Tag Archives: TABC

Smokable hemp is off the shelves again

Posted on June 11, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Swinging back and forth. After weeks of back-and-forth court rulings over the future of the Texas hemp market, new rules that target smokable hemp products and charge sharply higher fees on retailers and manufacturers can take effect again. But it’s … Continue reading →

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Smokable hemp is off and then on the shelves again

Posted on May 10, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Pending the current appeal. Smokeable hemp products, such as flower buds and rolled joints, are allowed back on shelves until the state’s appeal of a statewide ban on the sale of the drug is heard in court next Thursday. The … Continue reading →

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Smokable hemp ban remains blocked

Posted on May 3, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The reprieve has been extended. Texas hemp businesses can keep selling cannabis flower and concentrates for now after a Travis County judge blocked key parts of the state’s new hemp regulations while a lawsuit plays out. Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle … Continue reading →

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Smokable hemp ban paused

Posted on April 12, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

For now. A Travis County district judge has temporarily lifted a statewide ban on the sale of natural smokeable hemp products, such as flower buds and rolled joints, until at least April 23. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the Texas … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over ban on smokable hemp

Posted on April 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

To be expected. Texas hemp industry leaders and advocacy groups have sued the state to block new regulations that eliminate natural smokeable hemp products and increase licensing fees. The Texas Hemp Business Council, Hemp Industry & Farmers of America, and … Continue reading →

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No more smokable hemp

Posted on April 2, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

You can still smoke what you already have, though. Smokable hemp products are effectively illegal in Texas starting today as new rules on cannabis compounds take effect. The rules, adopted by the Department of State Health Services, mark the most sweeping change … Continue reading →

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The THC age limit is in effect

Posted on September 26, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Time to show your ID, I guess. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on Tuesday approved an emergency rule to ban liquor license holders from selling THC products to anyone under the age of 21, the agency’s first step toward fulfilling … Continue reading →

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Some reactions to the THC executive order

Posted on September 14, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron is not impressed. By issuing an executive order banning THC products for minors, Gov. Greg Abbott ensured nobody would be fully satisfied. When crafting legislation, that’s often a good thing. Compromise, by definition, means both sides don’t get everything they … Continue reading →

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Abbott bans THC for those under 21

Posted on September 11, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Why didn’t we just do this first? THC products will remain largely legal in Texas, but will be banned for minors and current regulations further enforced under a new executive order by Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott on Wednesday directed the … Continue reading →

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Alcohol to go passes both chambers

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Off to get a signature. The Texas Senate on Wednesday passed a measure to permanently allow Texans to purchase alcohol to-go from restaurants, advancing a shared goal of Gov. Greg Abbott and restaurateurs. House Bill 1024, which cleared the lower chamber last … Continue reading →

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Booze to go set to go

Posted on March 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The Texas House has passed legislation that would allow restaurants to sell alcohol to go beyond the coronavirus pandemic. The chamber signed off on House Bill 1024 to permanently allow beer, wine and mixed drinks to be included in … Continue reading →

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Drinks to go on the legislative menu

Posted on January 18, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Looks likely to succeed. As the 87th legislature kicks into high gear in Austin tomorrow, a new bill introduced in both the Texas House and Senate is aiming to make to-go alcohol from restaurants and bars permanent. Venues in Texas … Continue reading →

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The bar conundrum

Posted on December 6, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Halloween this year in downtown Austin was a raucous affair. Nightclubs advertised dancing and drink specials. Thousands of people crowded 6th Street, partying shoulder to shoulder, some with masks and some without. All of this happened as bars in … Continue reading →

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No Walmart liquor stores

Posted on November 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Some non-election litigation news of interest. Texans still won’t be able to purchase liquor at Walmart, after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by the retail giant that would have allowed the booze to be sold at stores in … Continue reading →

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Food trucks and bars

Posted on August 29, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I approve of this. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission approved rules Tuesday intended to make it easier for bars to legally operate as restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The state agency greatly expanded rules that had already offered a limited … Continue reading →

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It’s still hard out here on bars and restaurants

Posted on August 21, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I continue to worry about our once-thriving hospitality industry. Hundreds of Texas bars and restaurants are scrambling to change how they operate, maneuvering through loopholes that will allow them to reopen after being closed by Gov. Greg Abbott’s latest shutdown … Continue reading →

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Beer gardens get jerked around

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

First, we had this. Saint Arnold Brewing announced Monday that it will temporarily close its beer garden and restaurant. The reason? Gov. Greg Abbott’s office ruled it is a bar, not a restaurant, and therefore should close according to the … Continue reading →

