BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 183|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 183
Author: Ma (D), et al.
Amended: 6/22/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE : 7-4, 6/28/11
AYES: Wright, Corbett, De León, Evans, Hernandez, Padilla,
Yee
NOES: Anderson, Cannella, Strickland, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Calderon
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-1, 8/15/11
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Emmerson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-26, 5/26/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Alcoholic beverage licenses: self-service
checkouts
SOURCE : California Police Chiefs Association
California Professional Firefighters
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
DIGEST : This bill prohibits off-sale licensees from
selling alcoholic beverages using a customer-operated
checkout stand located on the licensee's physical premises.
This bill makes findings and declarations regarding the
effects of allowing alcoholic beverages to be sold using
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self-service checkouts.
ANALYSIS : The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act,
administered by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage
Control (ABC), 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.
This bill prohibits off-sale licensees from selling
alcoholic beverages using a customer-operated checkout
stand located on the licensee's physical premises. This
bill makes findings and declarations regarding the effects
of allowing alcoholic beverages to be sold using
self-service checkouts.
Comments
According to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control,
every 50 complaints for stores selling alcohol through
self-service checkouts will likely result in 10-15 actual
violations. Costs associated with investigations of those
complaints would be approximately $50,000 to $100,000.
This bill contains Findings and Declarations stipulating
that allowing customers to purchase alcoholic beverages
through self-service checkouts:
1. Facilitates the purchase of alcoholic beverages by
minors.
2. Permits customers who are in an advanced state of
intoxication to purchase additional alcoholic beverages,
in violation of state law.
3. Allows for greater theft of alcoholic beverages,
thereby depriving the state of tax revenues.
Current law requires retailers to conduct all sales of
cigarettes, spray paints, and some over the counter drugs
through face to face transactions. This bill will
additionally require customers to purchase alcoholic
beverages at a check stand other than a self-service kiosk.
Retailers claim that self-service checkouts already
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contain a "lock-out" mechanism which prohibits a customer
from purchasing alcohol until a clerk intervenes and
verifies that the customer is over age 21 through the
identification of the customer.
The ABC administers the provisions of the ABC Act which
include licensing individuals and businesses associated
with the manufacture, importation, and sale of alcoholic
beverages in this state, as well as the collection of
license fees or occupation taxes. Violations of the ABC
Act constitute a misdemeanor.
Prior 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. The bill
was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. His 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, is identical to AB
1060 (De La Torre) of 2009.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Enforcement -----unknown, likely
less than $150----- Special*
*Alcoholic Beverage Control Fund
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SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/11)
California Police Chiefs Association (co-source)
California Professional Firefighters (co-source)
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (co-source)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources
California Association of Alcohol and Drug Program
Executives, Inc.
California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Counselors
California Council on Alcohol Problems
California Labor Federation
California Narcotic Officers' Association
California Nurses Association
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
City and County of San Francisco Police Department
Consumer Federation of California
County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association
of California
Los Angeles County Probation Officers Union
Marin Institute
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
United Food and Commercial Workers
Western States Council of the United Food and Commercial
Workers
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/16/11)
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 and Innovation Foundation
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
National Cash Register Corporation
Neighborhood Market Association
Tech America
Valley Industry and Commerce Association
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents note that the
predominant problem among youth is alcohol consumption and
that sound alcohol policies such as this bill can prevent
and reduce alcohol-related problems.
Proponents reference the California State Attorney
General's "California Student Survey" which found that 36
percent of 9th grade and nearly half (48 percent) of 11th
grade students report that alcohol is very easy to obtain.
The survey also discovered that teens who binge drink
(consume five 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 this bill 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."
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 United States Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National
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Survey on Drug Use and Health show that:
1. Among underage drinkers, just 8.2 percent purchased the
alcohol themselves while nearly 22 percent gave money to
someone of legal age to purchase it.
2. Among underage drinkers who did not pay for the alcohol,
the most common source was an unrelated person aged 21
or older (37.2 percent). In addition, adult family
members provided it 19.5 percent of the time.
Opponents also reference a recent editorial piece in which
the Los Angeles 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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-26, 5/26/11
AYES: Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles
Calderon, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto,
Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Hueso,
Huffman, Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell,
Monning, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino,
Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Williams, Yamada, John
A. Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Harkey,
Huber, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao,
Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Cedillo, Davis, Gorell, Jones,
Wieckowski
PQ:kc 8/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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