The bill amends Section 28-10-6 of the Code of Alabama 1975, concerning the Responsible Vendor Program, which regulates the training and certification of vendors selling alcoholic beverages. The amendment specifies that vendor employees must achieve a passing grade of 70 percent or higher on a test of the course subjects within 30 days of starting employment. It also clarifies that responsible vendor training and testing can be conducted online or in person, and removes the requirement for an in-person test administrator or proctor during testing. Additionally, the bill mandates that all trained employees attend additional meetings at least semiannually or on another periodic basis approved by the board to cover applicable subjects and the vendor's policies.

The bill sets a deadline of 120 days from its effective date for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to adopt rules for online training and testing. If the board fails to adopt these rules within the specified timeframe, it will lose the authority to operate any liquor stores. The bill also includes nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style, such as changing "underaged" to "underage customers" and allowing digital record-keeping for employee training. The act is set to become effective immediately upon its passage.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 28-10-6