Proposed bill to increase fines, penalties for serving alcohol to those under 21

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A new bill was proposed by a state senator that would increase the penalties for serving alcohol to persons under the age of 21.

SB168, written by State Sen. Beth Mizell (R-Franklinton), states that when using a fake ID to buy alcohol, violators would be subject to either a fine of up to $500, up to 60 hours of community or having their driver's license suspended for 120 days.

Any retail dealer permit holder that sells alcohol to those under 21 can have their license revoked by the Office of Tobacco Control and pay civil fines. The proposed bill increases fines per offense.

Present law provides a fine of not lower than $50 but not more than $100 for a first offense. In the proposed bill, the fine would be not lower than $100 but not more than $1,000. For the second offense within three years of the first offense, present law calls for fines of no less than $250 but not more than $1,000. The proposed law would increase costs to no less than $250 to no more than $2,000. The third offense costs goes from no less than $500 to no more than $2,500 to no less than $500 to no more than $5,000.

The proposed bill states each retail permit holder would have to verify the age of all patrons before the sale through an electronic age verification device after the first offense.

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