Minnesota Session Laws - 2000, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 472-S.F.No. 2845 
                  An act relating to crimes; increasing criminal 
                  penalties and driver license sanctions for underage 
                  persons who use any type of false identification to 
                  purchase or attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages or 
                  tobacco; authorizing retailers to seize false 
                  identification; amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, 
                  sections 171.171; 340A.702; and 609.685, subdivisions 
                  1a, 2, 3, and by adding a subdivision; Minnesota 
                  Statutes 1999 Supplement, sections 260B.235, 
                  subdivision 4; 340A.503, subdivision 6; and 609.685, 
                  subdivision 5. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 171.171, is 
        amended to read: 
           171.171 [SUSPENSION; ILLEGAL PURCHASE OF ALCOHOL OR 
        TOBACCO.] 
           The commissioner shall suspend for a period of 90 days the 
        license of a person who: 
           (1) is under the age of 21 years and is convicted of 
        purchasing or attempting to purchase an alcoholic beverage in 
        violation of section 340A.503 if the person used a license or, 
        Minnesota identification card, or any type of false 
        identification to purchase or attempt to purchase the alcoholic 
        beverage; 
           (2) is convicted under section 171.22, subdivision 1, 
        clause (2), or 340A.503, subdivision 2, clause (3), of lending 
        or knowingly permitting a person under the age of 21 years to 
        use the person's license or, Minnesota identification card, or 
        other type of identification to purchase or attempt to purchase 
        an alcoholic beverage; 
           (3) is under the age of 18 years and is found by a court to 
        have committed a petty misdemeanor under section 609.685, 
        subdivision 3, if the person used a license or, Minnesota 
        identification card, or any type of false identification to 
        purchase or attempt to purchase the tobacco product; or 
           (4) is convicted under section 171.22, subdivision 1, 
        clause (2), of lending or knowingly permitting a person under 
        the age of 18 years to use the person's license or, Minnesota 
        identification card, or other type of identification to purchase 
        or attempt to purchase a tobacco product. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
        260B.235, subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [DISPOSITIONS.] If the juvenile court finds that 
        a child is a petty offender, the court may: 
           (a) require the child to pay a fine of up to $100; 
           (b) require the child to participate in a community service 
        project; 
           (c) require the child to participate in a drug awareness 
        program; 
           (d) place the child on probation for up to six months; 
           (e) order the child to undergo a chemical dependency 
        evaluation and if warranted by this evaluation, order 
        participation by the child in an outpatient chemical dependency 
        treatment program; 
           (f) order the child to make restitution to the victim; or 
           (g) perform any other activities or participate in any 
        other outpatient treatment programs deemed appropriate by the 
        court. 
           In all cases where the juvenile court finds that a child 
        has purchased or attempted to purchase an alcoholic beverage in 
        violation of section 340A.503, if the child has a driver's 
        license or permit to drive, and if the child used a driver's 
        license, permit or, Minnesota identification card, or any type 
        of false identification to purchase or attempt to purchase the 
        alcoholic beverage, the court shall forward its finding in the 
        case and the child's driver's license or permit to the 
        commissioner of public safety. Upon receipt, the commissioner 
        shall suspend the child's license or permit for a period of 90 
        days. 
           In all cases where the juvenile court finds that a child 
        has purchased or attempted to purchase tobacco in violation of 
        section 609.685, subdivision 3, if the child has a driver's 
        license or permit to drive, and if the child used a driver's 
        license, permit, or Minnesota identification card, or any type 
        of false identification to purchase or attempt to purchase 
        tobacco, the court shall forward its finding in the case and the 
        child's driver's license or permit to the commissioner of public 
        safety. Upon receipt, the commissioner shall suspend the child's 
        license or permit for a period of 90 days. 
           None of the dispositional alternatives described in clauses 
        (a) to (f) shall be imposed by the court in a manner which would 
        cause an undue hardship upon the child. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
        340A.503, subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 6.  [PROOF OF AGE; DEFENSE; SEIZURE OF FALSE 
        IDENTIFICATION.] (a) Proof of age for purchasing or consuming 
        alcoholic beverages may be established only by one of the 
        following: 
           (1) a valid driver's license or identification card issued 
        by Minnesota, another state, or a province of Canada, and 
        including the photograph and date of birth of the licensed 
        person; 
           (2) a valid military identification card issued by the 
        United States Department of Defense; 
           (3) a valid passport issued by the United States; or 
           (4) in the case of a foreign national, by a valid passport. 
           (b) In a prosecution under subdivision 2, clause (1), it is 
        a defense for the defendant to prove by a preponderance of the 
        evidence that the defendant reasonably and in good faith relied 
        upon representations of proof of age authorized in paragraph (a) 
        in selling, bartering, furnishing, or giving the alcoholic 
        beverage. 
           (c) A licensed retailer or municipal liquor store may seize 
        a form of identification listed under paragraph (a) if the 
        retailer or municipal liquor store has reasonable grounds to 
        believe that the form of identification has been altered or 
        falsified or is being used to violate any law.  A retailer or 
        municipal liquor store that seizes a form of identification as 
        authorized under this paragraph must deliver it to a law 
        enforcement agency, within 24 hours of seizing it. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 340A.702, is 
        amended to read: 
           340A.702 [GROSS MISDEMEANORS.] 
