The 1965 ban on any non-conforming container stemmed from competitive maneuvering between beer manufacturers. But Senator Tom Lee, who led the recent charge to repeal the law, says, "there was no compelling public purpose to regulate the size container that a malt beverage is sold in any more than we would regulate the size of a Coke can."
Lee, who chaired the Regulated Industries Committee in last year's session, was prompted to introduce legislation after receiving correspondence from "connoisseurs" who wanted to have access to the roughly 2,000 off-limit beers, most of them specialty microbrews that only come in 22-ounce bottles, or foreign beers whose containers are measured in milliliters.
Lee's bill to repeal the ban was unsuccessful last year because of strong opposition from distributors, who were wary of the costs involved in making logistical changes to accommodate new products and the possibility of losing market share. This year, the bill saw some resistance but was signed into law in May. "Basically," says Lee, the ban was "all about protectionism and restraint of trade at the expense of consumer choice."
