Section 1. Amend § 708(a)(1), Title 4, Delaware Code by deleting said subsection in its entirety and replacing said subsection with the following:

“(1) Individual who has not reached the age of 21 years. In a prosecution for an offense under this paragraph it shall be an affirmative defense if the accused:

a. is working in a premises licensed other than as a taproom (selling for consumption either on or off the premises), a store (selling for consumption off of the premises), or a restaurant (selling for consumption off of the premises) and the individual, who has not reached the age of 21 years presented to the accused identification, with a photograph affixed thereon, which identification sets forth information which would lead a reasonable person to believe such individual was 21 years of age or older; or

b. is working in a premises licensed as a taproom (selling for consumption either on or off the premises), a store (selling for consumption off of the premises), or a restaurant (selling for consumption off of the premises) and the accused meets the requirements set forth in the defense found in § 924 of Title 4.”.

Section 2. Amend § 904(a)(2), Title 4, Delaware Code by deleting said subsection in its entirety and replacing said subsection with the following:

“(2) In a prosecution for an offense under this subsection it shall be an affirmative defense if the accused:

Section 3. Amend Chapter 9, Title 4, Delaware Code by designating the existing Chapter as Subchapter I and adding a new subchapter to read as follows:

“Subchapter II. Underage Drinking and Identification Act.

§ 921. Title.

This Act shall be cited as the Underage Drinking and Identification Act.

§ 922. Findings.

The General Assembly makes the following findings:

(1) Drinking alcohol by persons under the age of 21 is illegal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Enforcement of laws and regulations, such as minimum age drinking laws, zero tolerance laws, and laws and regulations which restrict the availability of alcohol must supplement other efforts to reduce underage drinking.

(2) Alcohol use by youth has many negative consequences, such as immediate risk from acute impairment; traffic accidents and fatalities; violence; suicide and unprotected sex.

(3) A significant percentage of alcohol consumption in the United States and Delaware each year is by underage youth. Nationally, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports that the percentage is over 11 percent.

(4) College and university presidents have cited alcohol abuse as the number one health problem on college and university campuses.

(5) The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that two (2) of five (5) college students are binge drinkers; 1700 college students die each year from alcohol-related injuries, a majority of which involve motor vehicle crashes; more than 70,000 students are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault; and 500,000 students are injured under the influence of alcohol each year.

§ 923. Electronic Identification Verification Equipment, Maintenance and Training.

Every person licensed as a taproom (selling for consumption either on or off the premises), a store (selling for consumption off of the premises), or a restaurant (selling for consumption off of the premises) shall install and reasonably maintain Electronic Identification Verification Equipment. The Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner shall, by regulation:

(1) Designate appropriate Electronic Identification Verification Equipment which a retail establishment licensed pursuant to this Title may use to identify fraudulent identifications;

(2) Determine required maintenance and replacement requirements for such Electronic Identification Verification Equipment; and

(3) Provide appropriate training of servers and other employees of such licensee establishments relating to the use of such Electronic Identification Verification Equipment.

§ 924. Electronic Identification Verification Defense.

Any licensee licensed as a taproom (selling for consumption either on or off the premises), a store (selling for consumption off of the premises), or a restaurant (selling for consumption off of the premises) which provides, on a retail basis, alcohol to an underage individual shall not be subject to a fine or penalty for such act if:

(1) the licensee establishment was, at the time the alcohol was provided, appropriately licensed by the State to provide, on a retail basis, that alcohol;

(2) the licensee establishment acted with reasonable care and diligence in:

(A) receiving an identification document provided by the individual;

(B) determining that the identification document was of a type:

(i) commonly used in the State; and

(ii) considered acceptable for determining the age of the individual identified by the document; and

(C) determining, in light of all the circumstances, that the individual providing the document was the individual identified by the document;

(3) To determine the age of the individual identified in the document, the licensee establishment carried out an electronic verification:

(A) using equipment approved by the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner; and

(B) performed by an employee who successfully completed, with respect to that equipment, training

approved by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner; and

(4) The electronic verification determined that the individual identified by the document was not an

underage individual; and

(5) The licensee establishment recorded and retained the information contained on the identification document. The licensee establishment shall be required to retain said information for not less than one (1) year after the date on which a sale has occurred.

§ 925. Retention and surrender of identification document to police.

(a) Any licensee, their employee or agent, who, in compliance with § 924 of this Chapter, in good faith believes the identification document is not a government issued authentic and legal identification of the person presenting, may confiscate and retain such document and, if retaining such document, shall contact State, county or local police department and surrender such document to the police for any appropriate prosecution and retention of such document.

(b) Any licensee, their employee or agent, retaining an identification document pursuant to this Section, shall be immune from any civil or criminal prosecution or liability for retaining such identification provided the document is surrendered to the police.

§ 926. Driver’s license suspension.

(a) Until such time as a court of competent jurisdiction orders otherwise, the driver’s license of an individual who is being prosecuted for knowingly using or attempting to use any fraudulent identification to purchase alcohol shall be automatically and immediately suspended if such identification is retained by police pursuant to § 925 of this Chapter.

(b) The driver’s license of an individual convicted of knowingly using or attempting to use fraudulent identification to purchase alcohol shall be suspended for a period of one (1) year or until the individual attains the age of 21, whichever period is greater.”.

Section 4. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the Act which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application, and to that end the provisions of this Act are declared to be severable.

Section 5. This Act shall become effective six (6) months after enactment into law.

SPONSOR:	Rep. Spence & Sen. McBride;
	Reps. Buckworth, Carey, Cathcart, DiPinto, Ewing, Hocker, Maier, Miro, Thornburg, Ulbrich, Ennis