2023 -- S 0129
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LC000269
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S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
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A N A C T
RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES -- REGULATION OF SALES -- STATE
IDENTIFICATION CARDS
Introduced By: Senators Cano, Ciccone, Quezada, Lawson, DiPalma, Burke, Murray,
Acosta, Euer, and Kallman
Date Introduced: February 01, 2023
Referred To: Senate Judiciary
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 3-8-6 and 3-8-6.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 3-8 entitled 1
"Regulation of Sales" are hereby amended to read as follows: 2
3-8-6. Unlawful drinking and misrepresentation by underage persons — 3
Identification cards for persons twenty-one and older. [Effective July 1, 2023.] 4
(a) It is unlawful for: 5
(1) A person who has not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday to enter any 6
premises licensed for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages for the purpose of purchasing or having 7
served or delivered to him or her alcoholic beverages; or 8
(2) A person who has not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday to consume any 9
alcoholic beverage on premises licensed for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages or to purchase, 10
attempt to purchase, or have another purchase for him or her any alcoholic beverage; or 11
(3) A person to misrepresent or misstate his or her age, or the age of any other persons, or 12
to misrepresent his or her age through the presentation of any of the following documents: 13
(i) An armed service identification card, valid passport, the identification card license, or 14
any other documentation used for identification purposes that may belong to any other person who 15
is twenty-one (21) years or older; 16
(ii) A motor vehicle operator’s license or a driver privilege card issued pursuant to § 31-17
10.4-2 that bears the date of birth of the licensee and that is issued by this state or any other state; 18
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(iii) A Rhode Island identification card, as defined in subsection (b), for the purpose of 1
inducing any licensee, or any employee of any licensee, to sell, serve, or deliver any alcoholic 2
beverage to a minor. 3
(b)(1)(i) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall issue to any person who 4
has reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday a Rhode Island identification card upon payment 5
of a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25), and, upon presentation of a certified birth or baptismal 6
certificate, or U.S. or foreign passport, or U.S. naturalization certificate or a valid immigrant or 7
refugee document issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, including, but 8
not limited to, any one of the following: Form I-551, Form I-94, Form I-688A, Form I-688, and a 9
form evidencing that the applicant is a current or past recipient of a grant of deferred action under 10
the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or a resident unable to establish lawful 11
presence in the United States with proof of residency in this state who has a tax identification 12
number doing business in this state, together with a document bearing the applicant’s signature. 13
(ii) All filings, applications, information, evidence, and any other document filed pursuant 14
to this section or the information contained on the identification card shall be deemed confidential 15
documents and shall not be available for public inspection or disclosure absent a court order. This 16
section shall not prohibit the entry of information into the state's systems of records or for 17
administrative purposes to verify the authenticity of an identification card when presented or used 18
by the individual issued the identification card. 19
(2) A person who has reached his or her fifty-ninth (59th) birthday is not required to pay 20
the fee. 21
(3) Each registration card shall be subject to renewal every five (5) years upon payment of 22
a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25). 23
(4) No person who holds an operator’s license or a driver privilege card issued by this state 24
or any other state shall be issued a Rhode Island identification card. 25
(5) The identification card shall be signed by the administrator of the division of motor 26
vehicles and by the applicant and his or her picture shall appear on the card along with the required 27
information and the card shall be encased in laminated plastic. The card shall be two inches (2″) in 28
height and four inches (4″) in length and shall be printed in the following form: 29
RHODE ISLAND IDENTIFICATION CARD 30
Date Issued ............................................................................................................... No. ....... 31
First Name Middle Name Last Name 32
................................................................................................................................................ 33
Address 34
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................................................................................................................................................ 1
BIRTH RECORD 2
Month ...................................................................................Day ............ Year ........................ 3
Secure Photo by Pasting here Color of hair Color of eyes Sex Ht Wt. 4
………… ………… …… …… …… 5
Issued by 6
Administrator of the Division of Motor Vehicles 7
........................................................................................ 8
........................................................................................ 9
........................................................................................ 10
Administrator 11
(6) The identification cards shall be produced at the adult correctional institutions if they 12
