BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Bill No: AB
183
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Roderick D. Wright, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
Staff Analysis
AB 183 Author: Ma
As Amended: May 19, 2011
Hearing Date: June 14, 2011
Consultant: Art Terzakis
SUBJECT
Alcoholic Beverage Licenses: self-service checkouts
DESCRIPTION
AB 183 prohibits off-sale licensees from selling alcoholic
beverages using a customer-operated checkout stand.
Specifically, this measure:
1. Finds and declares that allowing customers to purchase
alcoholic beverages through self-service checkouts
facilitates the purchase of alcoholic beverages by
minors; permits intoxicated customers to purchase
additional alcoholic beverages; and, allows for greater
theft of alcoholic beverages, thereby depriving the state
of tax revenues.
2. Stipulates that no privileges under an off-sale license
shall be exercised by the licensee at any
customer-operated checkout stand.
EXISTING LAW
Existing law establishes the Department of Alcoholic
Beverage Control (ABC) and grants it exclusive authority to
administer the provisions of the ABC Act in accordance with
laws enacted by the Legislature. This involves licensing
individuals and businesses associated with the manufacture,
importation and sale of alcoholic beverages in this state
and the collection of license fees or occupation taxes for
AB 183 (Ma) continued
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this purpose.
Existing law provides that the ABC may place reasonable
conditions upon any licensee in certain situations,
including, but not limited to, the following: where
grounds exist for the denial of an application for a
license or where a protest against the issuance of a
license has been filed; where findings are made by the ABC
which would justify suspension or revocation of the
license, and imposition of the conditions is reasonably
related to those findings; where findings are made by the
ABC that the licensee has failed to correct objectionable
conditions within a reasonable period of time.
Furthermore, existing law provides that the ABC may suspend
or revoke a license for failure to take reasonable steps to
correct objectionable conditions, as described.
Existing law states that every person who sells, 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.
Existing law provides 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 $1000, 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.
Existing law defines an "on-sale" license as authorizing
the sale of all types of alcoholic beverages: namely, beer,
wine and distilled spirits, for consumption on the premises
(such as at a restaurant or bar). An "off-sale" license
authorizes the sale of all types of alcoholic beverages for
consumption off the premises in original, sealed
containers.
BACKGROUND
Purpose of AB 183: The author's office points out that as
a society, we must continue to fight back the ill effects
of underage drinking because the lives of far too many
young people are negatively impacted by alcohol
consumption. A sizeable number of deaths and injuries are
AB 183 (Ma) continued
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sustained each year due to this practice. Yet, despite the
clear consequences and dangers posed by underage drinking,
studies show that minors throughout California are being
exposed to alcohol at much earlier ages. The author's
office notes that underage drinking costs Californians an
estimated $8.1 billion annually. In 2007, underage
drinkers consumed nearly 14% of all alcohol sold in
California, totaling $3.6 billion in sales.
According to the author's office, AB 183 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 of California 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 would not be
difficult and points out that it is currently required for
cigarettes, spray paints, and some over the counter drugs.
The author's office references a recent study conducted by
the Center for Alcohol and Drug Studies in San Diego which
found that self-checkout scanners were not providing enough
safeguards to prevent illicit alcohol access, including
failing to "lock-out," and letting customers self-override
the "lock-outs."
Additionally, the author's office references an April 2009
study on the self-checkout system conducted by law students
in the Community Economic Development Clinic at UCLA as
proof of the problems associated with selling alcohol
through a self-checkout system. The study grew out of the
Clinic's work with the Los Angeles Alliance for a New
Economy (LAANE) which has focused on researching trends in
the grocery industry and their impact on economic
development in low-income communities. This particular
study was conducted over a two week period with
participants ranging in age from 21 to 41. Participants
visited five different grocery store chains with
self-checkout machines: Albertsons, Ralph's, Fresh & Easy,
Superior, and the Market by Vons. In total, participants
AB 183 (Ma) continued
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conducted 97 visits to 34 grocery stores with self-checkout
machines in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The study
drew the following conclusion: "evidence of inadequate
staffing, inconsistent monitoring, and technological
failures documented in the study suggest that self-checkout
machines may increase the risk of illegal purchases of
alcohol, thereby harming public health."
Arguments in Support: Proponents note that the predominant
problem among youth is alcohol consumption and that sound
alcohol policies such as AB 183 can prevent and reduce
alcohol-related problems.
Proponents reference the California State Attorney
General's "California Student Survey" which found that 36%
of 9th grade and nearly half (48%) of 11th grade students
report that alcohol is very easy to obtain. The survey
also discovered that teens who binge drink (consume 5 or
more drinks in a row within the past 30 days) constitute
almost half of 9th graders who report any drinking.
