Chapter 392
2008 -- S 2438
AS AMENDED
Enacted 07/08/08
A N A C T
RELATING
TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES -- RETAIL LICENSES
Introduced
By: Senators Jabour, and Ciccone
Date
Introduced: February 13, 2008
It is enacted by the General Assembly as
follows:
SECTION 1. Section
3-7-6.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 3-7 entitled "Retail
Licenses" is hereby amended to read as
follows:
3-7-6.1.
Renewal of Class B, Class C, Class D, Class J, Class N and Class P licenses. -
- (a) The holder of a Class B, Class C, Class D,
Class J, Class N or Class P license who applies
before October 1, in any licensing period, for a
license of the same class for the next succeeding
licensing period shall, prior to filing said
application, demonstrate that he or she has complied
with the Alcohol Server Training Regulations, as
promulgated by the department of business
regulation, as set forth in subsection (b) of
this section.
(b) The
department of business regulation shall promulgate rules and regulations
requiring that all licenses issued pursuant to
this section meet the following minimum Alcohol
Server Training requirements:
(1) All persons
who sell or serve alcoholic beverages, anyone serving in a supervisory
capacity over those who sell or serve alcoholic
beverages, anyone whose job description entails
the checking of identification for the purchase
of alcoholic beverages and valet parking staff shall
receive Alcohol Server Training as set forth
herein.
(2) Any eligible
employee of a licensee shall be required to complete certified training
within sixty (60) days of the commencement of
his or her employment and must attain a
minimum score of seventy-five percent (75%).
Individuals certified by an alcohol server training
program prior to December 31, 2005 are exempt
from the certification requirements herein, not to
exceed three (3) years.
(3) Licensees
shall require servers to be recertified every three (3) years.
(4) As a
condition of license renewal, and as part of the license renewal application,
each
licensee must submit to their municipality
information verifying that all persons listed under
subsection (b)(1) above and employed by the
licensee for more than sixty (60) days in the past
year have completed a certified program within
the last three (3) years.
(5) All persons
identified under subsection (b) above must have their valid server permits
on the premises when engaged in the sale or
service of alcoholic beverages.
(6) Individuals who
have been issued a server permit in another jurisdiction by an
approved Rhode Island alcohol server training
program shall be determined to be in compliance
with this section subject to the three (3) year
limitation contained herein.
(c) (1) Only
alcohol server training programs that meet the following criteria as
determined by the department of mental health,
retardation and hospitals may be eligible for
certification:
(2) (1)
Training is provided in all basic information relevant to servers, including,
but not
limited to:
(i) The
physiological effects of alcohol;
(ii) Alcohol's
association with social problems;
(iii) Coverage of
legal requirements related to alcohol service;
(iv) How to
identify patrons who are impaired; and
(v) Techniques in
refusing service to intoxicated patrons.
(3) (2)
Training is provided in more than one medium including, but not limited to,
video, training manual, and/or role playing
related to refusal of service to intoxicated drinkers.
(4) (3)
Training in preventing sales to underage drinkers, including training in
detection
of fraudulent identification;
(5) (4)
Training entails a minimum of a four (4) hour duration with no absentee
certification.
(d) Notwithstanding
the criteria established under subsection 3-7-6.1(c) , an Internet or
computer-based alcohol server training program
shall be eligible for certification if the following
criteria are met:
(1) Training in
all basic information, as outlined in subdivision 3-7-6.1(c)(1), is included
in the program;
(2) Training in
preventing sales to underage drinkers, including training in detection of
fraudulent identification is included in the
program; and
(3) Training
program is designed to verify that a trainee has reviewed and obtained a
working knowledge of information presented
through the internet or computer training program.
(d) (e)
(1) Testing procedures, test content, and grading procedures shall be approved
by
the department of mental health, retardation and
hospitals to insure testing integrity and
consistency with program requirements contained
in subsection (c) herein. The department of
mental health, retardation and hospitals is
authorized to audit, in a method it shall determine, any
approved server training program.
(2) Training
programs, pursuant to rules and regulations promulgated by the department
of mental health, retardation and hospitals,
shall be recertified every three (3) years.
(3) Server
permits shall be issued by the server training programs in a form approved by
the department of mental health, retardation and
hospitals. Said permits shall include, at a
minimum, the name of the server, the date of
issuance, and the name of the server training
program.
(e) (f)
The department of business regulation shall promulgate and enforce rules and
regulations for non-compliance as follows:
(1) Graduated
penalties for licensees for violations within a three (3) year period
beginning with an initial written warning for
violations within a three (3) year period for a first
violation, a written warning for a second (2nd)
violation, a fine not to exceed two hundred fifty
dollars ($250) for a third (3rd) violation or
noncompliance, and a license suspension for
subsequent violations.
(2) For
violations within a three (3) year period, graduated penalties for training
programs beginning with an initial written
warning, a written warning for a second (2nd)
violation, and a suspension and/or
decertification for a third (3rd) violation or for repeated
noncompliance. The department of mental health,
retardation and hospitals may forward
complaints of violations to the department of
business regulation.
(3) For
violations within a three (3) year period, graduated penalties for servers
beginning with an initial written warning, a
written warning for a second (2nd) violation, and a
loss of server training certification for a
third (3rd) violation or noncompliance.
(4) Failure to
have a valid server permit on their person shall not constitute a violation,
provided, proof of a valid permit is provided
within ten (10) days thereof.
(f) (g)
In order to provide for uniformity, any enactment by any government body
relating to alcohol server training programs
pertaining to Class B, Class C, Class D, Class J, Class
N and P licenses, as provided for herein shall
be by statute as enacted by the general assembly.
(g) (h)
The respective departments shall promulgate said regulations no later than
October 1, 2005. The department of mental
health, retardation and hospitals shall review and
certify eligible alcohol server training
programs no later than January 1, 2006. The department of
mental health, retardation and hospitals shall
notify applicants of any deficiencies not later than
December 1, 2005. All licensees shall be in
compliance with said regulations within ninety (90)
days of January 1, 2006, or be subject to the
penalties set forth herein.
SECTION 2. This
act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01466
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