Iowa: Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division Increasing Trade Practices Enforcement

Source: IABD

April 19, 2018

The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (Division) today announced the hiring of a new investigator whose duties will focus solely on trade practices enforcement.

“Strong trade practice regulations are the cornerstone of the three-tier system,” said Division Administrator Stephen Larson. “We are committed to ensuring that interactions between industry members and retailers in Iowa are being conducted in a fair and legal manner.”

The addition of the new investigator is part of a broader initiative by Larson to reactivate the Division’s regulatory compliance program, which had been dormant for a number of years prior to his appointment.

“One of my top priorities since becoming administrator has been increasing the Division’s regulatory footprint in the state of Iowa,” Larson said. “It is imperative that we strive to create a fair and level playing field for our licensees and permittees through a strong regulatory compliance program and active enforcement of alcoholic beverages laws, rules and regulations.”

“An immediate focus of the new investigator will be on validating the legality of discounts offered by industry members to retailers for purchases of designated quantities of alcoholic beverages,” stated Josh Happe, the Division’s Regulatory Compliance Bureau Chief.  The Division will also be exploring opportunities to partner with the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) to conduct joint trade practices investigations in the future.

The Division’s Regulatory Compliance Bureau consists of 21 positions across six units – Licensing, Compliance, Administrative Actions, Education and Outreach, Tobacco and Administrative Support. The addition of the new investigator brings the total number of full-time alcohol investigators to four.