To amend section 4301.01 and to enact section 4301.71 of the Revised Code to increase the legally permitted alcohol content of beer and to generally prohibit the inclusion of caffeine or other stimulants in beer containing more than 12% of alcohol by volume.

Section 1. That section 4301.01 be amended and section 4301.71 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4301.01.  (A) As used in the Revised Code:

(1) "Intoxicating liquor" and "liquor" include all liquids and compounds, other than beer, containing one-half of one per cent or more of alcohol by volume which are fit to use for beverage purposes, from whatever source and by whatever process produced, by whatever name called, and whether they are medicated, proprietary, or patented. "Intoxicating liquor" and "liquor" include wine even if it contains less than four per cent of alcohol by volume, mixed beverages even if they contain less than four per cent of alcohol by volume, cider, alcohol, and all solids and confections which contain any alcohol.

(2) Except as used in sections 4301.01 to 4301.20, 4301.22 to 4301.52, 4301.56, 4301.70, 4301.72, and 4303.01 to 4303.36 of the Revised Code, "sale" and "sell" include exchange, barter, gift, offer for sale, sale, distribution and delivery of any kind, and the transfer of title or possession of beer and intoxicating liquor either by constructive or actual delivery by any means or devices whatever, including the sale of beer or intoxicating liquor by means of a controlled access alcohol and beverage cabinet pursuant to section 4301.21 of the Revised Code. "Sale" and "sell" do not include the mere solicitation of orders for beer or intoxicating liquor from the holders of permits issued by the division of liquor control authorizing the sale of the beer or intoxicating liquor, but no solicitor shall solicit any such orders until the solicitor has been registered with the division pursuant to section 4303.25 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Vehicle" includes all means of transportation by land, by water, or by air, and everything made use of in any way for such transportation.

(B) As used in this chapter:

(1) "Alcohol" means ethyl alcohol, whether rectified or diluted with water or not, whatever its origin may be, and includes synthetic ethyl alcohol. "Alcohol" does not include denatured alcohol and wood alcohol.

(2) "Beer" includes all beverages brewed or fermented wholly or in part from malt products and containing one-half of one per cent or more, but not more than twelve twenty-one per cent, of alcohol by volume.

(3) "Wine" includes all liquids fit to use for beverage purposes containing not less than one-half of one per cent of alcohol by volume and not more than twenty-one per cent of alcohol by volume, which is made from the fermented juices of grapes, fruits, or other agricultural products, except that as used in sections 4301.13, 4301.421, 4301.422, 4301.432, and 4301.44 of the Revised Code, and, for purposes of determining the rate of the tax that applies, division (B) of section 4301.43 of the Revised Code, "wine" does not include cider.

(4) "Mixed beverages," such as bottled and prepared cordials, cocktails, and highballs, are products obtained by mixing any type of whiskey, neutral spirits, brandy, gin, or other distilled spirits with, or over, carbonated or plain water, pure juices from flowers and plants, and other flavoring materials. The completed product shall contain not less than one-half of one per cent of alcohol by volume and not more than twenty-one per cent of alcohol by volume.

(5) "Spirituous liquor" includes all intoxicating liquors containing more than twenty-one per cent of alcohol by volume.

(6) "Sealed container" means any container having a capacity of not more than one hundred twenty-eight fluid ounces, the opening of which is closed to prevent the entrance of air.

(7) "Person" includes firms and corporations.

(8) "Manufacture" includes all processes by which beer or intoxicating liquor is produced, whether by distillation, rectifying, fortifying, blending, fermentation, or brewing, or in any other manner.

(9) "Manufacturer" means any person engaged in the business of manufacturing beer or intoxicating liquor.

(10) "Wholesale distributor" and "distributor" means a person engaged in the business of selling to retail dealers for purposes of resale.

(11) "Hotel" has the same meaning as in section 3731.01 of the Revised Code, subject to the exceptions mentioned in section 3731.03 of the Revised Code.

(12) "Restaurant" means a place located in a permanent building provided with space and accommodations wherein, in consideration of the payment of money, hot meals are habitually prepared, sold, and served at noon and evening, as the principal business of the place. "Restaurant" does not include pharmacies, confectionery stores, lunch stands, night clubs, and filling stations.

(13) "Club" means a corporation or association of individuals organized in good faith for social, recreational, benevolent, charitable, fraternal, political, patriotic, or athletic purposes, which is the owner, lessor, or occupant of a permanent building or part of a permanent building operated solely for those purposes, membership in which entails the prepayment of regular dues, and includes the place so operated.

(14) "Night club" means a place operated for profit, where food is served for consumption on the premises and one or more forms of amusement are provided or permitted for a consideration that may be in the form of a cover charge or may be included in the price of the food and beverages, or both, purchased by patrons.

(15) "At retail" means for use or consumption by the purchaser and not for resale.

(16) "Pharmacy" means an establishment, as defined in section 4729.01 of the Revised Code, that is under the management or control of a licensed pharmacist in accordance with section 4729.27 of the Revised Code.

(17) "Enclosed shopping center" means a group of retail sales and service business establishments that face into an enclosed mall, share common ingress, egress, and parking facilities, and are situated on a tract of land that contains an area of not less than five hundred thousand square feet. "Enclosed shopping center" also includes not more than one business establishment that is located within a free-standing building on such a tract of land, so long as the sale of beer and intoxicating liquor on the tract of land was approved in an election held under former section 4301.353 of the Revised Code.

(18) "Controlled access alcohol and beverage cabinet" means a closed container, either refrigerated, in whole or in part, or nonrefrigerated, access to the interior of which is restricted by means of a device that requires the use of a key, magnetic card, or similar device and from which beer, intoxicating liquor, other beverages, or food may be sold.

(19) "Community facility" means either of the following:

(a) Any convention, sports, or entertainment facility or complex, or any combination of these, that is used by or accessible to the general public and that is owned or operated in whole or in part by the state, a state agency, or a political subdivision of the state or that is leased from, or located on property owned by or leased from, the state, a state agency, a political subdivision of the state, or a convention facilities authority created pursuant to section 351.02 of the Revised Code;

(b) An area designated as a community entertainment district pursuant to section 4301.80 of the Revised Code.

(20) "Low-alcohol beverage" means any brewed or fermented malt product, or any product made from the fermented juices of grapes, fruits, or other agricultural products, that contains either no alcohol or less than one-half of one per cent of alcohol by volume. The beverages described in division (B)(20) of this section do not include a soft drink such as root beer, birch beer, or ginger beer.

(21) "Cider" means all liquids fit to use for beverage purposes that contain one-half of one per cent of alcohol by volume, but not more than six per cent of alcohol by weight, and that are made through the normal alcoholic fermentation of the juice of sound, ripe apples, including, without limitation, flavored, sparkling, or carbonated cider and cider made from pure condensed apple must.

(22) "Sales area or territory" means an exclusive geographic area or territory that is assigned to a particular A or B permit holder and that either has one or more political subdivisions as its boundaries or consists of an area of land with readily identifiable geographic boundaries. "Sales area or territory" does not include, however, any particular retail location in an exclusive geographic area or territory that had been assigned to another A or B permit holder before April 9, 2001.

Sec. 4301.71.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, no beer containing more than twelve per cent of alcohol by volume shall include caffeine or other stimulants, including guarana, ginseng, or taurine.

This section does not apply to beer that has incidental amounts of caffeine from coffee, chocolate, or tea.

Section 2. That existing section 4301.01 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.