Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

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.tabc.state.tx.us

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.

Responsibilities and powers

The TABC's organic law, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code, authorizes the agency to:[1]

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.[2]

History

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 The agency's name was changed to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission on 1 January 1970, and the Liquor Control Act was superseded by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code on 1 September 1977.[3]

Operation Last Call

The 5806 Mesa Drive building includes the headquarters of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

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."[4]

Rainbow Lounge incident

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. [5] 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."

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has completed the use of force report related to the incident at the Fort Worth Rainbow Lounge occurring on June 28, 2009. The 74-page report takes into account statements by eyewitnesses, expert witnesses, TABC employees, and Fort Worth police officers.

The TABC internal affairs investigation report included two allegations which were both unfounded:

1. Agents Chris Aller and Jason Chapman were accused of participating in a bar check operation with Fort Worth police officers on June 28, 2009, which targeted the Rainbow Lounge specifically because of the bar's gay and lesbian customer base. The allegation that the Rainbow Lounge was targeted for being a gay bar was unfounded.

2. Agents Aller and Chapman were accused of using force beyond what was necessary and reasonable during their contact with Jose Macias, George Armstrong and Chad Gibson when they were placed under arrest at the Rainbow Lounge. The allegation of excessive force was unfounded.

Fallen officers

Since the establishment of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, two officers have died while on duty.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "TABC The Organization". Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  2. ↑ See Cortez v. State, 738 S.W.2d 760 (Tex. App.-Austin, 1987).
  3. ↑ "TABC History". Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Texas police look in bars for signs of drunkenness". The Washington Times. 29 March 2006. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
  5. ↑ http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/public_information/notices/2009/multipleArrests.asp
  6. ↑ "Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Texas Fallen Officers". Odmp.org. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
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