October 9, 2003 98-R-0606

FROM: Dan Duffy, Principal Analyst

RE: Alcohol and Minors

You wanted to know (1) the penalties for selling alcohol to minors and for minors using false identification to buy alcohol, (2) what proposals have been made recently to deal with the problem of underage drinking, and (3) what proposals were made this year concerning alcohol in general.

A “minor” under the Liquor Control Act is anyone under 21. Minors are subject to criminal penalties for buying, attempting to buy, or having liquor in a public place. They can also be prosecuted for using false ID or altering or misusing a driver's license. A minor's driver's license can be administratively suspended following a conviction for misusing a license or using another's to buy liquor. In addition, the motor vehicles commissioner must suspend the license of a minor who has a counterfeit or altered license or has liquor in his car. Finally, anyone under 21 is subject to administrative per se license suspension proceedings for having a blood alcohol content level greater than .02%.

Liquor permittees are guilty of a misdemeanor for selling or otherwise delivering liquor to a minor under certain conditions. Their employees are guilty of a felony for committing the same act. Permittees are also subject to criminal penalties for allowing minors to loiter in a bar. Permittees are subject to permit suspensions for any violation of the Liquor Control Act. They may pay fines instead of undergoing permit suspensions. The amount of the fine is determined according to regulatory formulas.

In 1998, the legislature considered other alcohol-related measures that did not involve minors. It allowed liquor wholesalers to offer certain types of discounts and allowed businesses to own or operate liquor-selling stands or restaurants at more than one coliseum, stadium, or concert hall. It did not adopt a proposal to lower the blood-alcohol level from .10 to .08 and rejected a proposed ban on selling Jell-O shots.

MINORS ATTEMPTING TO BUY LIQUOR

Criminal Penalty for Buying, Attempting to buy, or Having Liquor

Anyone under 21 who buys or attempts to buy liquor, or who makes a false statement in an attempt to buy, is subject to a fine of between $200 and $500. Anyone under 21 who possesses liquor on a public street or anywhere open to the public (including clubs) is subject to the same penalty (CGS § 30-89). The penalties do not apply to a liquor permittee and his employees in the course of employment; minors having liquor on a physician's orders; and minors in the company of their adult parents, guardians, or spouse. These exceptions also apply to several prohibitions described below for such offenses as having liquor in a motor vehicle or for giving liquor to minors in certain situations.

Criminal Penalty for Using False ID

The law allows anyone 21 or older to use his driver's license to prove his age, if it is a picture ID. Anyone who misrepresents his age, or uses another's license to obtain liquor, is subject to a penalty of up to 30 days in prison, a fine of between $200 and $500, or both (CGS § 30-88a).

An individual without a driver's license may use an identity card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Anyone who misrepresents his age or commits another deception to obtain a card, or who uses another's, is subject to a penalty of up to 30 days in prison, a fine of up to $50, or both (CGS § 1-1h).

The law requires a liquor permittee to require a prospective purchaser to complete an age statement whenever his age is in question. Anyone who willfully misrepresents his age on a statement is subject to a penalty of $100 for a first offense and up to $250 for subsequent offenses (CGS § 30-86a).

Altering or Misusing a Driver's License

Anyone who counterfeits or in any way alters a driver's license, or who gives, lends, or sells a counterfeited or altered license, is subject to a penalty of up to 30 days in prison, a fine of up to $200, or both. Anyone who lends or sells his license is subject to a penalty of up to $100. Anyone who uses another's license is subject to a penalty of up to 30 days in prison, a fine of up to $100, or both (CGS § 14-147).

In addition to the above criminal penalties, the law requires the DMV commissioner to suspend, for two calendar months, the driver's license of anyone who possesses a counterfeit or altered license, if the license bears the driver's picture (CGS § 14-111f). Further, the motor vehicles commissioner must suspend, for 150 days, the license or nonresident operating privilege of anyone under 21 convicted of violating this law by misusing his license or of purchasing or possessing liquor. Someone who is not licensed who has been convicted of these offenses is ineligible for a license for 150 days after meeting all requirements (CGS § 14-111e).

