Sec. 30-86. Sale or delivery to minors, intoxicated persons and habitual drunkards prohibited. Exceptions. Use of transaction scan devices.
Sec. 30-86. Sale or delivery to minors, intoxicated persons and habitual drunkards prohibited. Exceptions. Use of transaction scan devices. (a) As used in this
section:
(1) "Cardholder" means any person who presents a driver's license or an identity
card to a permittee or permittee's agent or employee, to purchase or receive alcoholic
liquor from such permittee or permittee's agent or employee;
(2) "Identity card" means an identification card issued in accordance with the provisions of section 1-1h;
(3) "Transaction scan" means the process by which a permittee or permittee's agent
or employee checks, by means of a transaction scan device, the validity of a driver's
license or an identity card; and
(4) "Transaction scan device" means any commercial device or combination of
devices used at a point of sale that is capable of deciphering in an electronically readable
format the information encoded on the magnetic strip or bar code of a driver's license
or an identity card.
(b) (1) Any permittee or any servant or agent of a permittee who sells or delivers
alcoholic liquor to any minor or any intoxicated person, or to any habitual drunkard,
knowing the person to be such an habitual drunkard, shall be subject to the penalties of
section 30-113.
(2) Any person who sells, ships, delivers or gives alcoholic liquor to a minor, by
any means, including, but not limited to, the Internet or any other on-line computer
network, except on the order of a practicing physician, shall be fined not more than one
thousand five hundred dollars or imprisoned not more than eighteen months, or both.
(3) The provisions of this subsection shall not apply (A) to a sale, shipment or
delivery made to a person over age eighteen who is an employee or permit holder under
section 30-90a and where such sale, shipment or delivery is made in the course of such
person's employment or business, (B) to a sale, shipment or delivery made in good faith
to a minor who practices any deceit in the procurement of an identity card issued in
accordance with the provisions of section 1-1h, who uses or exhibits any such identity
card belonging to any other person or who uses or exhibits any such identity card that
has been altered or tampered with in any way, or (C) to a shipment or delivery made to
a minor by a parent, guardian or spouse of the minor, provided such parent, guardian
or spouse has attained the age of twenty-one and provided such minor possesses such
alcoholic liquor while accompanied by such parent, guardian or spouse.
(4) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to burden a person's exercise of
religion under section 3 of article first of the Constitution of the state in violation of
subsection (a) of section 52-571b.
(c) (1) A permittee or permittee's agent or employee may perform a transaction
scan to check the validity of a driver's license or identity card presented by a cardholder
as a condition for selling, giving away or otherwise distributing alcoholic liquor to the
cardholder.
(2) If the information deciphered by the transaction scan performed under subdivision (1) of this subsection fails to match the information printed on the driver's license
or identity card presented by the cardholder, or if the transaction scan indicates that the
information so printed is false or fraudulent, neither the permittee nor any permittee's
agent or employee shall sell, give away or otherwise distribute any alcoholic liquor to
the cardholder.
(3) Subdivision (1) of this subsection does not preclude a permittee or permittee's
agent or employee from using a transaction scan device to check the validity of a document presented as identification other than a driver's license or an identity card, if the
document includes a bar code or magnetic strip that may be scanned by the device, as
a condition for selling, giving away or otherwise distributing alcoholic liquor to the
person presenting the document.
(d) (1) No permittee or permittee's agent or employee shall electronically or mechanically record or maintain any information derived from a transaction scan, except
the following: (A) The name and date of birth of the person listed on the driver's license
or identity card presented by a cardholder; (B) the expiration date and identification
number of the driver's license or identity card presented by a cardholder.
(2) No permittee or permittee's agent or employee shall use a transaction scan device
for a purpose other than the purposes specified in subsection (c) of this section or subsection (d) of section 53-344.
(3) No permittee or permittee's agent or employee shall sell or otherwise disseminate the information derived from a transaction scan to any third party for any purpose,
including, but not limited to, any marketing, advertising or promotional activities, except
that a permittee or permittee's agent or employee may release that information pursuant
to a court order.
