More than 2.3 million underage youth drink alcohol in California, costing the citizens of California a staggering $7.3 billion annually. A major contributing factor to the problem of underage drinking is easy access. A recent study was conducted by law students at UCLA’s Community Economic Development Clinic and the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy. It concluded that retailers or supermarkets with self-service checkouts allow youth to easily purchase or steal alcoholic beverages. This practice can also allow legal-age drinkers who are already inebriated to continue their dangerous behavior.
California Assembly Member Hector De La Torre (D-Los Angeles) recognized the increasing danger and authored AB 1060 to stop it. His bill acknowledges self-service kiosks are a contributing factor to alcohol abuse and alcohol-related harm. His simple solution requires that all alcohol sales must be through clerk-assisted checkouts.
The measure enjoys strong public support, including MADD and Marin Institute. The California legislature seems to agree that prohibiting self-service alcohol sales is a smart step forward. The bill moved through the Assembly with majority votes and through the key Senate Committee on Governmental Organization. It will be heard next in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 17, then by the full Senate.
If AB 1060 becomes law it will have a profound and positive effect not just in California but also in other states that are grappling with the prospect of automated alcohol sales. Pennsylvania, for example, may decide to not move ahead with plans to allow self-service wine vending machines in grocery stores. That would be a wise decision, for while advancing technology is generally beneficial, self-service alcohol sales are a prescription for increasing alcohol-related harm that is entirely preventable.
AB 1060: Alcoholic Beverage Licenses: Self-Service Checkouts
UCLA Study Summary Letter: Self-Serve Checkout in Southern California
UCLA Study: Self-Checkout: Is It Reliable for Selling Alcohol?
