BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 183
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          Date of Hearing:   May 4, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                   AB 183 (Ma) - As Introduced:  January 25, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Governmental 
          Organization Vote:                            11 - 3 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill prohibits off-sale licensees from allowing individuals 
          to use self-check out machines to purchase alcoholic beverages. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Every 50 complaints received by the Department of Alcoholic 
          Beverage Control (ABC) for stores selling alcohol through 
          self-service check-outs would likely result in 10 to 15 actual 
          violations. Alcohol Beverages Control Fund costs associated with 
          those investigations could range up to $30,000 per year. 

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . According to the author's office, this bill takes a 
            precautionary step and precludes the possibility of underage 
            drinking abuses occurring due to the usage of a self-service 
            checkout kiosk - the passive supervision associated with these 
            stations makes them vulnerable to manipulation.  By forcing 
            alcohol purchases to be made through a face-to-face 
            transaction from beginning to end, the state can ensure that 
            the necessary age verification steps are being taken to keep 
            alcohol out of the hands of minors.  

            The author's office emphasizes that requiring retailers to 
            conduct all of their alcohol sales in a face-to-face 
            transaction with a cashier is not difficult and points out 
            that it is currently required for cigarettes, spray paints, 
            and some over the counter drugs.   

           2)Current Law  .  Current law states that every person who sells, 








                                                                  AB 183
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            furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished, or given 
            away, any alcoholic beverage to any person under the age of 21 
            years is guilty of a misdemeanor.  In addition, the law states 
            that except as provided by law, any person who violates 
            existing law by furnishing an alcoholic beverage, or causing 
            an alcoholic beverage to be furnished, to a minor shall be 
            punished by a fine of $1,000, no part of which shall be 
            suspended, and the person shall be required to perform not 
            less than 24 hours of community service during hours when the 
            person is not employed and is not attending school.  
                
            3)ABC Staffing  . There are approximately 82,000 permanently 
            licensed establishments in California, with an average of 
            12,000 applications for license transfers and new businesses 
            made each year.  On average, an additional 33,000 temporary 
            "special event" licenses are issued to non-profit and 
            charitable organizations for their events annually.  Although 
            the majority of these businesses/venues are run in an orderly 
            fashion, some present significant public safety problems.

            As of March 2011, ABC is authorized 142 sworn investigators to 
            conduct its enforcement operations to police the activities at 
            these 115,000 licensed venues.  Currently, there are 45 vacant 
            investigator positions which have not been filled due to 
            several factors, including hiring freeze restrictions in place 
            since July 2010.  If ABC were able to maintain a zero percent 
            vacancy rate, each investigator would be responsible for 
            approximately 810 licensed venues.  

           4)Related Legislation  . In 2010, AB 1060 (De La Torre) would have 
            prohibited off-sale licensees from selling alcoholic beverages 
            using a self-service checkout system.  That bill was vetoed by 
            the governor. In his veto message, the governor asserted that 
            there is no legitimate evidence to suggest that self-service 
            grocery checkout stands are contributing to the theft of 
            alcoholic beverages and sale to minors or intoxicated persons.

            AB 523 (De La Torre) of 2007-08, an urgency measure, would 
            have prohibited off-sale general licensees from selling 
            alcoholic beverages using a self-service checkout system.  The 
            bill failed passage in Senate Committee on Governmental 
            Organization.











                                                                  AB 183
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           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 
          319-2081