Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
 |
|
| Abbreviation | TABC |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Service, Courtesy, Integrity, Accountability" |
| Formation | 1935 |
| Type | Public safety organization |
| Purpose | Regulation and taxation of alcoholic beverages |
| Headquarters | 5806 Mesa Drive #111 Austin, Texas 78731 |
|
Region served
|
State of Texas |
|
Presiding Officer
|
José Cuevas, Jr. |
|
Main organ
|
Governing board of three appointed commissioners |
| Website | www |
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, or TABC (formerly the Texas Liquor Control Board), is a Texas public agency responsible for regulating, inspecting and taxing the production and sale of alcoholic beverages within the state. The agency was established in 1935 and is headquartered in Austin.
The TABC's organic law, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, authorizes the agency to:
In addition to their regulatory roles, TABC agents are fully empowered state police officers with statewide criminal jurisdiction and may make arrests for any offense.
In 1933 the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ended Prohibition and devolved responsibility for the regulation of alcoholic beverages to the states. Shortly thereafter, the Texas Legislature passed the Texas Liquor Control Act to govern alcohol in Texas, and on 16 November 1935 the Texas Liquor Control Board was established to administer the Act. The agency's name was changed to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission on 1 January 1970, and the Liquor Control Act was superseded by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code on 1 September 1977.
In 2006, the Commission led Operation Last Call, in which persons in bars and other alcohol serving establishments were arrested for being intoxicated. Said Captain David Alexander, head of the Operation Last Call Task Force, "Going to a bar is not an opportunity to go get drunk...It's to have a good time, but not to get drunk."
On June 28, 2009, TABC officers conducted a raid on the Rainbow Lounge, a gay bar in Fort Worth. Several customers were arrested for intoxication inside of the bar. One patron was hospitalized due to injuries he sustained during the arrest. The incident occurred on the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a 1969 New York riot seen as the start of the LGBT rights movement. Many Rainbow Lounge patrons were present to mark the anniversary. Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief said, "It might have been helpful if the owner of the lounge had informed [officers] this day was more than just another day of the week. But at the same time, they have a job to do no matter what day of the week it is, and that job is to protect the public from people who have consumed too much alcohol."
...
Wikipedia