have facilities to do so; if the adult correctional institutions have no facilities to do so, then all cards 13
shall be manufactured by the lowest responsible bidder following advertisement for the solicitation 14
of bids. 15
(7) The identification cards shall be clearly distinguishable from those issued pursuant to 16
§ 3-8-6.1 and operators’ and chauffeurs’ licenses issued pursuant to title 31. 17
(8) Any person who has been designated as permanently and totally disabled by the social 18
security administration or who upon certification by an optometrist, ophthalmologist, or physician 19
that a holder of a valid and current motor vehicle operator’s license is no longer able to operate a 20
motor vehicle, the administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall issue to such person, upon 21
request, a Rhode Island identification card for the unexpired term of the person’s motor vehicle 22
operator’s license at no additional cost. Thereafter, a renewal of such card shall be subject to the 23
standard renewal charge of twenty-five dollars ($25) until the person shall reach his or her fifty-24
ninth (59th) birthday. 25
(9) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall, upon presentation of a United 26
States Department of Defense (DD) FORM 214 or other acceptable documentation of military 27
service and verification of an honorable discharge, issue an identification card to the presenter that 28
is clearly marked “veteran,” at no additional cost. 29
(c)(1) Every retail Class A, B, C, and D licensee shall cause to be kept a book or 30
photographic reproduction equipment that provides the same information as required by the book. 31
That licensee or the licensee’s employee shall require any person who has shown a document as 32
set forth in this section substantiating his or her age to sign that book or to permit the taking of his 33
or her photograph and indicate what document was presented. Use of the photographic reproduction 34
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equipment is voluntary for every Class A, B, C, and D licensee. 1
(2) The sign-in-as-minor book and photographic reproduction equipment shall be 2
prescribed, published, and approved at the direction and control of the division. The book shall 3
contain at least four hundred (400) pages; shall be uniform throughout the state; and shall be 4
distributed at a cost not to exceed seven dollars ($7.00). 5
(3) If a person whose age is in question signs the sign-in-as-minor book or has a photograph 6
taken before he or she is sold any alcoholic beverage and it is later determined that the person had 7
not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday at the time of sale, it is considered prima facie 8
evidence that the licensee and/or the licensee’s agent or servant acted in good faith in selling any 9
alcoholic beverage to the person producing the document as set forth in this section misrepresenting 10
his or her age. 11
(4) Proof of good-faith reliance on any misrepresentation is a defense to the prosecution of 12
the licensee and/or the licensee’s agent or servant for an alleged violation of this section. 13
(d)(1) Any person who violates this section shall be punished for the first offense by a 14
mandatory fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars 15
($500) and shall be further punished by thirty (30) hours of community service and shall be further 16
punished by a suspension of his or her motor vehicle operator’s license or driving privileges for a 17
period of thirty (30) days; for the second offense by a mandatory fine of not less than five hundred 18
dollars ($500) nor more than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) and shall be further punished by 19
forty (40) hours of community service and will be further punished by a suspension of his or her 20
motor vehicle operator’s license or driving privileges for a period of three (3) months; and for the 21
third and subsequent offenses by a mandatory fine for each offense of not less than seven hundred 22
fifty dollars ($750) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) and shall be further punished by 23
fifty (50) hours of community service and will be further punished by a suspension of his or her 24
motor vehicle operator’s license or driving privileges for a period of one year. 25
(2) Any suspension of an operator’s license or driving privilege pursuant to this section 26
shall not operate to affect the insurance rating of the offender and any operator’s license or driving 27
privilege suspended pursuant to this section shall be reinstated without further expense upon 28
application. 29
(e) Within thirty (30) days after this incident the police chief of the city or town where the 30
incident took place is directed to inform, in writing, the department of business regulation whether 31
or not charges in accordance with this section have been preferred against a person who has not 32
reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday and has violated this section. If no charge is brought 33
against any person who has not reached his or her twenty-first (21st) birthday and has violated the 34
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provisions of this section, then the police chief of the city or town where the incident took place 1
will state the reason for his or her failure to charge the person who has not reached his or her twenty-2
first (21st) birthday. 3
(f) The Rhode Island identification card may be withdrawn at any time for just cause, at 4
the discretion of the administrator of the division of motor vehicles. The administrator of the 5
division of motor vehicles shall keep a record of the cards issued and each card shall contain an 6
identification number specifically assigned to the person to whom the card was issued. 7
(g) Issuance of a Rhode Island identification card under this section to a current or past 8
recipient of a grant of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 9
