March 15th, 2011
The First Sip: House Bill 660 – An Open Letter to Representative Hamilton
Mike Hamilton (R), District 19
Chairman- House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee
Dear Representative Hamilton,
As a life-long resident of Missouri City, TX, I am deeply interested in the growth and vitality of our city as well as Texas as a whole. We can all agree that it is in our state’s best interest to find constructive ways of addressing our budgetary challenges while still fostering a positive environment for small businesses to flourish.
That brings me to the reason for my letter. I am writing you today regarding House Bill 660, relating to the sale of malt liquor, ale, and beer by the holder of a brewpub license, filed by Representative Mike Villarreal of San Antonio. This bill would allow Texas brewpubs the right to make their products available for sale off-premise, a right that out-of-state brewpubs already enjoy within the borders of Texas. It is unfathomable that in this economic climate that our statutes would so greatly restrict local small businesses; the very businesses that will help us out of this recession!
