Hey guys Im new here but yes we are working with Rick on this. I am the owner of Hillbilly stills. Were trying to work together with everyone to help anywhere we can. My son just found a Bill that was proposed in 2001 but it never left the floor. It was introduced to the ways and means committee.
If anyone has any experience with something like this Please give advice. I truly believe this can be done but it is going to be a long road.
The bill was H.R.3249, it was introduced by Bart Stupak of Michigan. It seems it got stuck and was never brought up.

Maybe contact that tv show, and see if they could post the petition site on the show

Rick,
Why would you comply with this unlawful request?
Since when does the government need the names of people who made lawful purchases?
What's next?
The names of people who bought what?
Stall them & call the ACLU.
This is outrageous.
You know that they will be putting you out of business eventually, don't you?
Bob.

Rick
Is it possible to give us a time frame of when that list will be submitted?

"
Unfortunately, it [COLOR=""#FF0000""]is[/COLOR] the law.

27 CFR 29.47: Notice requirement; manufacture of stills. ([COLOR=""#FF0000""]emphasis[/COLOR] added)


IANAL but ""[COLOR=""#FF0000""]When required by letter[/COLOR] issued by the appropriate TTB officer ... shall give written notice [COLOR=""#FF0000""]before[/COLOR] the still or distilling apparatus is [COLOR=""#FF0000""]removed[/COLOR] from the place of manufacture."" I believe a strong argument could be made that a manufacturer has no obligation to provide notice of stills shipped [COLOR=""#FF0000""]prior[/COLOR] to receiving a letter from the TTB officer ... since the requirement did not exist prior to actually receiving a letter from the TTB."

Uh, I think the TTB inquiry thread got deleted. Maybe we can ask the NSA to restore it.

I'm pretty cornfused. I could have sworn I had a post here. Did it get removed?

Thanks JB,
This thread has gotten a bit sidetracked. My intent on "getting the process started" was to get a discussion going on the legalization of home distilling. If the TTB is truly on some sort of a witch hunt then legalizing our hobby is our only hope. I would suggest we stop complaining about something that we can do nothing about (Rick has to comply with the TTB request-period) and start acting on something we can. Mike from hillbillystills has posted a link at the start of this thread to a petition that is a good start. Go to the site and read the petition. I have supported some of the petitions on this site in the past and they have a proven history of getting things changed.
Maddawgs

Let's get back on track...

This seems like the simplest approach, but given that the TTB is part of the Treasury (and hence only interested in tax dollars), I wonder if it would prove to be a successful path. Do I personally feel that hobby distillation should be any different from hobby brewing or winemaking? No, of course not. However, if the TTB thinks that they are losing more tax dollars (they can add up faster with spirits than beer or wine- yes, I know that people will not consume as much distilled spirit as beer, but I am trying to play devil's advocate a little here), then they are going to want to recover those. There are likely two viable options, as they would see it:

1) Stomp out hobby distilling.
You and I know that using the lists obtained to go after hobbyists will only serve to drive hobby distillers more underground. They will build instead of buy (reducing income tax on those selling equipment, but that's another story), and there will be less open discussion due to fear of prosecution, all of which only results in more danger due to unsafe equipment (in cases) and lack of knowledge. But, ultimately, they will never stop hobby distilling. (And look at all of the revenue from micro-distilleries as a result of hobby distilling turned commercial- do they really want to stop it??)

2) Recover those lost tax dollars.
Creating a Hobby Distiller's License would both bring in the lost tax revenue (and likely more), and reduce the costs associated with going after the hobbyist. This is even more of a good option (for the TTB) with the TTB pulling these lists, as people would be on the list. If they do not purchase the license then the TTB knows that the person is either not distilling alcohol or distilling illegally. Just throwing out a figure- a $100 per year license would be equal to the excise tax on nearly 50 bottles (750ml) of vodka. How many hobby distillers would realistically purchase that many bottles of spirits in a year? Very few. So, the lost revenue would be more than made up. A realistic number is probably more like $50 per year (that is still roughly 24 bottles of spirits per year, or one every couple of weeks!).

While I would be a bit put off by option 2, as I stand by my opinion that hobby distilling should fall under the same rules as hobby brewing and winemaking, I think that option 2 offers something that could gain a footing with the TTB, as you give them back the revenue that they feel they are losing. If you remove that from the equation then you should remove at least a reasonable amount of resistance with it. It would still be an uphill battle, but I don't think that the slope is quite as steep as just pushing for distillation to be moved under the same rules as brewing.

Hello all, although i am new to this forum distilling has been a hobby of mine for quite some time and the advance to legalize has always been in my mind. There is one thing that must be strongly considered when dealing with political moves and sorts. Professionalism...OR for lack of a better term being "politically correct". I have read Mikes petition, which can be found here http://www.thepetitionsi...LegalizeHomeDistilling/, and although I agree with all the statements made in his writings our push for legalization will never move forward unless we can make the subject attractive to the everyday person. And what i mean by this, and i don't mean to insult, judge, or criticize anything said, is that this subject needs to be portrayed so that anybody that reads or hears anything on the subject doesn't perceive it as a bunch of drunkin' rednecks trying to bring back the good ole days. We need to work together to construct a petition, i would launch it here https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/create, that is so legally and politically appealing it is as though it came right off of a lawyers desk. I will use a recent petition as an example(Im not choosing sides nor encouraging decision on this subject nor our current leadership) Several months ago the Obama administration suspended Military Tuition assistance (TA), the petition can be found here https://petitions.whiteh...-suspension-ta/kSyVdySm, there were SEVERAL petition made on this very subject but due to the professionalism, accurate facts, and the most surprising...the TITLE, this one has surpassed the required signatures(Now raised to 100,00) by a land slide. SO I guess what I'm getting at is that if we know anyone or if anyone has the know how or ability or time required, I suspect that this is how we will reach our goal. I will sit down over the next several days and see what i can come up with for drafts on the subject. I strongly agree with the idea for a push by Creating a Hobby Distiller's License, I believe there is serious potential and that we could really gain some ground if this is put in front of the TTB. As ADMIN stated above the TTB already has your information if you purchased distillation equipment so the process would be relatively easy. I appreciate everyone's understanding and for reading my rant on this topic.