TheStatehouseFile.com

INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana microbrewers are one step closer to selling their craft beer at local farmers’ markets after a bill passed a Senate committee Wednesday.

Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, listens to debate about a bill dealing with microbreweries. Photo by Brandon Mullens, TheStatehouseFile.com

Senate Bill 16 will allow Indiana microbrewers to sell their beer at farmers’ markets.

Mark Webb, a lobbyist for the Brewers of Indiana Guild, said he believes the new bill will be a positive for the 78 microbreweries in the state. Webb said he sees Indiana’s microbrewing industry as a strong way to create jobs across the state.

“This bill allows these brewers to reach a greater audience and appeal. Breweries can participate in local community events,” Webb said. “But all of these events are done with a temporary permit and are limited to on premise consumption only.”

The bill would change that for farmers’ markets. The companies would be allowed to sell their beer by the bottle, case, or growler – a 64-ounce jug – so customers could take it home.

Senators listen to debate about a bill that will allow microbreweries to sell at farmers’ markets. Photo by Brandon Mullens, TheStatehouseFile.com

But Webb said the growler supply may be limited because breweries do not want to fill more growlers than they can sell. Supporters said beer tasting will not be permitted due to the family-oriented nature of farmers markets.

A similar bill passed the Senate last year but wasn’t heard in the House. In an attempt to pass the bill this year, its author – Sen. Jim Banks, R-Columbia City – added two new provisions.

The first provision dealt with a mistake made in the first draft of the bill. In the first draft, brewery-pubs, or breweries that also had a restaurant, were not allowed to have an artesian distillery permit in addition to the pub. The artesian distillery permit allows the company to produce spirits as well. The second provision states that a company’s entire brewing process must be completed in Indiana.

By selling their craft beer at local farmers markets, microbreweries – such as Fountain Square Brewery – will be able to sell beer to more people and expand their market. That would replace the informational booth the brewery is accustomed to.

William Webster, a part owner of Fountain Square Brewery, said he sees the bill as a marketing opportunity to expand his business, which has been open for 2-1/2 years.

“Participating in farmers markets allows us to improve our business while being a part of the whole artesian community and nature of the farmers market,” Webster said. Right now, “we are limited in our distribution range. People in northern Indiana want our beer, but can’t purchase it. This is a big opportunity.”

If passed, the bill will affect future microbreweries as well. According to Webb, there are approximately 12 to 15 breweries set to open in 2014.

Senate Bill 16 was passed unanimously by the Senate Public Policy Committee.

Hannah Troyer is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.

INDIANAPOLIS ­­– A new legislative website launched just in time for the 2014 session of the Indiana General Assembly – but not without encountering problems with reliability and speed.

George Angelone, the executive director of the Legislative Services Agency, the issues should be resolved by the end of next week.

“I would say that we are probably at the B, B+ level, not at the A level, and we are working to get it to the A level. To the extent that we’ve inconvenienced the public, we apologize, but we expect these problems to be resolved within the next week or so,” Angelone said.

The changes were requested by the leadership of the General Assembly who wanted to create a system that provided previously unavailable services.

“We undertook this new project in order to essentially bring the General Assembly into the 21^stCentury,” Angelone said.

In 2011, the LSA began working on pilot projects with electronic devices such as iPads, to see if they could effectively provide information to the legislature and the public.

But, two years into the project, Angelone said the agency realized it couldn’t provide the new services with their limited amount of staff. An outside provider with legislative systems experience was brought in to help initiate the program.

The system was designed to distribute information more quickly and on a broader scale than the old one could provide.

“Some of the services that (lawmakers) wanted were to make sure that the public received notices and information about the legislature on a real-time basis. Under the old system the best we could do was anywhere from three to 24 hours after an event would occur,” Angelone said. “For some parts of the legislative process that’s information, with that lag, that is way too late for the public to respond to what’s going on in the General Assembly.”

The new program was also designed as a transition to a completely electronic system that goes far beyond a new website, and should reduce the amount of paper documents used by legislators and their staff members.

“One of the most difficult process problems with the legislature is that you end up with piles and piles of paper and, as things change, it’s difficult to store and to find the most recent and the most relevant pieces of paper that are dealing with the legislative process. We printed, for example, 3 million pages last year,” Angelone said.

Messages back and forth between the House and the Senate used to be on paper and walked back and forth but now all messages can be sent and received electronically. Amendments and amendment packets are also being distributed electronically to members and updated whenever changes take place.

The amendments will be offered online to the public as soon as they are made available.

While more additions to the newly minted system are in the works, they aren’t expected to be introduced until during or after next year’s legislative session.

Jacob Rund is a reporter for TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.