2025 is shaping up to be pivotal for alcohol legislation in the United States. From Mississippi’s new winery shipment regulations to Virginia’s evolving delivery laws, this blog looks at these and other impactful legislative changes that could influence alcohol sales and distribution.
Mississippi
While many state legislators are still filing new bills and ideas in the 2025 legislative session, Mississippi legislators have already moved one big bill into the home stretch. The bill is Senate Bill 2145. It passed through the House and the Senate on February 18 and now moves to the Governor’s desk for final approval. With the governor’s signature, the bill will finally allow in/out-of-state wineries to ship up to 12 cases of wine to individual Mississippi residents each year. But, because Mississippi is a Control State that directly holds the reins on the wholesale of wine and spirits, the new law does require wineries to collect and remit an additional 15.5% tax that is intended to make the Mississippi ABC whole on the revenue they will lose when wine is retailed outside of their warehouse/product catalog.
Mississippi, Delaware and Utah are the only US states that currently prohibit winery shipments directly to consumers. So, in a matter of days, Utah and Delaware may very well be the last two holdouts – although I do expect to see a similar bill filed in Delaware this session.
Virginia
Two other bills that have already passed quickly through both the House and Senate this session are House Bill 2058 and Senate Bill 868 in Virginia. If signed by the governor, SB 868 will expressly allow spirit-based RTDs/canned cocktails to be delivered with take-out meals, and curiously, HB 2058 intends to reverse a third-party delivery bill that passed last year. Last year’s bill effectively established an end date (in 2026) for third-party alcohol delivery in the state. The new bill this year, though, HB 2058, repeals the 2026 end date and permanently allows alcohol delivery by third-party companies.
Since this year is a short 30-day session in Virginia, it’s also worth mentioning that a bill to reduce the food-to-beverage sales ratio for restaurants is on the move and may pass through the second chamber of the General Assembly in the next few days.
Other States
Montana’s legislature is back in session this year, and the House has already passed several bills (side note: if you’ve never seen the Montana House in session, you should – they get stuff done!). The four bills detailed below have already passed through the House and must now pass through the Montana Senate by April 30 in order to be presented to the governor for final approval:
HB 123 to allow self-serve machines that dispense calibrated servings of beer and wine
HB 157 to divide server training into two categories: on-prem and off-prem
HB 211 to allow third-party delivery of beer and wine from off-prem
HB 249 to allow digital IDs for proof of age
In the United States’ northernmost state, Alaska, a bill with multiple provisions for the alcohol industry has already passed through the Senate and must now pass through the House by May 31. If successful, the bill will expand the hours of alcohol service at theaters (up to 2 hours before the event and one hour after), allow 18-20-year-olds to sell/serve alcohol for on-prem licensees, and require cancer warnings on certain mandatory signage.
In the United States’ northernmost state, Alaska, a bill with multiple provisions for the alcohol industry has already passed through the Senate and must now pass through the House by May 31. If successful, the bill will expand the hours of alcohol service at theaters (up to 2 hours before the event and one hour after), allow 18-20-year-olds to sell/serve alcohol for on-prem licensees, and require cancer warnings on certain mandatory signage.
In Arkansas, Senate Bill 97, which would allow certain liquor store owners to hold up to three licenses in the state, is also on the move. Currently, liquor store owners in Arkansas are only allowed to hold a single license. The bill has successfully passed through the originating chamber and has until May 9 to pass through the second chamber.
In Indiana, House Bill 1275 is an omnibus bill that is also proving to have legs this session and successfully passed through the House last month. Should it pass through the Senate by April 29, HB 1275 will newly require server training for doormen, expressly prohibit “all you can drink” cover charge pricing, increase the ownership requirement on applications to 5% (currently, any person with 2% or more ownership must be listed on the application), and will repeal the requirement for identification tags on kegs sold at retail.
Keeping Up with Regulatory Changes for Alcohol
As the 2025 alcohol legislation session continues, there will undoubtedly be more legislative updates. These updates have ramifications for both the consumption and sale of alcohol, with some states making changes that may benefit one side of the transaction and others making changes that benefit a mixture of both. We here at Fintech look forward to seeing how these changes impact the industry and will keep you updated on future legislative developments.
You can also find relative regulatory information for your state here.
