SB135 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Chris ElliottSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2023

Title

Relating to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board; to amend Sections 28-1-5, as amended by Act 2022-383, 2022 Regular Session, and 28-10-6 of the Code of Alabama 1975, to authorize an employee of a restaurant or hotel that is a restaurant or special retail licensee of the board to serve alcoholic beverages under the same specified conditions as an employee of a restaurant licensee; and to further provide for the forms and records of responsible vendor training.

Summary

SB135 allows certain 18-20 year olds employed by restaurant or hotel licensees to serve alcohol under specific conditions and updates responsible vendor training and recordkeeping.

What This Bill Does

The bill lets 18- to 20-year-old employees of a restaurant or hotel that is a restaurant or special retail licensee serve alcoholic beverages under defined limits, while prohibiting bartending and delivery to guest rooms. It also allows under-21 employees of wholesale or off-premises licensees to handle, transport, or sell alcohol within the scope of their employment. It strengthens penalties for licensees that require under-21 staff to handle alcohol and updates the vendor training program by allowing online training, testing, and flexible certification and recordkeeping requirements.

Who It Affects

• 18- to 20-year-old employees of restaurant or hotel licensees may serve alcohol under the specified conditions (scope of work, no bartending, no pouring/dispensing, and must work for a licensed establishment that is certified as a responsible vendor).
• Restaurants, hotels, wholesale licensees, off-premises retail licensees, and their training vendors must comply with updated responsible vendor training requirements, certification processes, recordkeeping, and potential penalties if they improperly require under-21 staff to handle alcohol.

Key Provisions

• Under-21 employees aged 18-20 at a restaurant or hotel licensee may serve alcohol only within the scope of their employment, cannot bartend or pour/dispense alcohol, and must work for an establishment annually certified as a responsible vendor. Training may be online and must include testing; no requirement for in-person proctor.
• Under-21 individuals employed by wholesale licensees or off-premises retail licensees may handle, transport, or sell alcohol within the scope of their employment.
• Licensees may face civil penalties (up to suspension or revocation) if they require under-21 employees to handle alcohol in violation of these rules, with fines of $250 (first offense), $500 (second), and $1,000 (third or subsequent).
• Responsible vendor training requirements (28-10-6) include a board-approved course covering alcohol laws, recognizing underage customers, and procedures to refuse sales and handle intoxicated customers; training must be completed within 30 days of employment; online, classroom, or live trainer options allowed with testing; semiannual meetings; maintenance of training records (digital allowed, producible within 48 hours); and mandatory posting of policy signs about underage sales.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.