Authorizes alcoholic beverage licensees to confiscate written evidence of age which is false, fraudulent or not the presenter's

BILL NUMBER:S7127

Title of bill

An act to amend the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to authorizing licensees to confiscate any written evidence of age, which is false, fraudulent or not the presenter's own, offered for the purpose of purchasing an alcoholic beverage

Purpose or general idea of bill

This bill legalizes and creates a system for the taking of false identification or identification fraudulently offered. Currently, false identification is taken and held by responsible businesses as a response to the epidemic of false identification use.

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1- A licensee may confiscate a false identification or identification not of the presenter if presented for the purchase of alcohol and subjected to a transactional scan. Within 48 Hours the licensee must hand over the ID to local law enforcement which destroys it if it's invalid, or returns it if valid. A person may petition for earlier return of the identification.

Justification

Responsible businesses have for some time been screening identification to ensure they do not sell or admit minors to their establishments. Part of process has been to hold IDs if they are determined to be fake. This is an effective method of deterring youth from entering their businesses as it can be difficult to obtain a fake ID and minors may avoid places known to practice confiscation. However, this practice is not strictly lawful as licensees are taking the property of another, even though it is illegal property. This legislation validates the practice and also ensures that real IDs that may have stolen are returned to their owner.

To safeguard the process as much as possible, a transactional scan is required of the identification which sets a floor to catch the obvious fake IDs. However, there remains discretion to confiscate real IDs that the licensee believes to be offered fraudulently. In either case, the identification must be delivered to the local authorities within 48 hours to either destroy the fakes or verify the authenticity of real IDs.

Placing the IDs into the hands of law enforcement accomplishes several goals. First, it allows law enforcement to look for trends false identification. It prevents a secondary black market for these IDs in which some licensee staff may be selling confiscated IDs back to the minor. Lastly, it allows for the return of possibly stolen property.

Prior legislative history

New Bill.

Fiscal implications

None to the State.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.