Assembly Bill (AB) 2121 would require that, starting in July 1, 2020, a person who is affiliated with selling or serving alcoholic beverages successfully complete an approved Responsible Interventions for Beverage Servers (RIBS) Training Course within 3 months of employment and every 3 years thereafter.

Status: 06/21/2016 From SENATE Committee on GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION with author's amendments.

Bill Analysis - 06/01/2016

SUMMARY: This bill establishes the Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) Training Program, beginning July 1, 2020. Specifically, this bill:

1) Provides beginning July 1, 2020, an alcohol server shall successfully complete a certified RBS training course within three months of employment and every three years thereafter.

2) Provides a nonprofit organization that has obtained a temporary daily on-sale license or a temporary daily on-sale license from ABC shall designate a person or persons to receive RBS training prior to the event and that designated person or those designated persons shall remain on site for the duration of the event.

3) Provides the licensee shall ensure that those persons required to successfully complete a certified RBS training course do so. A current certificate or card provided by any approved training course provider shall be sufficient documentation of successful completion and shall be accepted throughout the state.

4) Specifies on or before January 1, 2020, Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) shall establish a list, published on the department's Internet Web site, of certified RBS training courses that may be used to fulfill the requirements, as defined.

5) Provides a certified RBS training course shall consist of at least four hours of instruction and cover certain information, including the impact of alcohol on the body and state laws and regulations related to alcoholic beverage control. The RBS training course may be offered through a trainer-led class and assessment or self-training and assessment.

6) Provides an RBS certificate or card shall be issued only upon successful completion of a certified RBS training course and assessment. A minimum score of 70% on the assessment shall be required to successfully complete the course. A certified RBS training course shall issue a certificate or card to individuals who successfully complete a course. The certificate or card shall be valid for three years from the original date of issuance, regardless of whether the alcohol server changes employers during that period.

7) Provides ABC may, by regulation, establish additional training standards and curricula to be included in a certified RBS training course.

8) Provides ABC shall establish minimum standards and promulgate regulations for the training and scope of practice by January 1, 2018, for a person who sells or serves alcoholic beverages.

9) Requires at least one RBS course to be offered for less than $15 and at least one RBS course to be offered in Spanish. Provides ABC shall review a certified RBS training course at least once every three years after the course is approved. ABC may collect fees as part of the certification or recertification process to cover the reasonable costs associated with the certification and recertification of RBS training courses.

10) Specifies beginning January 1, 2019, ABC shall include information on the RBS training course requirement, as defined, including information on documentation requirements, on the application for an authorized license and with the license renewal notices sent to authorized licensees.

11) Provides beginning July 1, 2020, all authorized licensees shall maintain, and provide upon request by ABC, all records necessary to establish compliance, as specified.

12) Specifies beginning July 1, 2020, an authorized licensee, or agent or employee of such licensee, who permits any alcoholic beverage to be consumed by any person on the premises without possessing a valid training certificate or card is guilty of a misdemeanor.

13) Defines "Alcohol server" means a person who sells or serves alcoholic beverages, or a person who manages or supervises a person who sells or serves alcoholic beverages, 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.

EXISTING LAW:

1) The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, administered by ABC, regulates the granting of licenses for the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages within the state.

2) 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).

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 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.

5) Allows ABC to issue licenses and authorizations for the retail sale of beer, wine and distilled spirits on a temporary basis for special events (Special Daily Beer and/or Wine License, Daily On Sale General License).

6) 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.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 1) Moderate costs to ABC in the range of $250,000 annually in the first three years of the program to develop, evaluate, and implement this program. This includes two additional positions to assist with the rulemaking process as well as the additional overhead required to accommodate additional certification processes (Alcohol Beverage Control Fund); and 2) ABC will continue to incur additional costs to maintain the program and review courses, but those costs are expected to decrease over time. Moreover, ABC may require a fee for certification and recertification, helping offset costs.

