BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2121 Hearing Date: 6/28/2016
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|Author: |Gonzalez |
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|Version: |6/21/2016 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Arthur Terzakis |
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SUBJECT: Alcoholic beverage control: Responsible Beverage
Service Training Program Act of 2016
DIGEST: This bill establishes the Responsible Beverage
Service (RBS) Training Program Act of 2016, beginning July 1,
2020, that requires an alcohol server, as defined, to
successfully complete an RBS training course from an accredited
training provider within three months of employment and every
three years thereafter.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Department of 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 for this
purpose.
2)Stipulates that no person who sells, furnishes, gives, or
causes to be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic
beverage shall be civilly liable to any injured person or the
estate of such person for injuries inflicted on that person as
a result of intoxication by the consumer of such alcoholic
beverage.
AB 2121 (Gonzalez) Page 2 of ?
3)Provides that every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or
causes to be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic
beverage to any habitual or common drunkard or to any
obviously intoxicated person is guilty of a misdemeanor.
4)States a cause of action may be brought by or on behalf of any
person who has suffered injury or death against any person
licensed, or required to be licensed, as specified, or any
person authorized by the federal government to sell alcoholic
beverages on a military base or other federal enclave, who
sells, furnishes, gives or causes to be sold, furnished or
given away any alcoholic beverage, and any other person who
sells, or causes to be sold, any alcoholic beverage, to any
obviously intoxicated minor where the furnishing, sale or
giving of that beverage to the minor is the proximate cause of
the personal injury or death sustained by that person.
5)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.
6)Permits the Department of ABC to issue licenses and
authorizations for the retail sale of beer, wine and distilled
spirits on a temporary basis for special events. The most
common are as follows:
a) Special Daily Beer and/or Wine License - Authorizes the
sale of beer and/or wine for consumption on the premises
where sold. (No off-sale privileges)
b) Daily On-Sale General License - Authorizes the sale of
beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption on the
premises where sold. (No off-sale privileges)
c) Catering Authorization - Authorizes certain types of
licensees (and catering businesses that qualify) to sell
beer, wine and distilled spirits for consumption at
conventions, sporting events, trade exhibits, picnics,
social gatherings, or similar events.
d) Event Authorization - Authorizes certain types of
AB 2121 (Gonzalez) Page 3 of ?
licensees to sell beer, wine and spirits for consumption on
property adjacent to the licensed premises and owned or
under the control of the licensee.
e) Wine Sales Event Permit - Authorizes wineries to sell
bottled wine produced by the winegrower for consumption off
the premises where sold and only at fairs, festivals or
cultural events sponsored by designated nonprofit
organizations.
This bill:
1)Establishes the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Training
Program and beginning July 1, 2020, requires alcohol servers,
as defined, to complete an RBS training course from an
accredited training provider within three months of employment
and every three years thereafter.
2)Defines "alcohol server" to mean a person who sells or serves
alcoholic beverages directly to consumers, or a person who
manages or supervises a person who sells or serves alcoholic
beverages directly to consumers, including the onsite
establishment owner of a licensed facility, for consumption on
the premises of a licensed facility that includes, but is not
limited to, one-day events, fairs, festivals, sporting events,
and other special events.
3)Stipulates that the licensee must ensure that those persons
required to successfully complete an RBS training course do so
and that a current certificate or card provided by any
accredited training provider shall be sufficient documentation
of successful completion and be accepted statewide.
4)Defines "accredited training provider" to mean either of the
following: (a) A training provider accredited by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) that meets ASTM
International E2659-15 Standard Practice for Certificate
Programs or (b) A training provider accredited by an
accreditation agency other than ANSI, provided the
accreditation agency is authorized by the department of ABC to
accredit training providers offering RBS training courses.
5)Provides that a nonprofit organization that has obtained a
temporary daily on-sale license or temporary daily off-sale
license from the Department of ABC must designate a person or
AB 2121 (Gonzalez) Page 4 of ?
persons to receive RBS training before the event and that
designated person or those designated persons must remain on
site for the duration of the event.
6)Requires the Department of ABC, on or before January 1, 2020,
to establish a list, published on its Internet Web site, of
RBS training courses offered by accredited training providers
that may be used to fulfill the requirements of this program.
7)Provides that an RBS training course shall consist of at least
four hours of instruction and include certain information
(e.g., social impact of alcohol; impact of alcohol on the
body; state laws and regulations relating to alcoholic
beverage control and driving under the influence; and,
intervention techniques). Also, permits the Department of ABC
to establish additional training standards and curricula to be
included in an RBS training course.
8)Allows RBS training courses to be offered through a
trainer-led class and assessment or self-training and
assessment and specifies that participants must score 70% to
successfully complete the course. Also, provides that the
certificate or card shall be valid for three years from the
date of issuance, regardless of whether the alcohol server
changes employers during that period.
9)Provides that at least one RBS training course shall cost a
participant no more than $15, inclusive of the certificate or
card provided upon successful completion of the training
course. At least one RBS training course must be offered in
Spanish. If no RBS training courses meet these requirements
the RBS course requirements shall not apply.
10)Permits the Department of ABC to authorize an accreditation
agency, in addition to ANSI, to accredit training providers
to offer RBS training courses and to collect fees to cover
reasonable costs associated with the review and approval of
that accreditation agency.