(4) Nothing in subsection (c) of this section or this subsection relieves a permittee
or permittee's agent or employee of any responsibility to comply with any other applicable state or federal laws or rules governing the sale, giving away or other distribution
of alcoholic liquor.
(5) Any person who violates this subsection shall be subject to a civil penalty of
not more than one thousand dollars.
(e) (1) In any prosecution of a permittee or permittee's agent or employee for selling
alcoholic liquor to a minor in violation of subsection (b) of this section, it shall be an
affirmative defense that all of the following occurred: (A) A cardholder attempting to
purchase or receive alcoholic liquor presented a driver's license or an identity card; (B)
a transaction scan of the driver's license or identity card that the cardholder presented
indicated that the license or card was valid; and (C) the alcoholic liquor was sold, given
away or otherwise distributed to the cardholder in reasonable reliance upon the identification presented and the completed transaction scan.
(2) In determining whether a permittee or permittee's agent or employee has proven
the affirmative defense provided by subdivision (1) of this subsection, the trier of fact
in such prosecution shall consider that reasonable reliance upon the identification presented and the completed transaction scan may require a permittee or permittee's agent
or employee to exercise reasonable diligence and that the use of a transaction scan device
does not excuse a permittee or permittee's agent or employee from exercising such
reasonable diligence to determine the following: (A) Whether a person to whom the
permittee or permittee's agent or employee sells, gives away or otherwise distributes
alcoholic liquor is twenty-one years of age or older; and (B) whether the description
and picture appearing on the driver's license or identity card presented by a cardholder
are those of the cardholder.
(1949 Rev., S. 4293; 1971, P.A. 343, S. 2; P.A. 82-68, S. 3, 11; P.A. 84-478, S. 2, 5; P.A. 86-151, S. 3; P.A. 99-237,
S. 1; P.A. 01-92, S. 1; P.A. 03-19, S. 71; P.A. 06-112, S. 3.)
History: 1971 act deleted provision which had forbidden permittee to sell liquor to "any person after having received
notice from the selectmen, as provided in Sec. 30-83 or 30-84, not to sell or give such liquor to such person"; P.A. 82-68
provided that the sale or delivery prohibition is inapplicable to persons over 18 employed or holding a permit and where
the sale or delivery is made in the course of such person's business; P.A. 84-478 increased the penalty for furnishing liquor
to minors to $1,500 or imprisonment for 18 months or both, and excepted from this provision any sale made in good faith,
effective July 1, 1985; P.A. 86-151 exempted deliveries made to a minor by a parent, guardian or spouse who has attained
the age of 21, provided the minor possesses such liquor while accompanied by such parent, guardian or spouse; P.A. 99-237 made technical and gender neutral changes and added provision prohibiting shipment or sale of alcoholic liquor to
persons under 21 years of age by any means, specifically including shipment or sales arranged via the Internet or any other
on-line computer network; P.A. 01-92 added new Subsec. (a) re definitions, designated existing language as Subsec. (b),
added new Subsec. (c) re use of a transaction scan device, added new Subsec. (d) re prohibited acts and added new Subsec.
(e) re affirmative defense; P.A. 03-19 made a technical change in Subsec. (e)(2)(B), effective May 12, 2003; P.A. 06-112
amended Subsec. (b) to designate prohibition on certain sales or deliveries by permittees or their servants or agents as
Subdiv. (1), designate prohibition on any person selling, shipping, delivering or giving alcoholic liquor to a minor as
Subdiv. (2), designate exceptions to prohibitions as Subdiv. (3) and amend same to replace numeric Subdiv. indicators
with alphabetic Subpara. indicators, add Subdiv. (4) providing that nothing in Subsec. shall be construed to burden a
person's exercise of religion under Art. 1, Sec. 3 of the state constitution in violation of Sec. 52-571b(a) and make technical
changes.
