AZ wines, the Supreme Court and Rep. Bob Robson

A Supreme Court's decision last year (Granholm v. Heald) effectively overturned laws (such as Arizona's 1982 statute) which prevent wineries from shipping directly to consumers via the internet if they allow such sales directly, in-state.

Now, the AZ State legislature is struggling to figure out how to handle the implications, with wineries wanting to ship directly to consumers and wholesalers wanting to require them to ship through, well, wholesalers.

Key issues involved include freedom of commerce and concerns about sales to minors. This article outlines the fermenting debate. One bill, SB 1276, is an attempt to reconcile the issues. It's directly relevant to our neighborhood because of District 20's Rep. Bob Robson's involvement:

"I want both sides to come up with a compromise before I let it out of my committee," said Rep. Bob Robson, R-Chandler, House Rules chairman. "There are merits to both sides of the issue."

On a humorous side note, hometown heroine Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is involved in ways other than her role in the Supreme Court decision.