How HEA 1118 Will Affect Your Business
It becomes even more important to be extremely diligent in training employees to check ID. The ATC now has the power to get tough on Alcohol and Tobacco Sales to Minors with higher penalties, higher fines and more inspections.
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Civil Penalties
The act provides for graduated civil penalties against a permittee for repeat violations of furnishing alcohol to a minor on the licensed premises. Collected penalties are to be deposited in the enforcement and administration fund. Formerly a Class C misdemeanor, it is now a Class B misdemeanor for a person to recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally sell, barter, exchange, provide, or furnish an alcoholic beverage to a minor. However, the offense becomes a Class A misdemeanor if the person has a prior unrelated conviction under this section; and a Class D felony if the consumption, ingestion, or use of the alcoholic beverage is the proximate cause of the serious bodily injury or death of any person.
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Fines
The fines to retailers for selling tobacco and/or alcohol to minors for a licensed premise at a specific business location are:
• No citation or summons for a minor violation
in the previous 180 days – fines up to $200.
• One citation or summons for a minor violation
within 180 days – fines up to $400
• Two citations or summonses for a violation 180 days,
a civil penalty of up to $700.
• Three or more citations or summonses for a violation in the previous
180 days, a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000).
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False ID
The new law also makes it a Class C misdemeanor for a minor to make a false statement of the minor’s age or to present or offer false or fraudulent evidence of majority or identity to an alcoholic beverage permittee for the purpose of procuring an alcoholic beverage.
(Under past law, the offense was a Class C infraction.).
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ATC Inspections “Stings”
The new law requires the ATC to: conduct random unannounced inspections of locations where alcoholic beverages are sold or distributed. The bill also allows a person of age and less than 21 years of age to receive or purchase alcoholic beverages as part of an enforcement action.
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Tobacco Warning Sign Required
An establishment selling tobacco at retail shall post and maintain in a conspicuous place, a sign, at the point of sale, printed in letters at least one-half (1/2) inch high, reading as follows:
“The sale of tobacco to persons under 18 years of age is
forbidden by Indiana law.”
“Smoking by Pregnant Women May Result in Fetal Injury,
Premature Birth, and Low Birth Weight.”
A sign printed in letters and numbers that displays a toll free phone number for assistance to callers in quitting smoking, as determined by
the state department of health.
A person who owns or has control over an establishment
selling tobacco at retail; and fails to post and maintain the sign
commits a Class C infraction
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New Year’s Day
Off-premise alcohol sales are now allowed on New Year’s Day.
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Employee Permits & Training
The term of an employee permits changes from two years to three years and changes the fee to $45 corresponding with the term change. The intent is to have the permit in line to expire with the server training certificate. The legislation changes the effective date of the server training mandate from January 1, 2009 to January, 1, 2010.
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Consumer Sales Wholesalers
Beer and Liquor wholesalers may no longer sell to consumers. Beer wholesalers may continue to sell to employees one keg or other containers not to exceed 48 pints. Liquor wholesalers may sell to employees up to 18 liters.
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Sampling
Flavored malt beverages and hard cider have been added to the sampling statutes for package stores and on-premise retailers.
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How HEA 1118 Will Limit the Availability of Alcohol Permits
Definition: A “grocery store” is now defined providing some limitations on what kinds of stores qualify for the purposes of obtaining a beer dealers permit:
“Grocery store” means a store or part of a store that is known generally as:
a supermarket, grocery store, food mart, convenience store, delicatessen
or gourmet food store and is primarily engaged in the retail sale of a
general food line.
The term includes a convenience store or food mart as described only if the sale of alcoholic beverages on the premises of the convenience store or food mart represents a percentage of annual gross sales of twenty-five percent (25%) or less of all items sold on the premises, excluding gasoline and automotive oil products. The term does not include an establishment known generally as a gas station that is primarily engaged in: the retail sale of automotive fuels, which may include diesel fuel, gasohol, or gasoline; or activities that may include providing repair service, selling automotive oils, replacement parts, and accessories, or providing food services.
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Quotas
There will be fewer Beer and Liquor Dealer permits available. Current quotas allow one beer dealer permit and one liquor dealers permit for every 1500 persons in a city. Unincorporated areas have virtually no quota because each named place could have one permit.
New Quotas for Beer dealers permits
- One permit for every 2000 persons in
incorporated cities with populations less than
15,001 or 2 permits, whichever is greater.
