H. B. 4098
(By Delegate Pulliam)
[Introduced January 17, 1996; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty-two, article three,
chapter sixty of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to state
control of alcoholic liquors; and requiring sellers of
alcoholic liquors and nonintoxicating beer to require proof
of age from all purchasers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty-two, article three, chapter sixty of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 3. SALES BY COMMISSIONER.
§60-3-22. Sales to certain persons prohibited.
(a) Alcoholic liquors and nonintoxicating beer as defined in
section three, article sixteen, chapter eleven of this code shall
not be sold to a person who is:
(1) Less than twenty-one years of age;
(2) An habitual drunkard;
(3) Intoxicated;
(4) Addicted to the use of any controlled substance as
defined by any of the provisions of chapter sixty-a of this code;
or
(5) Mentally incompetent.
(b) It shall be a defense to a violation of subdivision (1),
subsection (a) of this section if the seller shows that the
purchaser:
(1) Produced written evidence which showed his or her age to
be at least the required age for purchase and which bore a
physical description of the person named on the writing which
reasonably described the purchaser; or
(2) Produced evidence of other facts that reasonably
indicated at the time of sale that the purchaser was at least the
required age.
(c) Beginning on the effective date of this amendment to
this section, sellers of alcoholic liquors and nonintoxicating
beer as defined in section three, article sixteen, chapter eleven
of this code are required to request identification establishing
proof of age from all purchasers.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require sellers of
alcoholic liquors and nonintoxicating beer to require proof of
age from all purchasers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.