CALIFORNIA ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL ACT

1 CALIFORNIA ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL ACT ю ю ё ю ё ю 2020 Statutes Include Amendments through all 870 Chapters of the 2019 Regular Session of the 2019-2020 CALIFORNIA LegislatureAmendments to Regulations Updated Through 2019 Register No. 45 Dated November 8, 2019 DZ 2020 Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., a member of the LexisNexis rights and the Knowledge Burst logo are registered trademarks, and Michie is a 701 E. Water Street (Pub. 26218)QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION? please contact Customer Support at our self-service portal available 24/7 at For EDITORIAL content questions concerning this publication,please email: , or visit our online bookstore at CALIFORNIA regulations appearing in this publication have been extracted from This material may not be commercially reproduced or sold in printed or electronic form DZ THOMSON/WEST MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WHATSO- FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMA-TION CONTAINED IN THIS PUBLICATION.

2 AND ANY USE OF THIS PUBLICATION OR ANY PORTION THEREOF OR WITH RE-SPECT TO ANY DAMAGES WHICH MAY RESULT FROM SUCH USEPREFACE We are pleased to present the 2020 Edition of the CALIFORNIA ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL Act. This compilation of selected laws incorporates all changes required by legislative enactments up to and including all 870 Chapters of the 2019 Regular Session of the 2019-2020 CALIFORNIA Legislature. We appreciate the opportunity to work with the CALIFORNIA Department of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL to create this publication. The Department s regulations, contained in Division 1 of Title 4 of the CALIFORNIA Code of Regulations, are also set out in this edition.

3 Included herein is a Table of Sections Affected which may be utilized to facilitate research into recently enacted legislation affecting these Codes. Through the use of state-of-the-art computer software, attorney editors have created the comprehensive descriptive word index to include the enactments of the 2019 legislature. We publish a number of CALIFORNIA Codes as well as National and state law enforcement titles for more than 30 states. Please refer to our web site at or contact our customer service department for more information on any of our products. LexisNexis remains committed to utilizing technological advances to assist legal researchers. The CALIFORNIA Codes are now available in an eBook format allowing users to access instantly the text of a statute, bookmark, highlight, enter notes, and utilize enhanced searches.

4 LexisAdvance users may also link directly to case material. For more information concerning CALIFORNIA eBooks, please call our Customer Service department toll-free at 1-800-833-9844. We are committed to providing legal professionals with the most comprehensive, current and useful publications possible. If you have comments and suggestions, please write to CALIFORNIA Codes Editor, LexisNexis, 701 E. Water Street, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22902; call us toll-free at 1-800-833-9844; or E-mail us at By providing us with your informed comments, you will be assured of having available a working tool which increases in value each year. Visit the LexisNexis Internet home page at for an online bookstore, technical support, customer service, and other company 2020 DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL 3927 LENNANE DRIVE, SUITE 100 SACRAMENTO, CA 95834 Director s Message for 2020 ABC Act This 2020 publication of the ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL Act celebrates the 65th anniversary of the Department of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (or ABC).

5 In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established Prohibition, which banned the manufacture and sale of ALCOHOLIC beverages across the country. This Noble Experiment lasted for 13 years, until passage of the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution in 1933, which reserved to the states the authority to regulate ALCOHOLIC beverages. And so it was that in 1933 CALIFORNIA s State Liquor CONTROL Act was enacted. The name was changed in 1935 to the ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL Act, and that is how it has been known ever since. In 1933, the State Liquor CONTROL Act was an appendix to the CALIFORNIA Penal Code, and it was approximately nine pages long. Today, the published ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL Act is over 500 pages, and it includes copies of the Twenty First Amendment, Article XX, Section 22, of the CALIFORNIA Constitution (which created ABC), the Act itself (along with case references and annotations), and related regulations and statutes.

6 This rather hefty tome reflects not just the transformation in complexity of the legal landscape from the State Liquor CONTROL Act to the ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL Act, but also the myriad changes over the past 86 years to the ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE industry and to the public perception of alcohol in society. The Department of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL was established in 1955 by an amendment to CALIFORNIA s Constitution. Previously, all licensing and regulatory authority was vested in the State Board of Equalization. Yet from its earliest days, the Board suggested it was more appropriate to place this authority in an independent agency that could dedicate its resources to the immense task of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL .

7 However, it wasn t until 1954 that Article XX, Section 22 of the State Constitution was amended to establish the Department of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL and to transfer all functions for the licensing and regulation of ALCOHOLIC beverages (except for taxation) to this new department. There are many milestones that illustrate how the ABC has advanced its mission of protecting CALIFORNIA s communities and assisting alcohol businesses to prosper responsibly. These are a few of the more noteworthy: The law prohibiting female bartenders was repealed The Target Responsibility for Alcohol Connected Emergencies (TRACE) was developed to bring resources to bear on serious incidents involving youth & alcohol ABC Milestones ABC hired its first female law enforcement officer (they were then called investigators ) ABC hired its first female District Administrator (today known as Supervising Agent in Charge ) ABC implemented its Informed Merchants Preventing Alcohol Crimes Tendencies (IMPACT) educational program The Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team (DENT)

8 Was established to crack down on drug problems in & around ABC-licensed locations The CALIFORNIA Supreme Court upholds the use of minor decoys in the enforcement of underage drinking laws The shoulder Tap Decoy Program was established to hold accountable those adults who buy alcohol for youth The Responsible Beverages Service Training Program Act of 2017 was enacted, mandating the training of all persons who serve alcohol for consumption on the premises The Grant Assistance to Law Enforcement (GALE) program was established, currently known as the Alcohol Policing Partnership (APP) The Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) program was created to educate licensees As Director of the ABC, I am proud of the work all ABC employees do on a daily basis to keep the citizens of CALIFORNIA safe through our licensing and enforcement activities and ABC s contribution to the vibrancy of CALIFORNIA s culture and economy.

9 Each day, these fine people help good businesses get into business and take action against those who violate the law. We look forward to the next 65 years serving the public of this great state. Sincerely, Jacob Appelsmith, Director Department of ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL ixTABLE OF CONTENTSPageDirector s Message ..vSections Affected by 2019 Legislation .. xiiiCONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAA mendment 21 ..1 CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIAA rticle XX. Miscellaneous Subjects, 22 ..17 BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS CODED ivision 9. ALCOHOLIC Beverages&KDSWHU *HQHUDO 3 URYLVLRQV DQG 'H QLWLRQV WR .. Chapter Administration $UWLFOH 7KH 'HSDUWPHQW RI $OFRKROLF %HYHUDJH &RQWURO WR.

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hapter 5. Restrictions on Issuance of Licenses$UWLFOH ,Q *HQHUDO WR ..210$UWLFOH &RQGLWLRQDO /LFHQVHV WR ..225$UWLFOH /LPLWDWLRQ RQ 1 XPEHU RI /LFHQVHG 3 UHPLVHV WR.