See Sec. 30-102 re liability of liquor seller for damage caused by intoxicated persons.
Restriction against permittee furnishing liquor to minor cannot be removed by word or act of parent or guardian. 120
C. 44. Knowledge is not an element of the offense as regards sales to intoxicated persons or minors. 122 C. 441. It is not
necessary that the condition of the intoxicated persons comply with some definite criteria of intoxication. Id., 442. The
responsibility for making effective the prohibition against sale to minors rests upon the holders of permits. 124 C. 690.
Revocation for selling to intoxicated person not done illegally or without evidence. 128 C. 304. Illegal sale or delivery by
employee acting within the scope of his authority made permittee liable. 130 C. 376. Criminal intent is not an essential
element in a sale to a minor. Id. Reversal of commission for revocation under former statute. Id., 696. Master is criminally
liable for a sale by his employee to a minor only when the employee acts within the scope of his employment. 141 C. 430.
Cited. 144 C. 241. Where beer was consumed by minors on permit premises in booths to which it had been brought by
their companions, all over twenty-one, who had obtained the same at service counter, companions were not agents of
permittee and his permit could not be revoked by commission on grounds of delivery to minors. 149 C. 65. Dismissal of
charge under statute not res judicata re liquor commission hearing. 151 C. 524. Cited. 154 C. 407, 408. Sale in violation
of this section does not give rise to common law cause of action against seller. Id., 432. Statute does not change common
law rule that proximate cause of intoxication is voluntary consumption of liquor; not furnishing of it as to sixteen-year-old minor. He may be presumed to have consumed liquor voluntarily. Id., 644. Cited. 170 C. 356. Common law rule upheld
that driver's voluntary consumption of liquor, not defendant's furnishing of it in violation of statute, was the proximate
cause of driver's intoxication and plaintiff's injuries. 180 C. 252. Violation of statute constitutes negligence and whether
that negligence is cause in fact of the injury is for the jury to determine. Common law rule that proximate cause of driver's
intoxication and resulting injuries was driver's voluntary consumption of alcohol should be changed. Id. (Diss. Op.) Cited.
200 C. 400. Cited. 201 C. 385. Cited. 207 C. 88. Cited. 216 C. 667. Cited. 236 C. 670.
Cited. 11 CA 122. Cited. 14 CA 333. Status of defendant as care provider assigned by Department of Children and
Families was not the equivalent of a guardian relationship for exception purposes of this section. 69 CA 400.
Cited. 10 CS 283. Sale of alcohol to minor by employee sufficient to warrant permittee an unsuitable person. 12 CS
388. Permittee not declared unsuitable where it was proved he had instructed employee not to serve such minor. 17 CS
442. Limitations to rule that violation of statute is negligence per se. 19 CS 310. Cited. 22 CS 300. Naked assertion of
principal witness as to his age held of insufficient probative value, without corroboration from an available dependable
source of proof, to convict defendant of crime of selling alcoholic liquor to a minor. Id., 353. Cited. 23 CS 195; Id., 459.
Cited. 24 CS 75. Cited. 39 CS 20.
Containers offered as exhibits and identified positively by minor held admissible. 2 Conn. Cir. Ct. 457. Sale to fraternity,
whose social chairman was a minor and who ordered liquor, held to be violation of statute. Id., 476. Court held delivery
of liquor to minors within private residence not exempt from proscription of statute. 3 Conn. Cir. Ct. 181. Where language
of statute is unambiguous there is no need to construe it. Id. Cited. Id., 565. Seller's conviction upheld although she produced
statement under section 30-86a, where prior statement was forged and no statement required by her for instant purchase.
4 Conn. Cir. Ct. 170. Whether beer defendant sold to minor was alcoholic liquor within prohibition of statute was question
of fact for jury. 5 Conn. Cir. Ct. 373.
Subsec. (b):
Language of subsection is clear and unambiguous and applies to minors. 49 CS 168.