North Carolina ABC Regulations Affecting Retail and Advertising Under Review

The North Carolina ABC Commission is conducting a review of the ABC regulations in Chapter 15B (formerly 2S).  The regulations under review primarily affect restaurants, bars, private clubs, and other retail establishments and include regulations governing the advertising and marketing of alcoholic beverages.  Specifically, the review includes regulations governing:

• restaurants,
• private clubs,
• wine and beer tastings,
• cooperative advertising,
• advertising through coupons and loyalty cards,
• refunds,
• exterior and interior advertising of alcoholic beverages,
• novelties, and
• happy hour restrictions.

By law, the North Carolina ABC Commission must make an initial determination of whether the existing ABC regulations, or rules, are necessary and whether they involve substantive public interest.  The North Carolina ABC Commission’s initial determination of the existing regulations in Chapter 15B (formerly 2S) is that all of the regulations are “necessary without substantive public interest.”  This determination means either (1) the ABC Commission has not received any public comment concerning that particular regulation within the past two years, or (2) the regulation is one that  merely identifies information readily available to the public, such as an address or telephone number.  If a regulation is instead determined to be “necessary with substantive public interest,” this means that the regulation is one that affects a property interest of the regulated public, and the agency knows or suspects that any person may object to the rule. 

The initial determination of the regulations and their impact on the public may result in the later revision or repeal of the regulations.

The North Carolina ABC Commission is currently accepting public comments on these regulations.  If you have a comment about any of these regulations, you can send it to North Carolina ABC Commission Counsel Renee Cowick Metz by email: renee.cowick@abc.nc.gov, by fax: (919) 661-6165, or by mail: Renee C. Metz, ABC Commission, 400 East Tryon Road, Raleigh, NC  27610.  Public comments will be accepted through 18 March 2016.

A link to the North Carolina ABC Commission’s initial determination can be found here.

A link to the regulations in Chapter 15B that are under review can be found here.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.