"Our industry has a proud record of acting responsibly when it comes to selling alcohol and other age-restricted products," said McClure, president of McClure Oil Co., Marion, Ind. "But we are committed to preventing minors from getting alcohol and [image-nocss] know there is more we can do. That's why our trade association has enlisted broad support among Indiana c-stores to begin to voluntarily card all alcohol purchasers."
She added, "While checking the identification of all alcohol purchasers may be a hassle to some customers, we hope they understand that those few seconds of inconvenience are well worth it to keep alcohol out of the wrong hands. Tennessee instituted a one-year trial program mandating carding for all beer purchasers several years ago and found the program so successful that the law was made permanent."
A two-year study by the Indiana State Excise Police found that businesses that sell alcohol beverages had a 35% noncompliance rate when it comes to selling to minors. Among those selling alcohol for carryout, the liquor store industry had a noncompliance rate of 40% compared to a 26% noncompliance rate for grocery and convenience stores and a 21% failure rate for drug stores. Restaurants had the highest noncompliance rate at 44%.
"While we are pleased that our industry fell below the statewide average for noncompliance, we are not satisfied and are taking this step today to become even more vigilant in stopping sales to minors," McClure said.
In total, more than 450 locations will begin voluntarily verifying the age of all alcohol purchasers. Participating companies include Village Pantry, Speedway, Circle K, Gas America, McClure, Ricker's, am/pm, Luke's, Good to Go, Chuckles, Circle A Food Marts, Super-Test and Gallahan Kwik Marts.
The action by the IPCA is consistent with proposed legislation introduced in the state legislature this week. Language requiring the mandatory carding of alcohol purchasers is included in state Senate Bill 189, introduced by Senator Phil Boots (R). In addition, SB 189 would modernize Indiana alcohol laws by permitting Sunday carryout sales and allowing all licensed retailers the right to sell cold beer.
"We strongly urge the General Assembly to pass SB 189 because requiring retailers to card all alcohol purchasers is the right thing to do." McClure said. "It's also important for Hoosiers that want Indiana's alcohol laws to be modernized. It simply makes no sense to give the exclusive right to sell cold beer to the one retail entity most likely to sell to minors or to give the exclusive right to sell alcohol on Sundays to the restaurant industry when they have the worst compliance rate when it comes to selling to minors. SB 189 ensures the responsible sale of alcoholic beverages while restoring logic and common sense to our alcohol laws."
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.