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Minnesota Statutes 2001, Chapter 340A.
Copyright 2001 by the Office of Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota.

340A.501 Responsibility of licensee.

Every licensee is responsible for the conduct in the licensed establishment and any sale of alcoholic beverage by any employee authorized to sell alcoholic beverages in the establishment is the act of the licensee for the purposes of all provisions of this chapter except sections 340A.701, 340A.702, and 340A.703.

HIST: 1985 c 305 art 7 s 1; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1; art 2 s 2

340A.502 Sales to obviously intoxicated persons.

No person may sell, give, furnish, or in any way procure for another alcoholic beverages for the use of an obviously intoxicated person.

HIST: 1985 c 305 art 7 s 2; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1

340A.503 Persons under 21; illegal acts.

Subdivision 1. Consumption. (a) It is unlawful for any:

1. retail intoxicating liquor or 3.2 percent malt liquor licensee, municipal liquor store, or bottle club permit holder under section 340A.414, to permit any person under the age of 21 years to drink alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises or within the municipal liquor store; or
2. person under the age of 21 years to consume any alcoholic beverages. If proven by a preponderance of the evidence, it is an affirmative defense to a violation of this clause that the defendant consumed the alcoholic beverage in the household of the defendant's parent or guardian and with the consent of the parent or guardian.

(b) An offense under paragraph (a), clause (2), may be prosecuted either in the jurisdiction where consumption occurs or the jurisdiction where evidence of consumption is observed.

(c) As used in this subdivision, "consume" includes the ingestion of an alcoholic beverage and the physical condition of having ingested an alcoholic beverage.

Subd. 2. Purchasing. It is unlawful for any person:

1. to sell, barter, furnish, or give alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of age;
2. under the age of 21 years to purchase or attempt to purchase any alcoholic beverage unless under the supervision of a responsible person over the age of 21 for training, education, or research purposes. Prior notification of the licensing authority is required unless the supervised alcohol purchase attempt is for professional research conducted by post-secondary educational institutions or state, county, or local health departments; or
3. to induce a person under the age of 21 years to purchase or procure any alcoholic beverage, or to lend or knowingly permit the use of the person's driver's license, permit, Minnesota identification card, or other form of identification by a person under the age of 21 years for the purpose of purchasing or attempting to purchase an alcoholic beverage.

If proven by a preponderance of the evidence, it shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of clause (1) that the defendant is the parent or guardian of the person under 21 years of age and that the defendant gave or furnished the alcoholic beverage to that person solely for consumption in the defendant's household.

Subd. 3. Possession. It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years to possess any alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume it at a place other than the household of the person's parent or guardian. Possession at a place other than the household of the parent or guardian creates a rebuttable presumption of intent to consume it at a place other than the household of the parent or guardian. This presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.

Subd. 4. Entering licensed premises. (a) It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years to enter an establishment licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages or any municipal liquor store for the purpose of purchasing or having served or delivered any alcoholic beverage.

(b) Notwithstanding section 340A.509, no ordinance enacted by a statutory or home rule charter city may prohibit a person 18, 19, or 20 years old from entering an establishment licensed under this chapter to:

1. perform work for the establishment, including the serving of alcoholic beverages, unless otherwise prohibited by section 340A.412, subdivision 10;
2. consume meals; and
3. attend social functions that are held in a portion of the establishment where liquor is not sold.

Subd. 5. Misrepresentation of age. It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years to claim to be 21 years old or older for the purpose of purchasing alcoholic beverages.

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.

Subd. 7. Repealed, 1989 c 351 s 19

HIST: 1985 c 305 art 7 s 3; 1986 c 330 s 6; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1; 1989 c 301 s 13,14; 1990 c 602 art 5 s 2-4; 1991 c 68 s 1; 1991 c 249 s 20; 1993 c 347 s 21; 1993 c 350 s 13; 1994 c 615 s 21; 1995 c 185 s 7; 1995 c 186 s 67; 1996 c 323 s 4; 1996 c 442 s 24; 1Sp1997 c 2 s 57; 1999 c 202 s 7; 2000 c 472 s 3

340A.504 Hours and days of sale.

