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    AB-509
    Consumer Protection

    Alcoholic beverages: minors.

    Enrolled
    CA
    ∙
    2025-2026 Regular Session
    0
    0
    Track
    Track

    Key Takeaways

    • Adds device failure to detect a false ID as evidence in enforcement actions.
    • Preserves licensee defense for reliance on bona fide evidence or biometrics.
    • Defines biometrics, biometric system, and active age verification device.
    • No explicit funding or effective date; fiscal impact will depend on guidance.

    Summary

    Assembly Member Flora’s measure ties the use of active age-verification technology to the evidentiary standards governing alcohol sales to minors, adding a rule that a device’s failure to identify a false identification can be admitted as evidence in prosecutions or licensing actions, provided the identification is bona fide, was physically inspected, appears legitimate, and matches the customer’s appearance.

    Core changes to the age-verification framework include updates to what constitutes bona fide evidence of majority and identity—government-issued documents, including driver’s licenses, passports, and military IDs, with name, date of birth, description, and a photo. The bill preserves a defense for licensees who relied on bona fide evidence or on a biometric system in transactions or related activities, and it requires that a biometric system review bona fide evidence to verify and authenticate its validity. A new provision specifies that the use of an active age-verification software or device to establish a purchaser’s age, if such a device fails to identify a false ID, shall be admissible as evidence in a criminal proceeding or in licensing actions, so long as the identification meets the bona fide criteria, was physically inspected, seemed legitimate, and matched the customer’s appearance. The definitions section clarifies terms: “biometrics,” “biometric system,” and “use of an active age verification software or an age verification device,” with the device described as scanning the magnetic strip or barcode on the bona fide identification to verify stored data.

    Regulatory and enforcement implications accompany these changes. Licensees and the California Alcoholic Beverage Control framework would operate under a clarified evidentiary regime that treats device performance—specifically, a device’s failure to detect a false ID—as part of prosecutions or licensing proceedings, alongside the existing defenses to rely on bona fide evidence or biometrics. The bill references existing provisions governing applicable defenses and license actions, and it adds a specific evidentiary rule about device failure within that context. Implementation considerations include potential costs for licensees to adopt or maintain active verification technologies, and for the state to regulate and enforce device-related evidence, with no explicit new appropriation provided. The legislation also notes a fiscal-committee review requirement, but there is no explicit operative date stated in the text, leaving timing to regulatory guidance or future enactment.

    Broader context and policy considerations center on formalizing how verification technology fits into age-restriction enforcement for alcoholic beverages. The measure establishes a defined set of bona fide documents, clarifies the role of biometrics and verification devices, and delineates how device performance can influence enforcement outcomes under the existing framework of related provisions. Privacy, data-security, and retention aspects are not addressed within the bill text, suggesting that these areas would likely be addressed in future guidance or related regulations. The changes thus create a more explicit evidentiary pathway for device-based verification while preserving existing defenses and aligning enforcement practices with the use of contemporary verification technologies.

    Key Dates

    Vote on Assembly Floor
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    AB 509 Flora Concurrence in Senate Amendments
    Vote on Senate Floor
    Senate Floor
    Vote on Senate Floor
    Assembly 3rd Reading AB509 Flora By Rubio
    Senate Appropriations Hearing
    Senate Committee
    Senate Appropriations Hearing
    Do pass
    Senate Appropriations Hearing
    Senate Committee
    Senate Appropriations Hearing
    Placed on suspense file
    Senate Governmental Organization Hearing
    Senate Committee
    Senate Governmental Organization Hearing
    Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    AB 509 Flora Assembly Third Reading
    Assembly Appropriations Hearing
    Assembly Committee
    Assembly Appropriations Hearing
    Do pass
    Assembly Governmental Organization Hearing
    Assembly Committee
    Assembly Governmental Organization Hearing
    Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
    Introduced
    Assembly Floor
    Introduced
    Read first time. To print.

    Contacts

    Profile
    Heath FloraR
    Assemblymember
    Bill Author
    Not Contacted
    Not Contacted
    0 of 1 row(s) selected.
    Page 1 of 1
    Select All Legislators
    Profile
    Heath FloraR
    Assemblymember
    Bill Author

    Get Involved

    Act Now!

    Email the authors or create an email template to send to all relevant legislators.

