Brave Florida man dares to dream big when it comes to wine containers

Rep. Chip LaMarca wants to break the oppressive chains of the current 1-gallon limit

click to enlarge Not my cousin Amy, but could be - Adobe
Adobe
Not my cousin Amy, but could be

A House Republican on Wednesday began another attempt to eliminate a state law that limits the sizes of wine containers that can be sold.

Rep. Chip LaMarca, R-Lighthouse Point, is clearly going for Man of the Year status with fed-up working moms throughout the state. He filed the proposal, House Bill 523, for consideration during the legislative session that will start March 7.

State law, in part, prohibits the sale of wine in individual containers that contain more than one gallon. My cousin Amy has a wineglass that holds an entire bottle, and I'm pretty sure she'd be stoked to find a box of wine that had an equivalently gigantic footprint.

Tantalizingly, LaMarca's bill does not propose a higher limit — say, 5 gallons or heck, a 50-gallon drum — but simply repeals the current rule. (Theoretically, how large could a wine container be? Maybe cruise ship-sized?)

LaMarca proposed a similar measure in 2022. It was approved by the House (our people!) but did not pass the Senate (who clearly have not suffered through the last three years the way we have. And Chip).

In 2021, LaMarca was at the forefront of a bill allowing student athletes to profit from their own Name, Image and Likeness; this year, he has filed a bill refining the earlier one by allowing colleges and universities to help athletes with legal advice and financial services connected with NIL deals.



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