A2762

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman ANDREA KATZ

District 8 (Atlantic and Burlington)

Assemblywoman HEATHER SIMMONS

District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)

Assemblywoman MARISA SWEENEY

District 25 (Morris and Passaic)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Morales

SYNOPSIS

Directs Department of Agriculture to designate Jersey Fresh funding for New Jersey liquors, beers, and wines; appropriates $100,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning funding for New Jersey liquors, beers, and wines, supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. As used in this section:

“Beer product” means an alcoholic beverage produced by brewing and fermenting grain starches.

“Department” means the Department of Agriculture.

“Jersey Fresh Program” means the agricultural commodity marketing and quality grading program established by the department pursuant to P.L.1971, c.308 (C.4:10-43 et seq.), and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

“Liquor product” means any distilled alcoholic spirit produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar which have gone through alcoholic fermentation.

“Wine product” means an alcoholic fermented beverage made from fresh grapes.

b. The department, as part of the Jersey Fresh Program, shall advertise and promote liquor, beer, and wine products, the quality of which complies with standards adopted by the department and is verified thereby through the use of an appropriate quality grading and rating system. The department shall develop and implement an appropriate quality grading and rating system specific to the quality of alcohol products, which system shall be consistent with, and similar to, the quality grading and rating systems that are used, by the department, to measure the quality of other agricultural commodities for the purposes of the Jersey Fresh Program.

c. In addition to the monies appropriated pursuant to section 2 of this act and otherwise appropriated or allocated to the Jersey Fresh Program, there shall be appropriated, from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture, the annual sum of $100,000, for the purpose of facilitating the department’s advertisement and promotion of liquor, beer, and wine products under the Jersey Fresh Program, as required pursuant to subsection b. of this section.

2. There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture the sum of $100,000 for the purpose of the promotion of liquor, beer, and wine products produced in the State as part of the Jersey Fresh Program.

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would direct the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (department) to designate Jersey Fresh funding for New Jersey liquors, beers, and wines. Jersey Fresh currently features several New-Jersey-crafted alcoholic products on their website, such as wine, beer, cider, and liquor. In the interest of the promotion of various State alcoholic products, this bill would provide for an established and designated funding source for alcohols produced in the State that are made from agricultural commodities cultivated in the State.

The Jersey Fresh Program is a marketing and quality grading program used by the department to advertise and promote the availability of fruit and vegetable commodities produced in the State. This bill would expand the Jersey Fresh Program to officially include marketing for liquor, beer, and wine products generated in the State, from products cultivated in the State. The bill would require the department to implement a quality grading and rating system which are consistent with the quality grading system used by the department to measure the quality of other agricultural commodities for the Jersey Fresh Program.

This bill would provide for an annual appropriation of $100,000 in each fiscal year following enactment of the bill, to facilitate the marketing and promotion of liquor, beer, and wine products under the “Jersey Fresh” program.