11)Requires the Department of ABC, beginning January 1, 2019,
to include information on the RBS training course
requirement, including information on documentation
requirements, on license applications and license renewal
notices. Also, requires all licensees, beginning July 1,
2020, to maintain and provide upon request all records
AB 2121 (Gonzalez) Page 5 of ?
necessary to establish compliance with this bill.
12)Stipulates that, beginning July 1, 2020, an authorized
licensee, or agent or employee of that licensee, who
knowingly and intentionally employs an alcohol server that
has not completed an RBS training course, shall only be
subject to certain ABC Act civil and administrative
penalties.
Background
Dram Shop Law. A dram shop law is a type of statute which holds
any business establishment strictly liable for selling alcoholic
beverages to a person who is obviously intoxicated. The purpose
of dram shop laws is to increase the responsibility of those who
make profits by tendering alcoholic beverages to guests. The
word "dram" refers to a British unit of measurement for serving
alcohol. Dram shop laws usually deal with prohibiting alcohol
sales to intoxicated persons, but sometimes they may also cover
the sale of alcohol to minors, as well as issues with licenses
and identification. Most states have some form of these types
of laws, but they vary widely between jurisdictions.
California's Dram Shop Law specifies that a vendor who provides
alcohol to a person 21 years of age or older cannot be held
liable for damages if the person then injures someone else, even
if the person was obviously intoxicated at the time. The law
states that the consumption of alcohol, not the furnishing of
the beverages, is the proximate cause of injuries that an
intoxicated person inflicts on another individual, a position
that largely eliminates dram shop liability. Thus, the sale of
alcohol by bars, liquor stores and restaurants in California is
not considered to be the cause of an automobile accident.
RBS training programs. RBS training is not mandatory in
California although some cities and counties do require RBS
training in order to sell or serve alcoholic beverages at
licensed establishments within their jurisdictions.
Currently, the Department of ABC oversees the Licensee Education
on Alcohol and Drugs Program (LEAD) - a free, voluntary
prevention and education program for retail licensees, their
employees and applicants. The mission of the LEAD program is to
provide high quality, effective and educationally sound training
on alcohol responsibility and the law to California retail
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licensees and their employees. The program was initiated in
1991 with a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
The training classes are offered at a variety of locations
throughout the state and include instruction on checking various
forms of identification, detecting and preventing illegal
activity, reducing liability and much more. Each training class
lasts four hours. At the conclusion of the class, there is an
exam on the material that was covered and each person that
fulfills all of the training requirements receives a
certificate, via email, certifying that they successfully
completed a LEAD training course.
Purpose of AB 2121. This bill will establish an RBS training
program that will require alcohol servers, beginning July 1,
2020, to obtain certification that they have successfully
completed an RBS training course from an accredited training
provider within three months of employment and every three years
thereafter. The Department of ABC will be required to develop a
list, published on its Web site, of accredited RBS training
courses. Also, both new and renewal applicants for on-sale
licenses will be required to provide ABC with documentation that
its employees have successfully completed an RBS accredited
training course. Additionally, this bill requires nonprofit
organizations that have obtained temporary daily off-sale or
on-sale licenses to designate at least one person to receive RBS
training prior to the event and that person must stay on site
for the duration of the event. Furthermore, this bill provides
that a licensee, or agent or employee of that licensee, who
knowingly and intentionally employs an alcohol server that has
not completed an RBS training course, shall only be subject to
civil and administrative penalties.
According to the author's office, "The "National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration claims that more than 10,000 people die on
our streets every year - the equivalent of one fatality every 51
minutes due to drunk driving. While we can't entirely stop
every individual from making bad decisions that put innocent
people at risk, we do have a responsibility to intervene when we
can. Unlike 18 other states and the District of Columbia,
California does not require responsible beverage server training
for those bartenders and restaurant servers who are serving
alcohol to customers and are in a unique position to assess and
intervene if customers pose a potential threat. While law
enforcement does its best with checkpoints and other
enforcement, these approaches only help after someone has
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already made the choice to get behind the wheel when they
shouldn't. That isn't good enough. This bill seeks to help
individuals who serve alcohol meet their statutory requirement
not to serve obviously intoxicated patrons and minors by
requiring participation in an RBS training course from an
accredited training provider within three months of employment
and every three years thereafter. The ancillary benefit is a
reduction in drunk driving."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: Yes
SUPPORT:
Alcohol Justice
California Alcohol Policy Alliance
California Craft Brewers Association
California Medical Association (sponsor)
California Police Chiefs Association
California Society of Addiction Medicine
County Health Executives Association of California
Los Angeles Drug and Alcohol Policy Alliance
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
Partnership for a Positive Pomona
SPIRITT Family Services
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Proponents state that "this legislation
establishes a reasonable training requirement. Eighteen other
states and the District of Columbia already require this
training. RBS training provides bartenders and servers with
tools to effectively identify when a patron has had too much to
drink and how to safely intervene if the patron attempts to get
into their car. Responsible beverage training has been found to
increase appropriate server practices, increase refusal to serve
obviously intoxicated patrons, and decrease the percentage of
intoxicated patrons leaving an establishment. Three years after
Oregon mandated responsible beverage service training, fatal
single vehicle nighttime crashes decreased by an estimated 23%."
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