- One permit for every 3500 persons in
incorporated cities with populations more
than 15,000 and less than 80,000 or 8 permits,
whichever is greater.
- One permit for every 6000 persons in
incorporated cities with populations more than
80,000 or 23 permits, whichever is greater.
- Unincorporated areas will be allowed one permit
for every 2500 persons in the unincorporated
areas of the county or 2 permits, whichever is
greater.
- Communities with no permits left will be
allowed to get 2 new permits or 5% of the
total permits allowed, whichever is greater.
New Quotas for liquor dealers permits
- One permit for every 2000 persons in
incorporated cities with populations less than
15,001 or 2 permits, whichever is greater.
- One permit for every 3500 persons in
incorporated cities with populations more
than 15,000 and less than 80,000 or 8 permits,
whichever is greater.
- One permit for every 6000 persons in
incorporated cities with populations more
than 80,000 or 23 permits, whichever is greater.
- Unincorporated areas will be allowed
one permit for every 2500 persons in the
unincorporated areas of the county or 2 permits,
whichever is greater.
- Communities with no permits left will be
allowed to get 2 new permits or 5% of the total
permits allowed, whichever is greater.
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Local Boards
The bill requires a member of a local alcoholic beverage board (local board) to complete a training program to educate the member on alcoholic beverage law and the operation of the local board and the ATC.
The bill requires a local board to allow all individuals attending a public local board meeting or hearing to make oral comments at the meeting or hearing regarding the subject of the meeting or hearing.
The bill also allows a local board to give greater weight to oral comments provided by a person who owns or operates a business, owns real property, or resides within 1,000 feet of the requested location of an alcoholic beverage permit.
The bill requires the ATC to give notice: (1) by mail to the local board if an objection has been filed and of the date of any appeal hearing set by the ATC; and (2) by publication in the city, town, or county where the proposed permit premises is located of the date of any appeal hearing set by the ATC.
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How HEA 1118 Will Limit the Availability of Alcohol to Minors
This bill requires alcoholic beverage sales in a drug store or grocery store to be rung up by a sales clerk who is at least 19 years of age. This should mean that high school age clerks will not be selling to their friends. (Current law is 18 years of age.)
The bill also increases the penalty for individuals furnishing an alcoholic beverage to a minor to:
- a Class B misdemeanor for the first offense;
- a Class A misdemeanor for a subsequent offense; and
- a Class D felony if the illegal furnishing of the alcoholic beverage results in serious bodily injury to or the death of any person.
This bill provides that a violation occurs if a person recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally furnishes an alcoholic beverage to a minor. (Current law provides that a violation occurs if a person recklessly furnishes an alcoholic beverage to a minor.)
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Retail Alcohol Reform is Not Over
Interim Study Committee.
Many of the issues considered in HB 1118 that did not become part of the final bill will be studied in depth by atwo-year interim study committee.
Issues to be discussed include:
- Alcohol server training and employee permits for sales clerks in dealer establishments.
- Additional one, two, or three-way permits for restaurants
in economic development areas
- Displaying alcoholic beverages in separate areas in dealer establishments.
- The historic origins of Indiana alcoholic beverage laws and the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and its place and purpose in the twenty-first century. (This will be used to raise the cold beer and Sunday sales issues.)
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Other Acts of Interest
HEA 1042 Intent to Sell Sexually Explicit Materials
This act will require businesses that would like to sell sexually explicit materials after June 30, 2008, to register with the state and pay a $250 fee. This will not affect existing businesses that currently are selling any sexually explicit materials. If you are selling any magazines or books that could be considered sexually explicit you can continue to do so, without registering. The new law only applies to new businesses or businesses that change location or businesses that would choose to add sexually explicit materials to their inventory after June 30, 2008. HEA 1042 is being widely covered by the media as a controversial bill. It passed both the House and Senate this year with very few dissenting votes.
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SEA 107 Wineries
Some wineries again claimed that distributors are stymieing wine-market growth with unnecessary shipping limitations. Indiana lawmakers in this session increased the yearly amount of product a winery can sell from 500,000 to 1 million gallons. However, they also rejected the Indiana wine industry’s efforts to increase the direct shipping limit for wine from 3,000 cases each year in-state to 10,000 cases. According to distributors, the current 3,000 figure is already meeting, and in many cases exceeding, the consumer demand for wines produced by the small wineries who are most interested in raising the limit. Raising the limit would have allowed more alcohol products to bypass the safeguards built into the current three-tier system.
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