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House panel wants license for home brewers
The House Committee on Commerce and Tourism wants individuals who are making their own liquor for personal consumption to also have a license to operate even if they only do it at home. Committee chair Rep. Joseph Leepan T. Guerrero (R-Saipan) said this is part of the technical amendments they discussed on House Bill 19-163 that was introduced by Rep. Lorenzo I. Deleon Guerrero.
The intention of Deleon Guerrero’s bill is to amend the CNMI’s alcoholic beverage control statutes like exempting licenses for those who produce alcoholic beverages at home for personal consumption. The committee made recommendations and will re-language the bill to include the technical amendments that were discussed. The bill is still at the committee level.
Guerrero said that requiring a person to also obtain a license would make him accountable for the health risks involved. “There’s no law yet that [regulates] the non-commercial manufacture and personal consumption of alcoholic beverages.”
“Manufacturing tuba at home has been part of the island culture and the trade is handed down in families. We just wanted to make sure that they also have a license for health reasons,” said Guerrero, who added that these people would apply for non-commercial license.
“It is only for personal consumption and not re-selling. They just only wanted to share it for small gatherings for legal aged guests. We just want to avoid the health risks since what would happen if somebody gets sick?”
“We don’t want the tuba to be tainted and when shared with other legal aged drinkers, they all get sick. Who will be accountable and who would monitor them? The intent of the bill is to have a license so you are allowed to make an alcoholic beverage at home provided you follow the federal regulations,” said Guerrero.
The home brewers will no longer pay any additional taxes since they had already paid an excise tax when they buy their own ingredients. They would only be allowed to produce 10 gallons of alcoholic beverages—beer, tuba, or wine—per batch.
The federal model for the non-commercial use is if there are two adults in a family you are allowed to produce 200 gallons per year; if there’s only one, 100 gallons.
