Requires the presentation of photographic identification for the purchase of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages

Title of bill

An act to amend the public health law and the alcoholic beverage control law, in relation to requiring the presentation of photographic identification for the purchase of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages

Purpose

To further reduce the incidence of underage sales of tobacco products and alcoholic beverages by requiring customers of all ages to present, prior to purchase, valid ID verifying that they are of legal age, and to provide for prompt notification to retailers of alleged sales to minors so that they may take immediate action to remove, discipline or retrain the offending employee in order to prevent a recurrence.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 amends Section 1399-cc of the public health law to require all tobacco purchasers to present valid identification for age verification purchases, and to require prompt notification of the retailer in the event of an underage sale - within 10 days of the sting operation that precipitates the alleged violation.

Section 2 amends Section 1399-ee of the public health law to establish an affirmative defense for a retail tobacco dealer accused of an underage sale if the purchaser appeared to be at least 40 years of age.

Section 3 amends Section 65 of the alcoholic beverage control law to require all off-premise beer, wine products, wine or liquor purchasers to present valid identification for age verification purposes, to require notification of the licensee within 10 days of an alleged underage sale violation, and to establish an affirmative defense for a licensee accused of an underage sale if the purchaser appeared to be at least 40 years of age.

Section 4 provides that this legislation shall take effect immediately.

Justification

At present, New York State law requires stores to ID any tobacco customer who appears to be under 25 years of age and any alcoholic beverage customer who appears to be under 21. Even with proper training, this ultimately requires guesswork on the part of store cashiers, and if they guess wrong, cigarettes or beer end up in the hands of a minor. Making it mandatory for tobacco and alcohol customers to present their ID, regardless of their age, will eliminate the guesswork and thereby further reduce the risk of underage sales.

Retail stores would still be held accountable for selling tobacco to persons under 18 or alcohol to persons under 21, including fines and possible license suspension. The bill would apply to all retail tobacco dealers and to all establishments licensed to sell beer, wine products, wine, and or liquor for off-premise consumption.

In some cases, many months go by before retail stores are notified that one of their employees allegedly sold alcohol to an undercover minor in violation of their training, their store policy, and the law. Failing to promptly notify management allows that employee to remain on the job and potentially continue selling to minors. The 10-day notification window proposed is designed to strike a balance between the enforcement agency's administrative limitations and the retailer's need to take swift action to prevent a recurrence.

The reason for granting an affirmative defense in the event a sale is made to persons 40 or older who refuse to present photo ID is because in other states that have enacted mandatory ID, there has been a backlash from older customers objecting to be proofed each time they make a tobacco or alcohol purchase.

Legislative history

2013-14: S.3493/A.7107 Referred to Health/Referred to Health

Fiscal implications

None.

Local fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

Immediate.