Governor Jay Nixon (D) Wednesday signed eight bills into law that were passed this year by Missouri lawmakers.
One of them will be of special interest to beer lovers: Senate Bill 121 includes language allowing beer created by home brewers to be sampled and served free of charge at beer festivals. That provision also includes an emergency clause, meaning it takes effect immediately, just in time for the annual St. Louis Brewers Heritage Festival that begins Friday. The language was crafted by State Senator Eric Schmitt (R, Glendale).
"Missouri, and St. Louis in particular, has a really proud tradition of brewing beer," Schmitt said. "It's part of our history and it's part of the fabric of what makes St. Louis, St. Louis."
Home brewers had been allowed to enter in years past, but St. Louis liquor officials ruled in 2012 that they could not participate. The bill also allows liquor to be served on trains while stopped, and will allow smaller excursion boats on Table Rock Lake in southern Missouri to serve alcohol. Those provisions, however, won't take effect until August 28th.
The seven other bills signed into law today include:
Senate Bill 33, expands the use of service dogs Senate Bill 197, designed to combat the spread of tuberculosis House Bill 315, deals with prescription refills on an emergency basis and other health care service issues Senate Bill 36, modifies provisions related to juvenile offenders certified to be treated as adults Senate Bill 72, designates May as Motorcycle Awareness Month and Dec. 4th as PKS Day House Bill 133, regarding accreditation requirements for reinsurance companies House Bill 656, combines St. Louis' parking enforcement and parking meter divisions into a single parking division
Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport
