LCD clarifies new training, growler laws
By John Flynn,
Liquor Licensing Chief, Liquor Control Division
During the MTA convention in September, I received many questions about two laws affecting the tavern industry that were passed by the 2011 Legislature: the Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service Training Act and the bill allowing sales of growlers by on-premises licensees for off-premises consumption.
I will answer some of these questions here.
Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service Training Act
The majority of questions were about the Responsible Alcohol Sales and Service Training Act, known as SB29. This act requires each employee, his or her immediate supervisor, and all licensees who are authorized to sell or serve alcohol to complete state-approved alcohol sales and service program training. The law becomes effective Oct. 1, 2011.
The division has completed proposed administrative rules for SB 29. The administrative rules hearing for SB29 has been set for Monday, Oct. 24, at 9 a.m. in the third floor conference room of the Mitchell Building ,125 N. Roberts.
A copy of the proposed administrative rules may be obtained from alcoholservertraining.mt.gov/server-training.mcpx or revenue.mt.gov/ formsandresources/administrative_rules/hearingproposalnotices.mcpx.
What are the training requirements for employees? Current employees must be trained prior to Oct. 1, 2011, in order to be in compliance with the law. If your employees have had training prior to Oct. 1, they will be in compliance with the law as long as they are within the three-year period. To obtain a list of state-approved server training programs, visit AlcoholServerTraining.mt.gov.
New employees must be trained within 60 days of hire and again every three years after the initial training occurred. In addition, licensees must maintain employment records to verify employees have completed training. An individual who completes training may use his or her training certificate at any licensed premise.
The employer may not restrict the use of the individual's certificate. For example, an individual who has a training certificate and is working at three establishments may use her certificate at all three establishments. As another example, let's consider the individual who is working at two establishments but has not completed training.
If one establishment fails a compliance check because of this individual, does the other establishment receive a penalty as well? The answer is no, unless both establishments separately failed the compliance check because of this individual.
Sale of Growlers for Off-premise Consumption
The other recently passed legislation that raised many questions is SB203. This new law allows for the on-premise nonbrewery sale of beer in growlers for off-premise consumption, popularly referred to as “Growlers to Go.”
The law allows on-premise all-beverage and beer licensees to sell beer in growlers for off- premise consumption only. An exception to SB203 is restaurant beer and wine licensees. They are prohibited from selling any alcohol for off-premises consumption, which includes growlers.
However, restaurants that hold a beer and wine license – not a Restaurant Beer and Wine (RBW) license – are allowed to fill and sell growlers for off-premises consumption. The distinction is what kind of license the restaurant holds.
What does the law say about buying growlers? The law is very specific that growlers may not be purchased and taken to a table and consumed.
Can customers order growlers and keep the unopened containers at the table until they leave? The law states growlers may not be filled by the licensee in advance of the sale. Allowing the customer to sit on the premises with the filled growler may cause confusion about compliance with the law among other customers and competitors. I suggest posting a policy stating growlers can only be filled when customers are leaving the premises.
Another interesting question I heard from several licensees concerned customers bringing in their own growlers for filling. There is no prohibition against a customer bringing in a growler from brewery X to be filled with beer from brewery Y. However, growlers must meet federal standards, and customers cannot bring in just any household container for filling.
If you would like further information or have questions, please call the Liquor Control Division toll-free at 1-866-859-2254 (in Helena, 444-6900). We are happy to help in any way we can.