Purpose of the bill: According to the information provided by the author, the Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) program and RBS are not required in California, meaning many bartenders and servers are not prepared to recognize patrons who have been over-served and to safely intervene to prevent tragedy. Excessive alcohol consumption can impair an individual's mental and physical abilities, which creates a public safety risk when an individual operates a motor vehicle while intoxicated. When individuals drive under the influence, it not only puts the driver at risk -- it threatens the lives of passengers and all others who share the road. The social cost is clear, as drunk driving causes the deaths of 10,000 of our loved ones every year.

The author states by requiring a beverage server be trained to intervene before patrons become over-served alcohol can play an important role in ensuring that the public is protected. This bill can follow the lead of 18 other states and the District of Columbia by making this training a requirement of those serving alcoholic beverages to patrons.

The author additionally notes according to "the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 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 cannot entirely stop every individual from making bad decisions that put innocent people at risk, we do have a responsibility to intervene when we can."

The author notes, "While law enforcement does its best with checkpoints and other enforcement, these approaches only help after someone has already made the choice to get behind the wheel when they should not. Bottom line, this is not good enough. By establishing a uniform, standard education requirement for all servers, California can improve the likelihood that a server will intervene upfront before a patron become a danger or commit a crime. And that saves lives."

The author contends this bill "will ensure that all servers learn the necessary skills to protect the patron, public, server and business. We know drunk driving ruins lives and kills too many innocent people. That is why we need to make sure those on the front line are equipped to help."

Background: RBS is not mandatory in California. However, some cities and counties do require RBS training to sell or serve alcoholic beverages at establishments within those jurisdictions. For instance, the City of Solana Beach requires training within 30 days of being hired - certification is valid for three years. The City of Berkeley requires training within 90 days of being hired - certification is valid for two years. The City of Rohnert Park mandates training within 60 days of being hired. The City of Petaluma requires training within 90 days of being hired - certification is valid for three years.

ABC offers a free and voluntary four-hour class, called Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs, or LEAD, for retail licensees, their employees and applicants. In 1991, the program began due to a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety. The LEAD Program provides the licensee and applicant with practical information on serving alcoholic beverages safely, responsibly, and legally, and preventing illicit drug activity at the licensed establishment. At the conclusion of the class, an exam is given on the material that was covered. Each person that fulfills all of the training requirements receives a certificate, via email, certifying that they successfully completed a LEAD training course.

The LEAD Program is one of several training programs that offer responsible beverage service training. ABC provides a list of other RBS training providers on its web site. ABC encourages its licensees to participate in these classes as a means to minimize the risk of liability for criminal, civil and ABC regulatory actions, to potentially lower liability insurance premiums, and to develop strategies for addressing challenging situations associated with the sale of alcohol. ABC does not offer the LEAD Program in languages other than English.

California Dram Shop Law: Under current state law, owners of bars, restaurants and liquor stores can face criminal misdemeanor charges (which carry penalties of six to 12 months in county jail, a minimum $1,000 fine, or both) and be held liable for civil damages to an injured third party where such owners serve a minor who is visibly intoxicated. 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.

In Support: According to the Federal Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, representing local health departments throughout our state, "Excessive alcohol use can lead to increased risk of health problems including injuries, violence, liver disease, and cancer. AB 2121 seeks to mitigate these risks by requiring responsible beverage service training programs. These training programs would educate servers on the impact of alcohol, current laws and regulations, and intervention techniques to prevent sales to underage and intoxicated persons. Local health departments support efforts that promote public health of our communities and reduce the risks associated with alcoholic beverage consumption."

According to the California Medical Association, binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women, is strongly associated with alcohol-impaired driving. An analysis of the Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System survey found that over 10% of binge drinkers drove during or within two hours of binge drinking. Of those, over 50% reported that they had been drinking at a licensed establishment. 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. RBS 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%.

Analysis Prepared by: Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531 FN: 0003386

Attachment A includes the bill text.
Attachment B includes a letter from the Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board.