           It is a gross misdemeanor:  
           (1) to sell an alcoholic beverage without a license 
        authorizing the sale; 
           (2) for a licensee to refuse or neglect to obey a lawful 
        direction or order of the commissioner or the commissioner's 
        agent, withhold information or a document the commissioner calls 
        for examination, obstruct or mislead the commissioner in the 
        execution of the commissioner's duties or swear falsely under 
        oath; 
           (3) to violate the provisions of sections 340A.301 to 
        340A.312; 
           (4) to violate the provisions of section 340A.508; 
           (5) for any person, partnership, or corporation to 
        knowingly have or possess direct or indirect interest in more 
        than one off-sale intoxicating liquor license in a municipality 
        in violation of section 340A.412, subdivision 3; 
           (6) to sell or otherwise dispose of intoxicating liquor 
        within 1,000 feet of a state hospital, training school, 
        reformatory, prison, or other institution under the supervision 
        and control, in whole or in part, of the commissioner of human 
        services or the commissioner of corrections; 
           (7) to violate the provisions of section 340A.502; 
           (8) except as otherwise provided in section 340A.701, to 
        violate the provisions of section 340A.503, subdivision 2, 
        clause (1) or (3); 
           (9) to withhold any information, book, paper, or other 
        thing called for by the commissioner for the purpose of an 
        examination; 
           (10) to obstruct or mislead the commissioner in the 
        execution of the commissioner's duties; or 
           (11) to swear falsely concerning any matter stated under 
        oath; or 
           (12) to violate the provisions of section 340A.503, 
        subdivision 5, after having been convicted previously of 
        violating section 340A.503, subdivision 5. 
           Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 609.685, 
        subdivision 1a, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 1a.  [GROSS MISDEMEANOR PENALTY TO SELL.] (a) Whoever 
        sells tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years is guilty of 
        a misdemeanor for the first violation.  Whoever violates this 
        subdivision a subsequent time within five years of a previous 
        conviction under this subdivision is guilty of a gross 
        misdemeanor. 
           (b) It is an affirmative defense to a charge under this 
        subdivision if the defendant proves by a preponderance of the 
        evidence that the defendant reasonably and in good faith relied 
        on proof of age as described in section 340A.503, subdivision 6. 
           Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 609.685, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [MISDEMEANOR OTHER OFFENSES.] (a) Whoever 
        furnishes tobacco or tobacco-related devices to a person under 
        the age of 18 years is guilty of a misdemeanor for the first 
        violation.  Whoever violates this paragraph a subsequent time is 
        guilty of a gross misdemeanor. 
           (b) A person under the age of 18 years who purchases or 
        attempts to purchase tobacco or tobacco-related devices and who 
        uses a driver's license, permit, Minnesota identification card, 
        or any type of false identification to misrepresent the person's 
        age, is guilty of a misdemeanor. 
           Sec. 7.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 609.685, 
        subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 3.  [PETTY MISDEMEANOR.] Except as otherwise provided 
        in subdivision 2, whoever possesses, smokes, chews, or otherwise 
        ingests, purchases, or attempts to purchase tobacco or tobacco 
        related devices and is under the age of 18 years is guilty of a 
        petty misdemeanor.  This subdivision does not apply to a person 
        under the age of 18 years who purchases or attempts to purchase 
        tobacco or tobacco related devices while under the direct 
        supervision of a responsible adult for training, education, 
        research, or enforcement purposes. 
           Sec. 8.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
        609.685, subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 5.  [EXCEPTION EXCEPTIONS.] (a) Notwithstanding 
        subdivision 2, an Indian may furnish tobacco to an Indian under 
        the age of 18 years if the tobacco is furnished as part of a 
        traditional Indian spiritual or cultural ceremony.  For purposes 
        of this subdivision paragraph, an Indian is a person who is a 
        member of an Indian tribe as defined in section 260.755, 
        subdivision 12. 
           (b) The penalties in this section do not apply to a person 
        under the age of 18 years who purchases or attempts to purchase 
        tobacco or tobacco-related devices while under the direct 
        supervision of a responsible adult for training, education, 
        research, or enforcement purposes. 
           Sec. 9.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 609.685, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 6.  [SEIZURE OF FALSE IDENTIFICATION.] A retailer may 
        seize a form of identification listed in section 340A.503, 
        subdivision 6, if the retailer has reasonable grounds to believe 
        that the form of identification has been altered or falsified or 
        is being used to violate any law.  A retailer that seizes a form 
        of identification as authorized under this subdivision shall 
        deliver it to a law enforcement agency within 24 hours of 
        seizing it. 
           Sec. 10.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
           Sections 1 to 9 are effective August 1, 2000, and apply to 
        violations occurring on or after that date. 
           Presented to the governor May 11, 2000 
           Signed by the governor May 15, 2000, 2:45 p.m.