By: Miles S.B. No. 1767
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the use of a biometric identity verification device to
comply with certain alcohol related laws.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1.04, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended by adding subsection 29 to read as follows:
(29) "Biometric Identity Verification Device" means a
commercial device that instantly verifies the identity and age of a
person by an electronic scan of a biometric of such person, via a
fingerprint, iris image, facial image, or other biometric, or any
combination thereof, which is referenced against identification
issued by a governmental entity, where:
(A) the authenticity of the record was previously
verified by electronic authentication process;
(B) the identity of and information about the record
holder was previously verified through a secondary,
electronic, authentication process or processes, utilizing
commercially available data, such as a public records query
or a knowledge based authentication quiz; and
(C) the authenticated record was securely linked to
biometrics contemporaneously collected from the verified
record holder and is stored in a centralized, highly secured,
encrypted, biometric database.
SECTION 2. Section 106.03, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 106.03. SALE TO MINORS. (a) A person commits an
offense if with criminal negligence he sells an alcoholic beverage
to a minor.
(b) A person who sells a minor an alcoholic beverage does
not commit an offense under this section, or any other section of
this Code, if the minor falsely represents himself to be 21 years
old or older by displaying an apparently valid proof of
identification that contains a physical description and photograph
consistent with the minor's appearance, purports to establish that
the minor is 21 years of age or older, and was issued by a
governmental agency, or if the person relied on a biometric
identity verification device as proof of identification. The proof
of identification may include a driver's license or identification
card issued by the Department of Public Safety, a passport, or a
military identification card, or a biometric identity verification
device.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(d) Subsection (b) does not apply to a person who accesses
electronically readable information under Section 109.61 or a
biometric identity verification device, that identifies a driver's
license or identification certificate, as invalid.
SECTION 3. Section 106.13, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 106.13. SANCTIONS AGAINST RETAILER. (a) Except as
provided in Subsections (b) and (c) of this section, the commission
or administrator may cancel or suspend for not more than 90 days a
retail license or permit or a private club registration permit if it
is found, on notice and hearing, that the licensee or permittee with
criminal negligence sold, served, dispensed, or delivered an
alcoholic beverage to a minor or with criminal negligence permitted
a minor to violate Section 106.04 or 106.05 of this code on the
licensed premises.
(b) For a second offense the commission or administrator may
cancel the license or permit or suspend it for not more than six
months. For a third offense within a period of 36 consecutive months
the commission or administrator may cancel the permit or suspend it
for not more than 12 months.
(c) The commission or administrator may relax the
provisions of this section concerning suspension and cancellation
and assess a sanction the commission or administrator finds just
under the circumstances if, at a hearing, the licensee or permittee
establishes to the satisfaction of the commission or administrator:
(1) that the violation could not reasonably have been
prevented by the permittee or licensee by the exercise of due
diligence;
(2) that the permittee or licensee was entrapped; or
(3) that an agent, servant, or employee of the permittee or
licensee violated this code without the knowledge of the permittee
or licensee;
(4) or, if the permittee of its agent, servant, or employee
relied on a biometric identity verification device to verify the
customer's age.
SECTION 4. Section 109.61, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 109.61. USE OF CERTAIN ELECTRONICALLY READABLE
INFORMATION. (a) A person may access electronically readable
information on a driver's license, commercial driver's license, or
identification certificate, or biometric identity verification
device for the purpose of complying with this code or a rule of the
commission, including for the purpose of preventing the person from
committing an offense under this code.
(b) A person may not retain information accessed under this
section unless the commission by rule requires the information to
be retained. The person may not retain the information longer than
the commission requires.
(b-1) Information retained may be printed to hard copy with
a time and date confirmation from the transaction scan device or
transferred to an electronic encrypted data storage or electronic
record. After printing or transferring data, the transaction scan
device may clear the scanned information from the device or any
memory in the device. The commission by rule may set further
requirements for the retention of information under this
subsection.
(c) Information accessed under this section may not be
marketed in any manner.
(d) A person who violates this section commits an offense.
An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
(e) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this
code, for an offense having as an element the age of a person, that:
(1) a transaction scan device or biometric identity
verification device identified the license or certificate of the
purchaser as valid and that the person is over 21, and the defendant
accessed the information and relied on the results in good faith; or
(2) if the defendant is the owner of a store in which
alcoholic beverages are sold at retail, the offense occurs in
connection with a sale by an employee of the owner, and the owner
had provided the employee with:
(A) a transaction scan device or biometric identity
verification device in working condition;
(B) adequate training in the use of the transaction scan
device or biometric identity verification device; and
(C) the defendant did not directly or indirectly
encourage the employee to violate the law.
(f) The defense offered in Subsection (e) does not apply
applies in actions to cancel, deny, or suspend the license or
permit, except as provided by rules adopted by the commission under
Section 5.31.
(g) In this section, "transaction scan device" includes
an electronic age verification system authorized by commission rule
operated in conjunction with a point of sale terminal that scans the
purchaser's driver's license or identification certificate upon
enrollment, associates the purchaser's personal identifying
information, as defined by Section 521.002(1)(C), Business &
Commerce Code, with the purchaser's license or identification
certificate information, and is capable of allowing a seller to
verify a purchaser's age solely by accessing the data and
information.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.