Additionally, the survey found that by 11th grade nearly
two-thirds of the teens who drink report binge drinking.
Proponents emphasize that the state has a responsibility to
regulate the retail sale of alcohol and as a society we
must do everything we can to prevent youth access to
alcohol. Proponents believe that preventing youth access
by restricting alcohol sales through unsupervised
self-service retail sales is good public policy.
Arguments in Opposition: Opponents disagree with the
findings of the measure and argue that self-service
checkout stations have a lock-out or "freeze" mechanism to
preclude any customer from purchasing alcoholic beverages
without clerk intervention to verify age (ID) and finalize
the purchase.
Opponents state that "assisted checkout stations are
overseen by clerks who must abide by California state law
governing the sale of alcoholic beverages. The clerks must
either ask for identification from individuals seeking to
purchase alcoholic beverages or make a determination that
the customer is above the age of 21 and 'override' the
system by keying in their clerk or other code in order to
complete the transaction."
AB 183 (Ma) continued
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Opponents note that studies consistently show that most of
the time, minors obtain alcohol from persons of legal age,
not by purchasing or stealing it themselves. Opponents
report that findings of the latest U.S. Substance Abuse &
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National
Survey on Drug Use & Health show that:
Among underage drinkers, just 8.2% purchased the
alcohol themselves while nearly 22% gave money to
someone of legal age to purchase it.
Among underage drinkers who did not pay for the
alcohol, the most common source was an unrelated
person aged 21 or older (37.2%). In addition, adult
family members provided it 19.5% of the time.
Opponents also reference a recent editorial piece in which
the L.A. Times opined, "it's unlikely that underage
drinkers would flock to self-checkout lanes. They're more
likely to obtain liquor by getting an adult to buy it for
them. For that matter, various studies have found that
clerks at regular stands are even more likely than
self-check stands to let underage shoppers buy alcohol
without an ID check."
Staff Comments:
(1) When an individual goes through the self-checkout
lane and is purchasing, say, a bottle of wine, the
self-checkout supervisor must approve the sale through
verification of age. You have to do this even if
you're 84 years old, because the computer automatically
demands ID since of course it cannot (yet) distinguish
between an inebriated 19-year-old with a case of Pabst
Blue Ribbon and a 60-year-old with a bottle of Pinot
Noir.
(2) It should be noted that ABC staff indicates that
they have no evidence of any problems associated with
minors purchasing alcoholic beverages through
self-service checkouts.
(3) Over the past 10 years California has witnessed an
emerging wine business on the Internet that has created
another sales channel for California wine - this
evolution of on-line sales is here to stay with
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wineries and virtual wineries conducting business via
e-mail and Internet all the time. This measure could
have an impact on Internet wine sales because an
on-line wine customer is typically directed to a site's
(off-sale licensee's) "customer operated checkout" page
or "shopping cart" and there's no direct interaction
with a live body. Although AB 183 appears to be
designed for a "physical setting" it doesn't
necessarily suggest that because the measure lacks a
definition for "customer-operated checkout stand."
PRIOR/RELATED LEGISLATION
AB 1060 (De La Torre) 2009-10 Session. Would have
prohibited off-sale licensees from selling alcoholic
beverages using a self-service checkout system. (Vetoed -
Governor's message stated, "There is no legitimate evidence
to suggest that self-service checkout stands are
contributing to the theft of alcoholic beverages and sales
to minors or intoxicated persons. Retailers have several
strong reasons to prevent the theft or sale of alcohol to
minors including the fact that alcohol is an expensive
product to be stolen and a grocer's alcohol sales could be
placed in jeopardy. Thus, it is unclear what problem this
bill seeks to address.")
AB 523 (De La Torre) 2007-08 Session. Identical to AB 1060
(De La Torre) of 2009. (Failed passage in this committee
on a vote of 5-2)
SUPPORT: As of June 10, 2011:
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (co-sponsor)
California Police Chiefs Association (co-sponsor)
California Professional Firefighters (co-sponsor)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
(Support - continued)
California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources
California Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse
Counselors
California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program
Executives, Inc.
California Council on Alcohol Problems
California Labor Federation
California Narcotic Officers' Association
AB 183 (Ma) continued
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California Nurses Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association
of California
Consumer Federation of California
L.A. County Probation Officers Union
Marin Institute
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
City and County of San Francisco Police Department
United Food and Commercial Workers
Western States Council of the United Food & Commercial
Workers
OPPOSE: As of June 10, 2011:
California Chamber of Commerce
California Grocers Association
California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce
California Independent Grocers Association
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Retailers Association
Central City Association of Los Angeles
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
National Cash Register Corporation
Neighborhood Market Association
Tech America
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
FISCAL COMMITTEE: Senate Appropriations Committee
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