Act No. 289

Public Acts of 2000

Approved by the Governor

July 7, 2000

Filed with the Secretary of State

July 10, 2000

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 10, 2000

STATE OF MICHIGAN

90TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2000

Introduced by Reps. Cassis, Tabor, DeWeese, Gosselin, Scranton, Birkholz, Voorhees, Sanborn, Shackleton, Gilbert, Kowall, Hager, Richardville, Julian, DeRossett, Mead, Hale, Hart, Bishop, Ehardt, Toy, Jansen, DeHart and Lemmons

Reps. Basham, Cameron Brown, Caul, DeVuyst, Faunce, Garcia, Koetje, Kuipers, Kukuk, Law, Mortimer, O'Neil, Pappageorge, Patterson, Raczkowski, Rocca, Scott, Shulman, Van Woerkom, Vaughn, Vear and Woronchak named co-sponsors

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4752

AN ACT to amend 1998 PA 58, entitled "An act to create a commission for the control of the alcoholic beverage traffic within this state, and to prescribe its powers, duties, and limitations; to provide for powers and duties for certain state departments and agencies; to impose certain taxes for certain purposes; to provide for the control of the alcoholic liquor traffic within this state and to provide for the power to establish state liquor stores; to provide for the care and treatment of alcoholics; to provide for the incorporation of farmer cooperative wineries and the granting of certain rights and privileges to those cooperatives; to provide for the licensing and taxation of activities regulated under this act and the disposition of the money received under this act; to prescribe liability for retail licensees under certain circumstances and to require security for that liability; to provide procedures, defenses, and remedies regarding violations of this act; to provide for the enforcement and to prescribe penalties for violations of this act; to provide for allocation of certain funds for certain purposes; to provide for the confiscation and disposition of property seized under this act; to provide referenda under certain circumstances; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending section 203 (MCL 436.1203).

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 203. (1) Except as provided in this section and section 301, a sale, delivery, or importation of alcoholic liquor, including alcoholic liquor for personal use, shall not be made in this state unless the sale, delivery, or importation is made by the commission, the commission's authorized agent or distributor, an authorized distribution agent approved by order of the commission, a person licensed by the commission, or by prior written order of the commission.

(2) For purposes of subsection (1), the sale, delivery, or importation of alcoholic liquor includes, but is not limited to, the sale, delivery, or importation of alcoholic liquor transacted or caused to be transacted by means of any mail order, internet, telephone, computer, device, or other electronic means. Subject to subsection (3), if a retail sale, delivery, or importation of alcoholic liquor occurs by any such means, the retailer must comply with all of the following:

(a) Be appropriately licensed under the laws of this state.

(b) Pay any applicable taxes to the commission.

(c) Comply with all prohibitions of the laws of this state including, but not limited to, sales to minors.

(d) Verify the age of the individual placing the order by obtaining from him or her an affirmation that he or she is of legal age to purchase alcoholic liquor. The person receiving and accepting the order shall record the name, address, date of birth, and telephone number of the person placing the order on the order form or other verifiable record of a type and generated in a manner approved by the commission.

(e) Upon request of the commission, make available to the commission any document used to verify the age of the individual ordering the alcoholic liquor from the retail seller.

(f) Stamp, print, or label on the outside of the shipping container language that clearly establishes in a prominent fashion that the package contains alcoholic liquor and that the recipient at the time of the delivery is required to provide identification verifying his or her age along with a signature.

(g) Place a label on the top panel of the shipping container containing the name and address of the individual placing the order and the name of the designated recipient, if any.

(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), in the case of a retail sale, delivery, or importation of alcoholic liquor occurring by any means described in subsection (2), a person taking the order on behalf of the retailer must comply with subsection (2)(c) through (g).

(4) The person who delivers the alcoholic liquor shall verify that the individual accepting delivery is of legal age and is either the individual who placed the order or the designated recipient residing at the same address or is otherwise authorized through a rule promulgated under this act by the commission to receive alcoholic liquor under this section. If the delivery person, after a diligent inquiry, determines that the purchaser or designated recipient is not of legal age, the delivery person shall return the alcoholic liquor to the retailer. A delivery person who returns alcoholic liquor to the retailer due to inability to obtain the purchaser's or designated recipient's legal age is not liable for any damages suffered by the purchaser or retailer.

(5) All spirits for sale, use, storage, or distribution in this state, shall originally be purchased by and imported into the state by the commission, or by prior written authority of the commission.

(6) This section does not apply in the case of an alcoholic liquor brought into this state for personal or household use in an amount permitted by federal law by a person of legal age to purchase alcoholic liquor at the time of reentry into this state from without the territorial limits of the United States if the person has been outside the territorial limits of the United States for more than 48 hours and has not brought alcoholic liquor into the United States during the preceding 30 days.

(7) A person who is of legal age to purchase alcoholic liquor may do either of the following in relation to alcoholic liquor that contains less than 21% alcohol by volume:

(a) Personally transport from another state, once in a 24-hour period, not more than 312 ounces of alcoholic liquor for that person's personal use, notwithstanding subsection (1).

(b) Ship or import from another state alcoholic liquor for that person's personal use so long as that personal importation is done in compliance with subsection (1).

(8) As used in this section:

(a) "Computer" means any connected, directly interoperable or interactive device, equipment, or facility that uses a computer program or other instructions to perform specific operations including logical, arithmetic, or memory functions with or on computer data or a computer program and that can store, retrieve, alter, or communicate the results of the operations to a person, computer program, computer, computer system, or computer network.

(b) "Computer network" means the interconnection of hardwire or wireless communication lines with a computer through remote terminals, or a complex consisting of 2 or more interconnected computers.

(c) "Computer program" means a series of internal or external instructions communicated in a form acceptable to a computer that directs the functioning of a computer, computer system, or computer network in a manner designed to provide or produce products or results from the computer, computer system, or computer network.

(d) "Computer system" means a set of related, connected or unconnected, computer equipment, devices, software, or hardware.

(e) "Device" includes, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, electrochemical, biochemical, hydraulic, optical, or organic object that performs input, output, or storage functions by the manipulation of electronic, magnetic, or other impulses.

(f) "Diligent inquiry" means a diligent good faith effort to determine the age of a person, which includes at least an examination of an official Michigan operator's or chauffeur's license, an official Michigan personal identification card, or any other bona fide picture identification which establishes the identity and age of the person.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Secretary of the Senate.

Approved

Governor.