Bill proposes no alcohol purchases at self-checkouts

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) - Your quick and efficient way of purchasing alcohol through self check-outs in stores may soon come to an end.

A bill is making its way through committees that would force people making alcohol purchases to check out with a person and not just a machine.

Senator Bill Coleman presented SB 1866 because he says the state has a large issue with minors getting away with purchasing alcohol through self checkouts in stores. He believes this bill will help put a stop to it.

"What we're seeing across the country right now, especially with young people that are using self-checkouts to steal basically beer and wine, and they're doing it in a clever way," Sen. Coleman said.

As it stands now, if you scan alcohol at a self checkout an employee comes to check your ID, but Sen. Coleman, who wrote the bill says that presents an easy work around for minors. They just don't scan the alcohol.

"I would imagine they're clever and they watch out when the self-checkout person is busy and slide the greeting card across without the beer sliding across," Sen. Coleman said. "So, what this would do, it would ban the self-checkout for beer and wine in stores in Oklahoma."

However, some senators opposed the bill saying, why should the government be involved in regulating this rather than just individual businesses?

Sen. Coleman says staff monitoring the self-checkout is not enough.

"I know when I go through a self-checkout and get beer, wine, it pops up, this person's ID needs to be checked, but if they're not scanning the beer and wine, then it's not going to pop up to check their ID and that's what you see," Sen. Coleman said.

If this bill becomes law, this is how Sen. Coleman envisions it.

"I would vision that they would have to have just a lane for beer and wine purchases or anything else that would have to be manned by a real person who would be checking IDs and making sure those items are indeed charged in the person buying them is indeed 21 or over," Sen Coleman said.

SB1866 will now head to the senate floor to be heard and voted on.