Bill description: HB 545 would allow wineries to apply customized labels to the bottles of wine the winery produces.

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Does it give government any new, additional, or expanded power to prohibit, restrict, or regulate activities in the free market? Conversely, does it eliminate or reduce government intervention in the market? 


HB 545 would allow wineries to mark their bottles with customized labels for their business customers. Currently, Idaho Code forbids a winery from adding the name of any individual retailer to their bottles (I.C. §23-1328). This prevents wineries from marketing their wine to hotels or restaurants that might want to sell the wine with their company name on the bottles’ label. For example, under HB 545 a bottle of wine could state: “Idaho Winery Cabernet sold by the Idaho Food and Wine Restaurant.” Personalized labeling is a means to making an item more desirable (e.g., personalized wallets, phone cases, keychains, etc.). Thus, to prohibit wineries from producing bottles of wine with customized labels takes away a substantial tool a winery could use to market their goods.

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