WELCOME
Letter from the Chairman
New Opportunities ( and Challenges )
BY PAUL THOMAS | ALASKA CHARR CHAIRMAN
With the publication of this edition of the CHARR magazine , the revised version of Alaska State Statute Title 04 is fully in effect now . While the changes have many positive aspects , we need to keep on guard , watch for , and respond to unintentional consequences too .
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During the last ABC meeting in February , a few items came up . Hopefully , they may be solved by the time this comes out , but more than likely , they will still be working on them . A lot of discussions took place about Common Carriers delivering for Manufacture Direct Shipment licenses and how it would work in Alaska and where the liability would fall in the end for the alcohol delivered . I think it was an eye-opener for all . We think of it as contracting with a single carrier to pick up a product and deliver it to its destination , but in rural and even not-sorural areas , multiple companies would likely be involved with complex relations , agreements , and ways of doing business . It was pointed out that in some rural areas , not only are multiple carriers involved in the delivery , but the freight ’ s final destination might just be an unsecured drop site at the local small community airport . This leads to the question of who will bear the liability of the delivery of alcohol . The initial Common Carrier that was contracted or the operator last to handle the product or some balance of both . All good questions that I am glad the board is discussing , but what concerned me was no discussion about the licensees ’ potential liability . Has Title 04 created a license ( Manufacture direct shipment ) with no liability to its customer base ? While all of us would like to share the liability between the licensee and the customer , as it is in most states , I think we can all agree removing it completely has the potential
WHILE ALL OF US WOULD LIKE TO SHARE THE LIABILITY BETWEEN THE LICENSEE AND THE CUSTOMER , AS IT IS IN MOST STATES , I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE REMOVING IT COMPLETELY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO LEAD TO SOME BAD PRACTICES . to lead to some bad practices . This does not even consider how unbalanced this approach would be to all other retail licensees now paying enormous bills for liquor liability insurance , the duty of responsible service , the fear of stings , and the repercussions a mistake might make to their license . But back to the Common Carrier questions . These servers , because that is what they will be now , need to be held to the same standards as all of us , whether we are bartenders , package store clerks , waitresses , or any other server of alcohol to a member of the public . The first take at regulation for these servers has only the requirement they obtain a signature from someone over 21 . There is no requirement they themselves be 21 , no requirement they attend alcohol server education like all other servers , and no requirement the person the product is delivered to is even the one who purchased the product . I do not even see anything about the time of day the product is delivered .
Remember , this is the first swing at this regulation , not what will be final , and the ABC Board is working hard to investigate most of these questions and ways to make them more equitable and follow
" the intent of the legislation as I am writing this . But there will be more of these unforeseen consequences as we get to know the new Title 04 better and work on regulations to go along with it . It is essential that we get people from all different aspects to look over these regulation projects as they come out . Each license type picks up on different pieces so I urge you to keep an eye on the regulations as they come out and provide comments on them so the final regulations will serve us all in the way it was intended .
ALASKA CHARR MAGAZINE | 2
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