House keeps cork in wine bill - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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Senate Bill 2523, authored by Sen. Tommy Williams R-The Woodlands, quietly cleared the Texas Senate late last montbbut isn’t expected to The session ends June 1. The bill has proven controversiakl within therestaurant industry. Rep. Edmond R-Seguin, the bill’s sponsor in the House, sufferesd a massive heart attack the day the bill was slatedd for vote in the Housrin mid-May. Kuempel is but supporters don’t expect the bill will make it out of committeee in the waning days ofthe session.
Jerry Lasco is ready for the bill to be The ownerof , with locations in Housto n and Austin, considered the measurd an inappropriate intrusion into his business judgmen t and a threat to his wine-centrivc business model. “We sell retaipl as well, so our pricing is basef on retail pricing,” Lasco said. “Fof our business to survive, our pricess have to be competitive, and we have to do a largd volume” of wine sales. Lasco believese restaurants should have the option of allowingg or not allowing patrons to bring in theirtown wine.
Under the bill, restaurants woulsd have been allowed to chargew a corkage fee for openinb and serving the but the consumer coulctake what’s left after meal ends. The bill did not includee beer or otheralcoholic beverages.