---
type: "Bill"
title: "Beverage Law"
description: "Beverage Law"
jurisdiction: "us/states/fl"
legislature: "Florida Legislature"
session: "2018"
identifier: "HB 961"
citation: "Florida HB 961 (2018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["alcoholic beverages"]
status: "enacted"
chapter_law: "2018-135"
primary_sponsors: ["Gruters"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 30
vote_count: 4
first_action: "2017-12-08"
last_action: "2018-04-02"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/f8446109-6325-4041-8b61-43d48acc0020"
source_url: "http://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/00961/ByCategory"
source_hash: "975f6d251c612f374fd54eae320aec4c50140faacb8fba0b4e2d618ea5421ce0"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-fl"]
---

# Florida HB 961 (2018) — Beverage Law

**Enacted** — Laws of Florida, Chapter 2018-135.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **H 961 Filed** (filed) — [source](http://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/961/BillText/Filed/PDF)
2. **H 961 c1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/961/BillText/c1/PDF)
3. **H 961 er** (enrolled) — [source](http://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2018/961/BillText/er/PDF)

## Votes

- Passage, Third Reading — **101–13** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **38–0** (pass) · upper
- Favorable With Committee Substitute (Commerce Committee) — **23–3** (pass) · lower
- Favorable (Careers & Competition Subcommittee) — **8–7** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Gruters — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2017-12-08** Filed `filing`
- **2017-12-20** Referred to Careers and Competition Subcommittee; Commerce Committee `referral-committee`
- **2018-01-09** Introduced `introduction`
- **2018-01-26** On Committee agenda-- Careers and Competition Subcommittee, 01/30/18, 1:00 pm, Webster Hall
- **2018-01-30** Favorable by Careers and Competition Subcommittee; YEAS 8 NAYS 7 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2018-01-30** Now in Commerce Committee
- **2018-02-20** On Committee agenda-- Commerce Committee, 02/22/18, 9:00 am, Webster Hall
- **2018-02-22** CS by- Commerce Committee; YEAS 23 NAYS 3
- **2018-02-22** Pending review of CS -under Rule 7.18(c)
- **2018-02-22** Placed on Calendar
- **2018-02-22** Placed on Special Order Calendar, 02/28/18
- **2018-02-22** CS by Commerce Committee read 1st time
- **2018-02-28** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2018-02-28** Placed on 3rd reading
- **2018-03-01** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2018-03-01** CS passed; YEAS 101 NAYS 13 -HJ 752, 753 `passage`
- **2018-03-01** In Messages
- **2018-03-01** Referred to Regulated Industries; Commerce and Tourism; Appropriations `referral-committee`
- **2018-03-02** Received
- **2018-03-07** Withdrawn from Regulated Industries; Commerce and Tourism; Appropriations `withdrawal`
- **2018-03-07** Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- **2018-03-07** Substituted for CS/SB 1224
- **2018-03-07** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2018-03-07** Placed on 3rd reading
- **2018-03-08** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2018-03-08** CS passed; YEAS 38 NAYS 0 -SJ 897, 898 `passage`
- **2018-03-08** Ordered enrolled
- **2018-03-26** Signed by Officers and presented to Governor
- **2018-03-30** Approved by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2018-04-02** Chapter No. 2018-135

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/f8446109-6325-4041-8b61-43d48acc0020`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Florida legislature records).