Alcoholic beverages: minors.

Assembly Member Flora's proposal to amend California's alcoholic beverage regulations would establish new legal protections for retailers who use electronic age verification systems when checking customer identification. The legislation modifies the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Act to recognize automated ID scanning and biometric verification as valid evidence in cases involving alleged sales to minors.

Under the proposed changes, retailers could defend against prosecution or license suspension by demonstrating they used approved age verification software or devices to validate customer identification. To qualify for this defense, staff must physically inspect the ID document, verify it appears legitimate, and confirm it matches the customer's appearance. The bill defines acceptable forms of identification as government-issued documents containing name, birth date, physical description and photo, including driver's licenses, passports, and military IDs.

The measure outlines specific requirements for electronic verification systems, including biometric tools that authenticate IDs by analyzing unique physical characteristics like fingerprints, iris patterns or facial features. These technological solutions would supplement, rather than replace, existing requirements for visual inspection of identification documents. The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control would maintain oversight of compliance with the new provisions through its existing enforcement authority.