PENALTY FOR HAVING LIQUOR IN A CAR

The DMV commissioner is authorized to revoke, for up to 60 days, the driver's license of anyone under 21 who has liquor in his car if the commissioner finds that the driver knew, or had reason to know, that it was there. The penalty may be imposed after a police officer issued a summons to appear before the commissioner and he has held a hearing (CGS § 14-111a).

PENALTY FOR DRINKING AND DRIVING

The law establishes a special per se driver's license suspension procedure for someone under 21 who is taken into custody by a police officer, submits to a blood alcohol content (BAC) test, and the test shows a BAC of more than .02% but less than .10%. Drivers over age 21 are subject to administrative per se license suspension only if their BAC is .10% or over.

A police officer may administer a blood, breath, or urine test to a driver under age 21 if (1) the officer takes the driver into custody, (2) he reasonably believes that the driver has consumed alcohol, and (3) the driver exhibits some indication of impairment from alcohol consumption. If the test results show a BAC of more than .02% but less than .10%, the officer must report the driver's name and address to the DMV commissioner.

The commissioner must give an opportunity for a hearing to determine if (1) the officer had probable cause to stop the driver; (2) the driver was placed under custodial arrest; (3) the test was administered within two hours, and it showed a BAC between .02% and .10%; and (4) the youth was driving the vehicle. If the driver does not appear, or if he does and the commissioner finds the answer to all four questions is yes, he must suspend the driver's license for 90 days. He may not suspend the license if the driver can show that the elevated BAC level resulted from drinking something taken on a physician's order or provided by an adult parent, guardian, or spouse who was accompanying the young driver.

PENALTIES FOR SELLING TO OR PROVIDING LIQUOR TO MINORS

Criminal Penalties for Selling or Delivering Liquor to a Minor

The law prohibits a permittee, whether by his own hand or through an agent, from selling or otherwise delivering liquor to a minor. The penalty for violating this provision, except under a physician's orders, is up to one year in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. It is an unclassified misdemeanor. The same law also prohibits anyone from giving or delivering liquor to a minor, with certain exceptions. The penalty for violating this provision is up to 18 months in prison, a fine of up to $1,500, or both. It is an unclassified felony. These provisions may create a situation in which a package store employee could be guilty of a felony for committing the same act that would make a package store permittee guilty of a misdemeanor (CGS §§ 30-86, 53a-25, and 53a-26).

A liquor permittee, who by himself or through an employee, allows a minor to loiter on his premises where liquor is kept for sale, or to be where liquor is served at a bar, is subject to a penalty of up to one year in prison, a fine of up to $1,000, or both (CGS § 30-90).

Administrative Penalties for Selling to Minors

The Division of Liquor Control in the Department of Consumer Protection is responsible for enforcing the Liquor Control Act (CGS § 30-6). It is authorized, on its own initiative, to revoke or suspend a liquor permit if it finds cause after holding a hearing. But it cannot act if the permittee has been arrested and (1) been found not guilty in court, (2) received a dismissal in court, or (3) the result was any action other than a conviction (CGS § 30-55). This means that the division may act administratively when (1) the permittee was not charged with a crime and (2) the permittee was charged with a crime and convicted. In practice, this means that cases against permittees are pursued either criminally or administratively.

The division does not follow a specific written schedule of penalties when imposing discipline for selling to minors. Instead, it determines the penalty based on the testimony and other evidence presented, the permittee's record, other violations which may have occurred during the incident, and the age and appearance of the minor. As a rule of thumb, the commission generally imposes a penalty of three days' suspension and a fine of about $250 on a permittee charged with selling to a minor for the first time.

The commission follows several steps when imposing administrative sanctions, including sanctions for violating the laws relating to sales to a minor. The first is to accept “an offer in compromise in lieu of suspension” (CGS § 30-58a). The law allows the commission to accept from permittees offers to pay a fine instead of undergoing a permit suspension. State regulations establish two formulas to determine the amount of the fine that the commission will accept.

Using the first, the commission divides the amount that the permittee states is his gross profit from selling liquor during the previous 12 months by 365. The quotient is his average daily gross profit. If the establishment has been open for less than one year, the average daily gross profit must be based on the time it has been open. It divides the average daily gross profit by two. Finally, it multiplies the quotient by the number of days of suspension. The product is the amount the commission will accept.

Using the second, the commission multiplies the number of days of suspension by $50.