    Introduced By

    Heath Flora
    Heath FloraR
    California State Assembly Member
    70% progression
    Bill has passed both houses in identical form and is being prepared for the Governor (9/8/2025)

    Latest Voting History

    View History
    September 8, 2025
    PASS
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    AyesNoesNVRTotalResult
    780280PASS

    Key Takeaways

    • Adds device failure to detect a false ID as evidence in enforcement actions.
    • Preserves licensee defense for reliance on bona fide evidence or biometrics.
    • Defines biometrics, biometric system, and active age verification device.
    • No explicit funding or effective date; fiscal impact will depend on guidance.

    Get Involved

    Act Now!

    Email the authors or create an email template to send to all relevant legislators.

    Introduced By

    Heath Flora
    Heath FloraR
    California State Assembly Member

    Summary

    Assembly Member Flora’s measure ties the use of active age-verification technology to the evidentiary standards governing alcohol sales to minors, adding a rule that a device’s failure to identify a false identification can be admitted as evidence in prosecutions or licensing actions, provided the identification is bona fide, was physically inspected, appears legitimate, and matches the customer’s appearance.

    Core changes to the age-verification framework include updates to what constitutes bona fide evidence of majority and identity—government-issued documents, including driver’s licenses, passports, and military IDs, with name, date of birth, description, and a photo. The bill preserves a defense for licensees who relied on bona fide evidence or on a biometric system in transactions or related activities, and it requires that a biometric system review bona fide evidence to verify and authenticate its validity. A new provision specifies that the use of an active age-verification software or device to establish a purchaser’s age, if such a device fails to identify a false ID, shall be admissible as evidence in a criminal proceeding or in licensing actions, so long as the identification meets the bona fide criteria, was physically inspected, seemed legitimate, and matched the customer’s appearance. The definitions section clarifies terms: “biometrics,” “biometric system,” and “use of an active age verification software or an age verification device,” with the device described as scanning the magnetic strip or barcode on the bona fide identification to verify stored data.

    Regulatory and enforcement implications accompany these changes. Licensees and the California Alcoholic Beverage Control framework would operate under a clarified evidentiary regime that treats device performance—specifically, a device’s failure to detect a false ID—as part of prosecutions or licensing proceedings, alongside the existing defenses to rely on bona fide evidence or biometrics. The bill references existing provisions governing applicable defenses and license actions, and it adds a specific evidentiary rule about device failure within that context. Implementation considerations include potential costs for licensees to adopt or maintain active verification technologies, and for the state to regulate and enforce device-related evidence, with no explicit new appropriation provided. The legislation also notes a fiscal-committee review requirement, but there is no explicit operative date stated in the text, leaving timing to regulatory guidance or future enactment.

    Broader context and policy considerations center on formalizing how verification technology fits into age-restriction enforcement for alcoholic beverages. The measure establishes a defined set of bona fide documents, clarifies the role of biometrics and verification devices, and delineates how device performance can influence enforcement outcomes under the existing framework of related provisions. Privacy, data-security, and retention aspects are not addressed within the bill text, suggesting that these areas would likely be addressed in future guidance or related regulations. The changes thus create a more explicit evidentiary pathway for device-based verification while preserving existing defenses and aligning enforcement practices with the use of contemporary verification technologies.

    70% progression
    Bill has passed both houses in identical form and is being prepared for the Governor (9/8/2025)

    Key Dates

    Vote on Assembly Floor
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    AB 509 Flora Concurrence in Senate Amendments
    Vote on Senate Floor
    Senate Floor
    Vote on Senate Floor
    Assembly 3rd Reading AB509 Flora By Rubio
    Senate Appropriations Hearing
    Senate Committee
    Senate Appropriations Hearing
    Do pass
    Senate Appropriations Hearing
    Senate Committee
    Senate Appropriations Hearing
    Placed on suspense file
    Senate Governmental Organization Hearing
    Senate Committee
    Senate Governmental Organization Hearing
    Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    AB 509 Flora Assembly Third Reading
    Assembly Appropriations Hearing
    Assembly Committee
    Assembly Appropriations Hearing
    Do pass
    Assembly Governmental Organization Hearing
    Assembly Committee
    Assembly Governmental Organization Hearing
    Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
    Introduced
    Assembly Floor
    Introduced
    Read first time. To print.

    Latest Voting History

    View History
    September 8, 2025
    PASS
    Assembly Floor
    Vote on Assembly Floor
    AyesNoesNVRTotalResult
    780280PASS

    Contacts

    Profile
    Heath FloraR
    Assemblymember
    Bill Author
    Not Contacted
    Not Contacted
    0 of 1 row(s) selected.
    Page 1 of 1
    Select All Legislators
    Profile
    Heath FloraR
    Assemblymember
    Bill Author