program or a resident unable to establish lawful presence in the United States and who has a tax 10
identification number doing business in this state shall not confer the right to vote in the state of 11
Rhode Island. 12
3-8-6.1. Identification cards for persons under the age of 21. [Effective July 1, 2023.] 13
(a)(1)(i) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall issue to any person upon 14
request, who is under twenty-one (21) years of age, an identification card upon payment of a fee of 15
twenty-five dollars ($25.00), and, upon presentation of a certified birth or baptismal certificate, or 16
U.S. or foreign passport, or U.S. naturalization certificate, or a valid immigrant or refugee 17
document issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services including, but not 18
limited to, any one of the following: Form I-551, Form I-94, Form I-688A, Form I-688, and a form 19
evidencing that the applicant is a current or past recipient of a grant of deferred action under the 20
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or a resident unable to establish lawful presence 21
in the United States with proof of residency in this state who has a tax identification number doing 22
business in this state, together with a document bearing the applicant’s signature. No person who 23
holds an operator’s license or a driver privilege card, issued by this state or any other state, shall be 24
issued an identification card. 25
(ii) All filings, applications, information, evidence, and any other document filed pursuant 26
to this section or the information contained on the identification card shall be deemed confidential 27
documents and shall not be available for public inspection or disclosure absent a court order. This 28
section shall not prohibit the entry of information into the state's systems of records or for 29
administrative purposes to verify the authenticity of an identification card when presented or used 30
by the individual issued the identification card. 31
(2) The identification card shall be subject to renewal every five (5) years upon the payment 32
of a fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00). 33
(3) The identification card shall be signed by the administrator of the division of motor 34
LC000269 - Page 6 of 8
vehicles and also by the applicant, and his or her picture shall appear on the card along with the 1
required information and the card shall be encased in laminated plastic. The card shall be two inches 2
(2″) in height and four inches (4″) in length and shall be printed in the following form: 3
IDENTIFICATION CARD 4
Date Issued ............................................................................................................... No. ....... 5
First Name Middle Name Last Name 6
................................................................................................................................................ 7
Address 8
................................................................................................................................................ 9
BIRTH RECORD 10
Month ...................................................................................Day ............ Year ........................ 11
Secure Photo by Pasting here Color of hair Color of eyes Sex Ht Wt. 12
………… ………… …… …… …… 13
Issued by 14
Administrator of the Division of Motor Vehicles 15
........................................................................................ 16
........................................................................................ 17
........................................................................................ 18
Administrator 19
(4) The identification cards shall be produced at the adult correctional institution if they 20
have facilities to do so; if the adult correctional institutions have no facilities to do so, then all cards 21
shall be manufactured by the lowest responsible bidder following advertisement for the solicitation 22
of bids. 23
(5) The identification cards shall be clearly distinguishable from those issued pursuant to 24
§ 3-8-6 and operators’ and chauffeurs’ licenses issued pursuant to title 31. 25
(b) The identification card may be withdrawn at any time for just cause, at the discretion 26
of the administrator of the division of motor vehicles. The administrator of the division of motor 27
vehicles shall keep a record of the cards issued and each card shall contain an identification number 28
specifically assigned to the person to whom the card was issued. 29
(c) The administrator of the division of motor vehicles shall, upon presentation of a United 30
States Department of Defense (DD) FORM 214 or other acceptable documentation of military 31
service and verification of an honorable discharge, issue an identification card to the presenter that 32
is clearly marked “veteran,” at no additional cost. 33
(d) Issuance of a Rhode Island identification card under this section to a current or past 34
LC000269 - Page 7 of 8
recipient of a grant of deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) 1
program or a resident unable to establish lawful presence in the United States who has a tax 2
identification number doing business in this state shall not confer the right to vote in the state of 3
Rhode Island. 4
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2024. 5
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LC000269
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES -- REGULATION OF SALES -- STATE
IDENTIFICATION CARDS
***
This act would allow the division of motor vehicles to issue a state identification card to 1
residents unable to establish lawful presence in the United States upon proof of residence in this 2
state and a tax identification number doing business in this state. The state identification card would 3
not be valid for voting purposes. 4
This act would take effect on January 1, 2024. 5
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LC000269
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