AB 1605: Driving under the influence: alcohol sales.

Existing law, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, provides for the issuance, suspension, revocation, and conditions upon licensure for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Existing law makes every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished or given away any alcoholic beverage to any person under 21 years of age guilty of a misdemeanor.

Existing law also makes it unlawful for a person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or the combined influence of both, to drive a vehicle and requires a court, when granting probation following conviction of a driving under the influence offense, to impose certain terms and conditions, including that the individual not drive a vehicle with any measurable amount of alcohol in their blood, among others.

This bill would require everyone who sells or furnishes alcoholic beverages to first review a form of written identification issued by this state or another state and would make a violation of this requirement a misdemeanor. The bill would require a court, subject to an exception, state. The bill would authorize a court when granting probation for certain driving under the influence offenses to prohibit the person from purchasing alcohol and would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue an identification card or drivers license with an appropriate designation on the face upon the receipt of an abstract of the record of a court. The bill would authorize the court to prohibit the purchase of alcohol when the underlying conviction involved a certain percentage of alcohol, the offense occurred within 3 years of a separate driving under the influence offense, or the offense involved property damage or great bodily injury, as specified. the offense occurred within 10 years of 2 or more driving under the influence offenses that resulted in conviction or certain other prior convictions, or if the conviction was for vehicular manslaughter, as specified. The bill would require a seller of alcoholic beverages to refuse to sell or serve someone subject to such an order and would make the sale of an alcoholic beverage to that individual a misdemeanor. order.

To the extent this bill would require a higher level of service from court staff who are county employees, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.