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There’s a lot of COVID litigation out there

Posted on July 25, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Lawyer surveys the landscape. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a growing subset of new business litigation in Texas: companies suing the government over shutdown orders or definitions of essential versus nonessential businesses. One of the latest examples to make … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed by bars against Abbott

Posted on July 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This one was expected. Several Texas bar owners filed a $10 million federal lawsuit Tuesday afternoon against Gov. Greg Abbott, in an attempt to void his executive order shutting down bars for a second time since the beginning of the … Continue reading →

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The pause effect on bars and restaurants

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I feel terrible for them, but what could we do at this point? Ed Noyes was trying to get some shut-eye when he woke up to seven different texts Friday morning. Three of the five bartenders at his Fort Worth … Continue reading →

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We may actually get beer to go this session

Posted on May 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Well, what do you know? The Texas Senate restored a measure Wednesday allowing breweries to sell beer to go from their taprooms to a bill allowing the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to continue operating. It also approved a measure that … Continue reading →

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House liberalizes beer sales

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It was a bit of shenanigans, but all things considered that seems entirely fitting. The Texas House voted Thursday to extend beer and wine sales on Sundays and to let craft breweries to sell beer to go. Those new expansions … Continue reading →

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Time again for craft brewers to get their legislative hopes up

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve seen this movie before. I hope for a better ending, but I’m keeping those hopes modest. Texas is the only state in the country that prohibits some breweries from selling six-packs, bottles and growlers of beer to-go, but a … Continue reading →

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Our increasingly non-dry state

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There are now only five counties in Texas where you can’t buy alcohol. On Election Day in Stanton, just north of Midland, Ron Black was skeptical that a particular measure on the ballot would pass. “Well, I think at first … Continue reading →

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Spec’s sues TABC

Posted on December 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another lawsuit to watch. The state’s largest liquor chain — Spec’s Wine, Spirits and Finer Foods — is suing the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission for “abusive regulatory overreach” over an enforcement action that dragged on for almost two years before … Continue reading →

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The Huffman influence

Posted on June 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. A lawsuit filed in state district court Monday alleges that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission improperly fired one of its sergeants after he told federal law enforcement that state Sen. Joan Huffman had blocked an investigation into a Longview … Continue reading →

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You may finally be able to buy booze at Walmart and Costco now

Posted on March 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I agree with this. A protectionist Texas law that has kept Walmart, Costco and other giant retailers from selling hard liquor was found unconstitutional by a federal judge this week, prompting cheers from free-market advocates — and vows of a … Continue reading →

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Crowler conundrum concluded

Posted on April 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Finally. Mike McKim held an empty aluminum can under a tap and pulled the handle, filling the can with Real Ale Brewery’s Helles beer. He fitted a pull tab lid on top, slotted the can into his “crowler” machine, and … Continue reading →

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What makes a Texas wine?

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Texas grapes, obviously. Or maybe not so obviously. Chris Brundrett sat in a barn surrounded by barrels of wine he helped curate and swirled a glass of water in his hand, perhaps imagining it was something else. Brundrett, accompanied by … Continue reading →

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A win for beer

Posted on November 26, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Hooray! All you want for Christmas is a crowler to go? It probably won’t happen that quickly, but an administrative judge’s recommendation could move the state a step closer to letting bars and restaurants sell takeaway beer in the sealed, … Continue reading →

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Microbreweries win their distribution rights lawsuit

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent news. A Texas law that prohibits brewers from selling territorial rights to distribute their beer is unconstitutional, a judge ruled Thursday, serving up a major victory to beer companies seeking to expand their presence in stores, bars and restaurants … Continue reading →

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Making the Heights a little less dry

Posted on May 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From Swamplot: A GROUP CALLED the Houston Heights Beverage Coalition PAC is hoping to bring about a vote on allowing beer and wine sales in the technically dry section of the Houston Heights. The group published a notice on May 5th announcing an application to the city to … Continue reading →

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The latest example of how nuts our beer laws are

Posted on October 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ridiculous. The latest flashpoint between Texas beer lovers and state beer law is a 32-ounce aluminum can that bars and restaurants fill with beer and sell to be consumed off-site. The can, called a crowler, is praised for its convenience … Continue reading →

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Craft beer lawsuit

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. On the same day merger talk surfaced regarding the world’s two biggest beer companies, a small Dallas brewery announced its own effort to shake up the industry in Texas. Deep Ellum Brewing Co. launched the … Continue reading →

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