CHAPTER 1. General Provisions and Definitions

Chapter 1 added by Stats. 1953, Ch. 152.

§§ 23000–23047 · 56 sections

§ 23000 This division shall be known and may be cited as the “Alcoholic Beverage Control Act.”
§ 23001 This division is an exercise of the police powers of the State for the protection of the safety, welfare, health, peace, and morals of the people of the State,…
§ 23001.5 If any provision of this division or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions…
§ 23002 Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions and general provisions set forth in this chapter govern the construction of this division.
§ 23003 “Alcohol” means ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, or spirits of wine, from whatever source or by whatever process produced.
§ 23003.1 “Powdered alcohol” means an alcohol prepared or sold in a powder or crystalline form that is used for human consumption in that form or reconstituted as an… see note
§ 23004 “Alcoholic beverage” includes alcohol, spirits, liquor, wine, beer, and every liquid or solid containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer, and which contains…
§ 23005 “Distilled spirits” means an alcoholic beverage obtained by the distillation of fermented agricultural products, and includes alcohol for beverage use, spirits…
§ 23006 “Beer” means any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or any other similar product, or any…
§ 23007 “Wine” means the product obtained from normal alcoholic fermentation of the juice of sound ripe grapes or other agricultural products containing natural or…
§ 23008 “Person” includes any individual, firm, copartnership, joint adventure, association, corporation, estate, trust, business trust, receiver, syndicate, or any…
§ 23009 “Licensee” means any person holding a license, a permit, a certification, or any other authorization issued by the department.
§ 23010 “Taxpayer” means a person liable for the payment of a tax pursuant to Part 14 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
§ 23011 “Salesman” means any individual who solicits or receives an order for alcoholic beverages from any licensee.
§ 23012 “Beer manufacturer” means any person that has facilities and equipment for the purposes of, and is engaged in, the commercial manufacture of beer.
§ 23013 “Winegrower” means any person who has facilities and equipment for the conversion of grapes, berries, or other fruit into wine and is engaged in the production…
§ 23013.5 A “wine blender” is a person authorized to operate a bonded wine cellar pursuant to a permit issued for that purpose under the Internal Revenue Laws of the…
§ 23014 “Brandy manufacturer” means any person engaged in the manufacture of brandy only and not in the manufacture of any other distilled spirits.
§ 23015 “Distilled spirits manufacturer” means a person who produces distilled spirits from naturally fermented materials or in any other manner. “Distilled spirits…
§ 23016 “Rectifier” means every person who colors, flavors, or otherwise processes distilled spirits by distillation, blending, percolating, or other processes.…
§ 23017 “Importer” means: (a) Any consignee of alcoholic beverages brought into this State from without this State, when the alcoholic beverages are for delivery or…
§ 23018 “Exporter” means any person who sells, delivers, or consigns alcoholic beverages located within this State for delivery, use, or sale without the State.
§ 23019 “Customs broker” means every person who is authorized to act as agent or broker for a person licensed as an importer or for a person whose place of business is…
§ 23020 “Wine broker” means every person, other than a salesman who is regularly employed by a licensee, who engages as an agent in the sale or purchase of wine for or…
§ 23021 “Wholesaler” means every person other than a manufacturer, winegrower or rectifier who is engaged in business as a jobber or wholesale merchant, dealing in…
§ 23022 “Industrial alcohol dealer” means a person who sells alcohol or distilled spirits in packages of more than one gallon for use in the trades, professions, or…
§ 23023 “Retailer” means any on- or off-sale licensee.
§ 23024 “Retailer’s on-sale license” means on-sale beer licenses, on-sale beer and wine licenses, on-sale general licenses, and on-sale general licenses for seasonal…
§ 23025 “Sell” or “sale” and “to sell” includes any transaction whereby, for any consideration, title to alcoholic beverages is transferred from one person to another,…
§ 23026 “Retail sale” or “sale at retail” means the sale by an on- or off-sale licensee for consumption and not for resale.
§ 23027 “Wholesale sale” or “sale at wholesale” means a sale to any licensee for purposes of resale.
§ 23028 “Package” means any container or receptacle used for holding alcoholic beverages which is corked or sealed with a stub, stopper, cap, or in any other manner.
§ 23029 “Case” or “original case” means a standard box or carton as packed by the manufacturer or wine grower in which packages of alcoholic beverages are shipped or…
§ 23030 “To bottle” or “to package” means to bottle, barrel, or otherwise place alcoholic beverages in a container.
§ 23031 “Gallon” or “wine gallon” means that liquid measure containing 231 cubic inches.
§ 23032 “Proof spirits” means that alcoholic liquor which contains one-half of its volume of pure ethyl alcohol of a specific gravity of 0.7939 at 60 degrees…
§ 23033 “Proof gallon” means a gallon of proof spirits or an equivalent amount of alcohol.
§ 23034 “Still” means any apparatus capable of being used for separating alcohol, or alcoholic vapors or solutions from alcohol or alcoholic solutions or mixtures, but…
§ 23035 “Private warehouse” means any place maintained by a licensee, other than his licensed premises, for the storage but not for the sale of alcohol or alcoholic…
§ 23036 “Public warehouse” means any place licensed for the storage of, but not the sale of, alcohol or alcoholic beverages for the account of other licensees and…
§ 23037 “Club” means a corporation or association which is the owner, lessee, or occupant of an establishment operated solely for objects of a social or athletic…
§ 23038 “Bona fide public eating place” means a place which is regularly and in a bona fide manner used and kept open for the serving of meals to guests for…
§ 23038.1 Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 23038, “bona fide public eating place” also means a convention center, exhibit hall, or auditorium, which shall…
§ 23038.2 Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 23038, for purposes of issuing an on-sale beer and wine license only, “bona fide public eating place” also means a…
§ 23038.3 Notwithstanding Section 23038, for purposes of issuing an on-sale beer and wine license only, “bona fide public eating place” also means a cooking school that…
§ 23039 (a) “Public premises” means: (1) Premises licensed with any type of license other than an on-sale beer license, and maintained and operated for the selling or…
§ 23039.1 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any on-sale beer and wine public premises licensee who has been licensed at premises operated as a cabaret theater…
§ 23039.5 “Entertainment zone” means a zone created by a city, county, or city and county ordinance on or after January 1, 2025, that authorizes consumption of one or…
§ 23040 “Within this State” means all territory within the boundaries of this State.
§ 23041 “Without the State” means all territory without the boundaries of this State.
§ 23042 “Board” means the State Board of Equalization, in the exercise of the powers and duties with respect to excise taxes reserved to it by Section 22 of Article XX…
§ 23043 “Department” means the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and “director” means the Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
§ 23044 “License” means a license authorized to be issued by the department pursuant to this division.
§ 23045 “Appeals board” means the Alcoholic Beverage Control Appeals Board.
§ 23046 “Air common carrier” means a person engaged in regularly scheduled air transportation between fixed termini under a certificate of public convenience and…
§ 23047 “Scheduled flight” means a regularly scheduled and advertised flight of an air common carrier but does not mean each daily operation of airplanes upon such…