econ. Dev. and Tourism) and will be picked up by the Senate floor for debate and a vote soon. While there is no way to predict when that will happen, we expect that to be late this week or early next week. But there is an outside chance it could happen as early as today, although that is very unlikely. You canfollow us on Twitterorwatch the live feedyourself if you want to follow along just in case (the Senate convenes today at 10:00). We will of course monitor and keep you informed of any action. If and when SB2878 passes the Senate, it will be sent to the House of Representatives and assigned to a committee there, probably Ways & Means. It will then have to pass out of that committee by 3 April and go before the House floor for another round of debate and a vote.
You will notice that we have two identical bills for ABW. However only one can become law. At this point we can't predict which one that would be. That is a decision for the legislators themselves. If we're successful in getting one or both passed by both chambers, it will then be sent to the Governor for his signature.
Homebrewing:
We have three homebrew bills.<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_3">HB25</span>by Rep. Baria,<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_4">HB84</span>by Rep. Moak, and<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_5">SB2307</span>. As of this email, all three are tied up in committee. We are working these bills hard but unless something happens to break up the log jam somewhere we may be looking at another year for MS to be one of only two states to not allow the legal brewing of beer at home. If you want to help, pleasecall your Senatorand ask him or her to support SB2307 and to please speak to the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Joey Fillingane and request that he allow SB2307 to have a vote and pass to the Senate. As always, it is imperative that you are as polite and respectful as possible whenever you speak to your elected officials.
</div><span style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">You can get updates about the legislation at</span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_6">RaiseYourPints.com</span><span style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">or the</span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_7">Mississippi Brew Blog</span><span style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">.</span><br style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">As you know, RYP is an all-volunteer effort and it takes a lot of work to raise the funds it takes to pay our lobbing firm. If you've not officiallyjoinedRYP as a paid member or if you need torenew, please consider doing that now and keeping us in the fight. Freedom and Barley for all!</span></div>
</div><div><div style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">Raise Your Pints,
Just a quick update on where we stand right now at the half-way point in the 2012 Legislative Session.
ABW:
We have one bill raising the permissible alcohol by weight from the current 5% to 8% that has completely cleared the House of Representatives (with one minor procedural hurdle that we should hop over soon). That bill,<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_1">HB1422</span>by Rep. DeLano, will then be sent to the Senate where Lt. Governor Reeves will assign it to a committee which it will need to pass out of by 3 April. We hope that this bill will be referred to Economic Development and/or Tourism because our Senate ABW bill has already cleared those committees with no problems.
Speaking of the Senate, our bill in that chamber,<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_2">SB2878</span>by Sen. Horhn, has passed out of it's committees, (Econ. Dev. and Tourism) and will be picked up by the Senate floor for debate and a vote soon. While there is no way to predict when that will happen, we expect that to be late this week or early next week. But there is an outside chance it could happen as early as today, although that is very unlikely. You canfollow us on Twitterorwatch the live feedyourself if you want to follow along just in case (the Senate convenes today at 10:00). We will of course monitor and keep you informed of any action. If and when SB2878 passes the Senate, it will be sent to the House of Representatives and assigned to a committee there, probably Ways & Means. It will then have to pass out of that committee by 3 April and go before the House floor for another round of debate and a vote.
You will notice that we have two identical bills for ABW. However only one can become law. At this point we can't predict which one that would be. That is a decision for the legislators themselves. If we're successful in getting one or both passed by both chambers, it will then be sent to the Governor for his signature.
Homebrewing:
We have three homebrew bills.<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_3">HB25</span>by Rep. Baria,<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_4">HB84</span>by Rep. Moak, and<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_5">SB2307</span>. As of this email, all three are tied up in committee. We are working these bills hard but unless something happens to break up the log jam somewhere we may be looking at another year for MS to be one of only two states to not allow the legal brewing of beer at home. If you want to help, pleasecall your Senatorand ask him or her to support SB2307 and to please speak to the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Joey Fillingane and request that he allow SB2307 to have a vote and pass to the Senate. As always, it is imperative that you are as polite and respectful as possible whenever you speak to your elected officials.
</div><span style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">You can get updates about the legislation at</span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_6">RaiseYourPints.com</span><span style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">or the</span><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1331057342_7">Mississippi Brew Blog</span><span style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); ">.</span><br style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><br style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "><span style="color: rgb(80, 80, 80); font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; text-align: left; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; ">As you know, RYP is an all-volunteer effort and it takes a lot of work to raise the funds it takes to pay our lobbing firm. If you've not officiallyjoinedRYP as a paid member or if you need torenew, please consider doing that now and keeping us in the fight. Freedom and Barley for all!</span></div>