Sec 4-243. Commercial coercion or bribery unlawful; exceptions

A. It is unlawful for a person engaged in the business of distiller, vintner, brewer, rectifier or blender or any other producer or wholesaler of any spirituous liquor, directly or indirectly, or through an affiliate:

1. To require that a retailer purchase spirituous liquor from the producer or wholesaler to the exclusion, in whole or in part, of spirituous liquor sold or offered for sale by other persons.

2. To induce a retailer by any form of commercial bribery to purchase spirituous liquor from the producer or wholesaler to the exclusion, in whole or in part, of spirituous liquor sold or offered for sale by other persons.

3. To acquire an interest in property owned, occupied or used by the retailer in the retailer's business, or in a license with respect to the premises of the retailer.

4. To furnish, give, rent, lend or sell to the retailer equipment, fixtures, signs, supplies, money, services or other things of value, subject to such exception as the rules adopted pursuant to this title may prescribe, having regard for established trade customs and the purposes of this subsection.

5. To pay or credit the retailer for advertising, display or distribution service, except that the director may adopt rules regarding advertising in conjunction with seasonal sporting events.

6. To guarantee a loan or repayment of a financial obligation of the retailer.

7. To extend credit to the retailer on a sale of spirituous liquor.

8. To require the retailer to take and dispose of a certain quota of spirituous liquor.

9. To offer or give a bonus, a premium or compensation to the retailer or any of the retailer's officers, employees or representatives.

B. This section does not prohibit any distiller, vintner, brewer, rectifier, blender or other producer or wholesaler of any spirituous liquor from:

1. Giving financial and other forms of event sponsorship assistance to nonprofit or charitable organizations for purposes of charitable fund-raising that are issued special event licenses by the department. This section does not prohibit suppliers from advertising their sponsorship at such special events.

2. Providing samples to retail consumers at on-sale premises establishments according to the following procedures:

(a) Sampling operations shall be conducted under the supervision of an employee of the sponsoring producer or wholesaler.

(b) Sampling shall be limited to twelve ounces of beer or cooler products, six ounces of wine or two ounces of distilled spirits per person per brand.

(c) If requesting the on-sale retailer to prepare a drink for the consumer, the producer's or wholesaler's representative shall pay the retailer for the sample drink.

(d) The producer or wholesaler may not buy the on-sale retailer or the retailer's employees a drink during their working hours or while they are engaged in waiting on or serving customers.

(e) The producer or wholesaler may not give a keg of beer or any spirituous liquor or any other gifts or benefits to the on-sale retailer.

(f) All sampling procedures shall comply with federal sampling laws and regulations.

3. Providing samples to retail consumers on an off-sale retailer's premises according to the following procedures:

(a) Sampling shall be conducted by an employee of the sponsoring producer or wholesaler.

(b) The producer or wholesaler shall notify the department in writing or by electronic means not less than ten days before the sampling of the date, time and location of the sampling and of the name of the wholesaler or producer distributing the product.

(c) Sampling shall be limited to three ounces of beer, one and one-half ounces of wine or one ounce of distilled spirits per person per day for consumption on the premises and up to seventy-two ounces of beer and two ounces of distilled spirits per person per day for consumption off the premises.

(d) An off-sale retailer shall not permit sampling to be conducted on a licensed premises on more than twelve days in any calendar year per wholesaler or producer.

(e) Sampling shall be limited to one wholesaler or producer at any one off-sale retailer's premises on any day and shall not exceed three hours on any day.

(f) A producer conducting sampling shall buy the sampled product from a wholesaler.

(g) The producer or wholesaler shall not provide samples to any person who is under the legal drinking age.

(h) The producer or wholesaler shall designate an area in which sampling is conducted that is in the portion of the licensed premises where spirituous liquor is primarily displayed and separated from the remainder of the off-sale retailer's premises by a wall, rope, door, cable, cord, chain, fence or other barrier. The producer or wholesaler shall not permit persons under the legal drinking age from entering the area in which sampling is conducted.

(i) The producer or wholesaler may not provide samples to the retailer or the retailer's employees.

(j) Sampling shall not be conducted in retail premises with a total of under five thousand square feet of retail space unless at least seventy-five per cent of the retailer's shelf space is dedicated to the sale of spirituous liquor.

(k) The producer or wholesaler may not give spirituous liquor or any other gifts or benefits to the off-sale retailer.

(l) All sampling procedures shall comply with federal sampling laws and regulations.

C. Notwithstanding subsection A, paragraph 4 of this section, any wholesaler of any spirituous liquor may sell tobacco products or foodstuffs to a retailer at a price not less than the cost to the wholesaler.

D. Notwithstanding subsection A, paragraph 4, and subsection B, paragraph 2, subdivision (e) of this section, any wholesaler may furnish without cost promotional items to an on-sale retailer, except that the total market value of the promotional items furnished by that wholesaler to that retailer in any calendar year shall not exceed five hundred dollars. For the purposes of this subsection, "promotional items" means items of equipment, supplies, novelties or other advertising specialties that conspicuously display the brand name of a spirituous liquor product. Promotional items do not include signs.

E. It is unlawful for a retailer to request or knowingly receive anything of value that a distiller, vintner, brewer, rectifier or blender or any other producer or wholesaler is prohibited by subsection A or D of this section from furnishing to a retailer, except that this subsection shall not prohibit special discounts provided to retailers and based on quantity purchases.