Subdivision 1. 3.2 percent malt liquor. No sale of 3.2 percent malt liquor may be made between 1:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on the days of Monday through Saturday, nor between 1:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon on Sunday, provided that an establishment located on land owned by the metropolitan sports commission, or the sports arena for which one or more licenses have been issued under section 340A.404, subdivision 2, paragraph (c), may sell 3.2 percent malt liquor between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon on a Sunday on which a sports or other event is scheduled to begin at that location on or before 1:00 p.m. of that day.

Subd. 2. Intoxicating liquor; on-sale. No sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption on the licensed premises may be made:

1. between 1:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on the days of Monday through Saturday;
2. after 1:00 a.m. on Sundays, except as provided by subdivision 3.

Subd. 3. Intoxicating liquor; Sunday sales; on-sale. (a) A restaurant, club, bowling center, or hotel with a seating capacity for at least 30 persons and which holds an on-sale intoxicating liquor license may sell intoxicating liquor for consumption on the premises in conjunction with the sale of food between the hours of 12:00 noon on Sundays and 1:00 a.m. on Mondays.

(b) The governing body of a municipality may after one public hearing by ordinance permit a restaurant, hotel, bowling center, or club to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises in conjunction with the sale of food between the hours of 10:00 a.m. on Sundays and 1:00 a.m. on Mondays, provided that the licensee is in conformance with the Minnesota Clean Air Act.

(c) An establishment serving intoxicating liquor on Sundays must obtain a Sunday license. The license must be issued by the governing body of the municipality for a period of one year, and the fee for the license may not exceed $200.

(d) A city may issue a Sunday intoxicating liquor license only if authorized to do so by the voters of the city voting on the question at a general or special election. A county may issue a Sunday intoxicating liquor license in a town only if authorized to do so by the voters of the town as provided in paragraph (e). A county may issue a Sunday intoxicating liquor license in unorganized territory only if authorized to do so by the voters of the election precinct that contains the licensed premises, voting on the question at a general or special election.

(e) An election conducted in a town on the question of the issuance by the county of Sunday sales licenses to establishments located in the town must be held on the day of the annual election of town officers.

(f) Voter approval is not required for licenses issued by the metropolitan airports commission or common carrier licenses issued by the commissioner. Common carriers serving intoxicating liquor on Sunday must obtain a Sunday license from the commissioner at an annual fee of $50, plus $20 for each duplicate.

Subd. 4. Intoxicating liquor; off-sale. No sale of intoxicating liquor may be made by an off-sale licensee:

1. on Sundays;
2. before 8:00 a.m. on Monday through Saturday;
3. after 10:00 p.m. on Monday through Saturday at an establishment located in a city other than a city of the first class or within a city located within 15 miles of a city of the first class in the same county;
4. after 8:00 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and after 10:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at an establishment located in a city of the first class or within a city located within 15 miles of a city of the first class in the same county, provided that an establishment may sell intoxicating liquor until 10:00 p.m. on December 31 and July 3, and on the day preceding Thanksgiving day, unless otherwise prohibited under clause (1);
5. on Thanksgiving Day;
6. on Christmas Day, December 25; or
7. after 8:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve, December 24.

Subd. 5. Bottle clubs. No establishment licensed under section 340A.414, may permit a person to consume or display intoxicating liquor, and no person may consume or display intoxicating liquor between 1:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon on Sundays, and between 1:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Monday through Saturday.

Subd. 6. Municipalities may limit hours. A municipality may further limit the hours of sale of alcoholic beverages, provided that further restricted hours must apply equally to sales of 3.2 percent malt liquor and intoxicating liquor. A city may not permit the sale of alcoholic beverages during hours when the sale is prohibited by this section.

HIST: 1985 c 139 s 1; 1985 c 305 art 7 s 4; 1Sp1985 c 16 art 2 s 3 subd 1; 1987 c 5 s 4; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1; 1988 c 420 s 1; 1989 c 49 s 3-5; 1990 c 554 s 14; 1991 c 249 s 21,22,31; 1992 c 513 art 3 s 60; 1994 c 611 s 26; 1997 c 129 art 1 s 8

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