If the permittee does not make an offer in lieu of suspension, the division holds a compliance meeting with him. At the meeting, the department and the permittee negotiate a penalty. If there is no agreement, the permittee must meet with a liquor control commissioner in a pre-hearing meeting. If no agreement is reached, the full three-member commission holds a penalty hearing.

In 1996 and again in 1997 the General Assembly increased the penalties for minors who use false ID, purchase, or possess liquor by increasing the driver's license suspension period. The legislature increased the suspension period from a maximum of 30 days to a mandatory 90 days in 1996 and applied the penalty to purchasing and possession liquor in addition to using false ID (PA 96-199). It increased the suspension period to 150 days and made someone without a license ineligible to receive one for 150 days in 1997 (PA 97-201).

A 1998 act allows someone to induce a minor to buy liquor as part of an official investigation or enforcement activity conducted by a law enforcement agency. The bill provides that the law against inducing a minor to obtain liquor is not to be construed in a way that would prevent (1) the DCP from suspending or revoking a liquor seller's permit for violating the Liquor Control Act or (2) criminal prosecution for selling to minors, intoxicated people, and known habitual drunkard. The act has the effect of allowing police to run sting operations by using minors to purchase liquor in package stores and bars. Police routinely ran these operations until DCP decided that it could not suspend or revoke a permittee's permit following a police operation using minors (PA 98-164).

In 1998 the General Assembly sought to reduce the number of “keggers,” or parties at which beer is served to under-age drinkers. The act requires requires package and grocery stores selling keg beer to (1) place an identification tag on the keg; (2) require purchasers to sign a receipt; and (3) inform them that the deposit, if any, must be forfeited if the keg is returned without an intact and readable tag. The seller may inform buyers of this fact either verbally or by posting a conspicuous sign at the point of sale. The act applies to “kegs,” which it defines as brewery-sealed containers of at least six gallons. The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) may adopt regulations setting requirements for the form and content of the sign (PA 98-236).

A package store in Manchester began to sell liquor through a drive-up window in 1997. Because a package store employee cannot see a customer sitting in a car as well as he can if the customer is in the store, some legislators saw this type of sale as a way minors could buy liquor more easily. The General Assembly banned drive-up sales in 1998 (PA 98-236).

There were proposals in 1997 and 1998 to prohibit or reduce the presence of alcohol in schools.. In 1997 Senators Sullivan and Jepsen proposed prohibiting all drug and alcohol possession on school grounds SB 863. The bill died in the Judiciary Committee. In 1998, Senator Gaffey proposed prohibiting DCP from issuing temporary one-day liquor permits for events to be held on the grounds of public schools (sHB 5444). The Education Committee eliminated that provision of the bill. Another 1998 bill would have established enhanced penalties for selling or possessing drugs, alcohol, or cigarettes near youth or teen centers (HB 5669). The bill died on the House calendar.

The Children's Committee reported a bill requiring all hospitals, outpatient surgical facilities, and outpatient clinics to report annually on the number of people under age 18 they treated for alcohol poisoning during the previous 12 months (sHB 5284). The bill died on the House calendar.

The General Assembly adopted several concerning liquor sellers. One allowed liquor wholesalers to offer two types of discounts to liquor retailers (PA 98-4). Another allowed apple brandy manufacturers to also make eau-de-vie (PA 98-236). A third allows a concession permit backer to be the backer of a coliseum permit, a coliseum concession permit, or both. By law, a "backer" is someone who owns a liquor business but does not hold the permit to operate it (PA 98-164).

An Act Concerning Drunk Driving would have also changed the required BAC testing. It would have required anyone arrested for operating under the influence of alcohol or while impaired by alcohol to be tested with blood, breath, and urine tests rather than being tested by any one of the three tests.

An Act Concerning Out-of-State Drunken Driving Convictions would have made convictions in other states count for purposes of determining whether a person has prior drunken driving offenses. By law, those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs are subject to enhanced penalties for repeat offenses.

Drink Promotions. The General Law Committee reported a bill to ban the sale of “Jell-O shots,” prohibit selling larger drinks for the price of smaller ones, and to statutorily restrict other drink promotions of a type sometimes held in bars. The House of Representatives voted against the bill on April 29.

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