Passing initial committee consideration, House Bill 961 seeks to provide that a vendor licensed to sell malt beverages for on-premises consumption may accept glassware from a distributor, at no charge, subject to the following conditions: the distributor has received the glassware at no direct or indirect charge from a malt beverage manufacturer, importer, brand owner or registrant of malt beverage, or any broker, sales agent, or sales person thereof; the glassware is for on-premises consumption; the glassware advertises a permanent and prominent brand name; the total pieces of glassware, per licensed premises, does not exceed 15 cases per calendar year; and the vendor may not sell the glassware or return it to a distributor for cash, credit, or replacement. Non-branded glassware, as well as branded glassware furnished by anyone other than a distributor, remains subject to the tied house evil prohibition in current law. The bill further specifies that malt beverage-branded glassware used at any licensed premises is intended to be used only to serve consumers the brand advertised on the glassware. The bill’s provision allowing a vendor licensed to sell malt beverages for on-premises consumption to accept glassware from a distributor at no charge expires on June 30, 2021, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature.