BILL NUMBER: AB 346 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Beall and Saldana
FEBRUARY 14, 2007
An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 25685) to Chapter
16 of Division 9 of the Business and Professions Code, relating to
alcoholic beverages.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 346, as introduced, Beall. The Prevention of Youth Access to
Alcoholic Beverages with Special Appeal to Minors Act of 2007.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, administered by the Department
of Alcoholic Beverage Control, regulates the sale and distribution
of alcoholic beverages and the granting of licenses for the
manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages within the
state. The act also provides for specified labeling requirements for
containers of alcoholic beverages sold within this state, as
provided. Under existing law, it is unlawful for a person to sell,
furnish, give, or cause to be sold, furnished, or given away, any
alcoholic beverage to any person under the age of 21 years, as
provided.
This bill would establish the Prevention of Youth Access to
Alcoholic Beverages with Special Appeal to Minors Act of 2007, to
prevent underage drinking of, and access to, alcoholic beverages with
special appeal to minors, as defined.
This bill would require beer manufacturers and wholesalers to
submit specified information to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage
Control in order for the department to determine whether that product
or brand is an alcoholic beverage with special appeal to minors.
This bill would require the department to post an annually updated
list of those alcoholic beverages on its Internet homepage. This bill
would provide that information submitted to the department is not a
public record and makes findings with regard to that information.
This bill would provide that the containers of alcoholic beverages
with special appeal to minors include specified information,
including a statement of the alcohol content by volume.
This bill would also prohibit retail licensees who sell alcoholic
beverages with special appeal to minors from engaging in specified
activities, including displaying those alcoholic beverages within 5
feet of any nonalcoholic beverage and selling motor vehicle fuel.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act provides that a violation of
its provisions is a misdemeanor, unless otherwise specified. This
bill, by creating a new crime, would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 4 (commencing with Section 25685) is added to
Chapter 16 of Division 9 of the Business and Professions Code, to
read:
Article 4. The Prevention of Youth Access to Alcoholic
Beverages with Special Appeal to Minors Act of 2007
25685. This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Prevention of Youth Access to Alcoholic Beverages with Special Appeal
to Minors Act of 2007.
25686. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Problems associated with alcohol consumption by those under
the minimum drinking age of 21 years constitute a public health and
safety emergency in California and the Nation. The prevention of
underage alcohol consumption is therefore an urgent priority for the
people of California.
(b) The earlier a young person begins to consume alcoholic
beverages, the more likely it is that he or she will experience
alcohol problems throughout his or her life. Research has shown that,
compared with persons who wait until 21 years of age or older to
begin drinking, those who start to drink before 15 years of age are
at a far greater risk of alcohol problems later in life, including
alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, assault, and other types of
injuries. Recent increases in alcohol consumption and binge drinking
among underage girls, including girls under the age of 15 years,
emphasize the need for new initiatives to prevent youth alcohol
problems.
(c) The sale, transfer, or furnishing of alcoholic beverages to
minors and the public possession of alcohol by minors is illegal in
California. Enforcement of laws designed to prevent access and
consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors is an urgent priority
for the state.
(d) California and its governmental subdivisions have initiated
numerous programs and public awareness campaigns to prevent alcohol
problems in minors and to alert citizens to the dangers associated
with underage drinking. These efforts, which are augmented by
programs conducted by nongovernmental organizations and individuals,
are not sufficiently addressing the public health emergency
associated with underage drinking.
(e) Research has established that exposure to alcohol advertising
influences young people's beliefs and intentions regarding alcoholic
beverages and that increased exposure to alcohol advertising results
in increased underage alcohol consumption.
(f) Research has also established that some alcohol advertisements
have images, themes, slogans, and other content that are highly
attractive to young people and encourage them to consume alcoholic
beverages.
(g) Alcoholic beverage products that research shows are highly
attractive to young people, including girls under the age of 15
years, are advertised and sold in California. These products,
sometimes referred to as flavored alcoholic beverages or "alcopops,"
have added flavorings and sweeteners. "Alcopops" have a relatively
low alcohol content that makes them similar in taste to fruit drinks,
sodas, and other nonalcoholic beverages popular with young people.
Marketing of these products includes traditional forms of
advertising, product placement, labeling, and nontraditional
marketing techniques such as text messaging and Internet promotions,
including advertising on Web sites popular with youth.
(h) New alcohol products, in addition to alcopops, that have
potential appeal to young people are being introduced into the market
each year. These include gelatin-based products, food-based alcohol
products, alcohol mists, and beverages that contain alcohol,
caffeine, and other additives that may facilitate underage binge
drinking. Product labeling and packaging in some cases make it
difficult to determine whether these products contain alcohol and, if
they do, their alcohol content.
(i) Educators, parents, community leaders, and the public are not
familiar with the types and extent of risks to the health and safety
of California's young people associated with alcopops and other new
alcohol products with potential appeal to young people.
(j) Underage drinking cost Californians an estimated $7.3 billion
dollars in 2005.
(k) In 2005, underage drinkers consumed 12.4 percent of all
alcohol sold in California, totaling $2.3 billion dollars in sales.
These sales provided profits of approximately $1.1 billion dollars to
the alcohol industry.
(l) The alcohol industry paid $__ dollars in taxes and licensing
fees in 2005, a small fraction of the revenue and profits received
from alcohol sales derived from underage drinkers.
25687. (a) (1) For purposes of this article, "alcoholic beverage
with special appeal to minors" means any alcoholic beverage that
contains additives in proportions that result in a product that
possesses a character and flavor distinctive from traditional malt
beverages, wine, and distilled spirits and that is produced in a
manner that a reasonable person knows or should know will promote
consumption by youth.
(2) An "alcoholic beverage with special appeal to minors"
includes, but is not limited to:
(A) A prepackaged alcoholic beverage made with gelatin, or other
similar base, and added sweetener intended to solidify the product
into a gelatinous, nonliquid state.
(B) A prepackaged alcoholic beverage that contains high levels of
caffeine and other additives and is marketed as an energy drink.
(b) Factors that may be considered in determining whether an
alcoholic beverage has special appeal to minors include, but are not
limited to:
(1) Added sweetner or sugar substitutes.
(2) Added fruit flavors and other flavors that mask the taste of
traditional alcohol products.
(3) Coloring, carbonation, and packaging that are similar to
nonalcoholic products that are appealing to and are consumed by
minors.
(4) Per capita consumption of the alcoholic beverage by minors
that is higher than the per capita consumption by adults.
25688. (a) Beer manufacturers and wholesalers shall submit to the
department information regarding each product and brand to be
distributed in California that is relevant to the determination of
whether the product or brand is an alcoholic beverage with special
appeal to minors.
(b) (1) The department shall review all information submitted to
the department pursuant to subdivision (a), and all other alcoholic
beverage products and brands sold in the state, to determine whether
a product or brand is an alcoholic beverage with special appeal to
minors.
(2) On or before ____, 2008, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage
Control shall publish a list, available on the department's Internet
homepage and updated on an annual basis, of those products or brands
that the department has determined to be alcoholic beverages with
special appeal to minors.
(c) All information and records provided to the department
pursuant to subdivision (a) are confidential in nature and shall not
be disclosed by the department. Information required under
subdivision (a) are not public records under the California Public
Records Act, as described in Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code and shall not
be open to public inspection.
25690. (a) In addition to any federal labeling requirements, any
alcohol with special appeal to minors container sold within this
state bear a label that includes the alcoholic content by volume of
the beverage located on the front of the container and the statement
"Warning: Contains Alcohol."
(b) This section shall become operative ______.
25692. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any retail
licensee engaged in the sale of alcoholic beverages with special
appeal to minors shall not:
(a) Display an alcoholic beverage with special appeal to minors
within five feet of any nonalcoholic beverage.
(b) Place for sale an alcoholic beverage with special appeal to
minors in a refrigerated cooler or tub.
(c) Sell motor vehicle fuel.
(d) Place or display self-illuminated advertising for alcoholic
beverages with special appeal to minors in the windows of the
premises or on the interior or exterior walls of the premises.
25694. The department shall promulgate regulations and rules as
may be necessary to carry out the this article.
SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this
act, which adds Section 25696 to the Business and Professions Code,
imposes a limitation on the public's right of access to the meetings
of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies
within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California
Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the
Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest
protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that
interest:
In order to allow the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to
fully accomplish its goals, it is imperative to protect the interests
of those persons submitting information to the department to ensure
that any business or trade secrets that are required to be submitted
by those persons by this act be protected as confidential
information.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.