AN ACT TO amend the definition of a malt beverage under the Alcoholic Beverage control laws.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 18B‑101(9) reads as rewritten:
"(9)	'Malt beverage' means beer, lager, malt liquor, ale, porter, and any other brewed or fermented beverage containing at least one‑half of one percent (0.5%), and not more than fifteen percent (15%), alcohol by volume. Any malt beverage containing more than six percent (6%) alcohol by volume shall bear a label clearly indicating the alcohol content of the malt beverage."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 105‑113.68(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Definitions. – As used in this Article, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(1)	ABC Commission. – The North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission established under G.S. 18B‑200.
(2)	Repealed by Session Laws 2004‑170, s. 6, effective August 2, 2004.
(3)	ABC permit. – Defined in G.S. 18B‑101.
(4)	Alcoholic beverage. – Defined in G.S. 18B‑101.
(5)	Fortified wine. – Defined in G.S. 18B‑101.
(6)	License. – A certificate, issued pursuant to this Article by a city or county, that authorizes a person to engage in a phase of the alcoholic beverage industry.
(7)	Malt beverage. – Defined in G.S. 18B‑101.
(8)	Person. – Defined in G.S. 105‑228.90.
(9)	Sale. – Defined in G.S. 18B‑101.
(10)	Secretary. – The Secretary of Revenue.
(11)	Spirituous liquor or liquor. – Defined in G.S. 18B‑101.
(12)	Unfortified wine. – Defined in G.S. 18B‑101.
(13)	Wholesaler or importer. – When used with reference to wholesalers or importers of wine or malt beverages includes resident wineries that sell their wines at retail and resident breweries that produce fewer than 310,000 gallons of malt beverages per year.
(14)	Wine. – Unfortified and fortified wine.
(15)	Wine shipper permittee. – A winery that holds a wine shipper permit issued by the ABC Commission under G.S. 18B‑1001.1."
SECTION 3.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 4th day of August, 2005.

	_____________________________________
		 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	_____________________________________
		 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	_____________________________________
		 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved __________.m. this ______________ day of ___________________, 2005