Some Florida bars and breweries that don’t serve food will be able to reopen for service at 50% capacity on Monday. Halsey Beshears, Florida’s secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, tweeted Thursday evening that Gov. Ron DeSantis had rescinded the executive order that forced them to close in June.

In his fall legislative agenda, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf urged the state Legislature to legalize recreational marijuana and use proceeds from its sale to support business grants and restorative justice programs, as well as pass a six-month reduction or cancellation of the state’s alcohol tax on the hospitality industry.

With the nation’s can supply tightening, President Donald Trump yesterday announced the reimposition of a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum, claiming that America’s neighbor to the north was flooding the market.

The clock seemed to expire last week on Massachusetts craft brewers’ hopes of finally achieving franchise law reform. After finally reaching a compromise with wholesalers after a decade of contentious negotiations, the measure (S. 2841) unanimously passed the Senate but couldn’t get out of the House Ways and Means Committee before the expiration of the legislative session last Friday.

On Saturday, the Massachusetts Brewers Guild and the Beer Distributors of Massachusetts announced an agreement that would cover all but two of the state’s craft breweries.

On this week’s Brewbound Frontlines livestream we discuss regulatory changes made during the COVID-19 pandemic with McDermott, Will & Emery counsel Nichole Shustack, Kaleo Legal partner Shauna Barnes, and Responsible Hospitality Institute executive director Jim Peters.

Brewbound Frontlines returns with a live streamed panel discussion with beer industry legal experts on Thursday, July 2 at 3 p.m. EST. McDermott, Will & Emery counsel Nichole Shustack, Kaleo Legal partner Shauna Barnes, and Responsible Hospitality Institute executive director Jim Peters will discuss regulatory changes made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The California Department of Public Health has rescinded a requirement that alcoholic beverages must be served with a meal, according to an industry advisory issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

Michigan legislators are considering a bill that would extend indefinitely delivery sales of alcoholic beverages for bars and restaurants and create “social districts” in which consumers would be able to drink beer, wine or spirits in a common area outside the walls or designated patio spaces of licensed establishments, according to MLive.com.

A bill with changes to the restrictions on Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans has landed on President Donald Trump’s desk after passing the Senate on Thursday, June 4.

Dr. Anthony Fauci today cautioned against reopening businesses and other public gathering spaces before states meet guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An investigation by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) found that third-party delivery services are “routinely delivering alcoholic beverages to minors,” according to an industry advisory posted by the regulatory agency.

As states grapple with reopening for business in face of the COVID-19 pandemic, one Maine brewpub owner opted to defy the reopening plan Gov. Janet Mills laid out last week that orders restaurants to remain shut for on-premise dining until June.

Stone Brewing Company laid off employees of its restaurants, taprooms and distributions sales force, which amounted about 306 workers. Some state lawmakers have proposed bills that would extend business interruption insurance clauses to cover losses sustained from closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The beer industry has been deemed essential under guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), something the heads of beer trade associations worked to secure.