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Tennessee poised to become first state to require universal carding on beer sales

 

Karen Millar checks an identification card before selling beer to a customer at the Shell Roadrunner Market on Stone Drive on Friday. Photo by David Grace.

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Whether it's a blue-haired granny or a fraternity brother celebrating the big 2-1, anyone wishing to buy beer from Tennessee grocery and convenience stores will soon need to hand over a valid I.D.

Beginning July 1, Tennessee will be the first state in the nation to require universal carding for purchases of beer for off-premises consumption. The legislation will not affect the sale of wine and liquor, monitored by the office of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or beer sales in restaurants and clubs.

The Tennessee Responsible Vendor Act - passed the General Assembly last year - is hailed by proponents as an innovative and strong step in the fight against underage drinking. The legislation will expire in July of 2008, giving law makers and vendors an opportunity to review the process.

According to Jarron Springer, president of the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association, the mandatory I.D. provision establishes Tennessee as a national leader on the underage issue, and he suspects other states will soon follow suit. In the coming weeks he'll begin briefing the grocery and convenience stores in his association on the issue.

Springer concedes older customers, who are obviously of legal age to buy beer, may not be too thrilled with the mandatory carding. However, he says the cooperation of those customers will help busy clerks establish requesting an ID as part of their working routine, helping fight underage purchases.

Many local stores have already began the carding practice, such as 47 Roadrunner Markets stores in the Tri-Cities. John Kelly, chief operating officer for Roadrunner Markets, who implemented the strict policy last year, says it makes it less likely that a clerk will make a mistake. He says regular customers quickly adapted to the stricter carding procedures and most now arrive at the counter with an I.D. in hand.

“The universal carding law means that all retailers are on the same page,” said Kelly. “There will be consistent training of clerks. Customers can expect to have their I.D. checked at any store in Tennessee that sells beer.”

The new law also establishes a voluntary Responsible Vendor Program which will be administered by the Tennessee ABC. To become a "Responsible Vendor" a retailer will be required to have each of their clerks complete a server training course approved by the ABC.

Civil penalties for underage sales against ABC certified Responsible Vendors will differ from retailers that are not certified, giving stores incentive to volunteer in the program. Non-participating retailers face a license suspension, revocation or a fine of $2,500 for each underage sale violation, an increase from the previous penalty of $1,500.

Meanwhile, Responsible Vendors face a fine up to $1,000 for each underage sale violation. If a retailer has two violations in a 12-month period the ABC will revoke their Responsible Vendor status. If subsequent violations then occur, the vendor will be subject to
a license suspension, revocation or a fine up to $2,500 by the local beer board -- penalties non-certified vendors can face on a first offense.

Responsible Vendors must pay an annual fee based on the number of certified clerks per store. That fee ranges from $25 for 1-to-15 certified clerks up to $250 for stores with over 100 clerks certified as Responsible Vendors.

The new law takes no authority away from local beer boards and will have no effect on law enforcement conducting underage stings, according to a press release on the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association's website.

The association's president, Stringer, says more changes may be on the way for alcohol sales in Tennessee. There is a push to make wine, currently under the jurisdiction of the ABC and sold at their stores, stocked in grocery store aisles throughout the state.

"It just makes sense to have it available for people to buy with their groceries, because most people that drink wine do so with food," Stringer said.

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Goodness. One more step goosestepping along the way to a police state. Now government ID is required for old gray hairs like myself to buy beer. It's none of the state's business who is buying beer, and carding old folks is not going to stop a single sale to a minor.

Heaven forbid that we should be like the decadent europeans and allow everyone to buy beer without id. For some reason that policy results in much lower rates of alcoholism than here in the states!

Anyway, this doesn't affect me since I brew everything at home, which is better quality, far less expensive, and avoids all those nasty alcohol taxes that the politicians will just waste on more police state programs like this one.

Jeremiah Jones | 7/2/2007 - 1:35 AM - (Suggest Removal )

Yup this sounds good, but until the law is changed and adults that purchase alcoholic beverages for minors are held accountable in such a way that causes them SEVERE discomfort and expense....this won't work either. Kind of like putting your fingers in the dam to stop a big leak.

Carolyn Jessee | 6/23/2007 - 11:27 AM - (Suggest Removal )

I'm not going to be too happy being carded when I buy beer. The last time I was carded Jimmy Carter was president. However, it sure would be nice to be able to buy wine in the grocery store like you can in most States.

Joe Allison | 6/23/2007 - 12:16 AM - (Suggest Removal )

This law comes from the same state that recently had professional drag cars doing burnouts on crowded streets with no barriers? How dumb can the lawmakers be? The law wont be enforced 95% of the time, and it would be stupid if it was enforced. It is a waist of taxpayers money to spend time on something as stupid as this. I'd like to see cost benifit analysis of how much money was spent on getting this law on the books and 'attempting' to enforce it. My bet is it costs us $30,000 to prevent the sale of alcohol to 3 minors over the next year. What a deal.

dave thomas | 6/22/2007 - 11:23 PM - (Suggest Removal )

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