The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act makes it a misdemeanor for any person under the age of 21 years to purchase any alcoholic beverage or consume any alcoholic beverage in any on‑sale premises. The act also subjects a holder of a license to sell alcoholic beverages to criminal prosecution and suspension or revocation of that license if the licensee sells any alcoholic beverages to any person under the age of 21 years. Existing law provides that a licensee's acceptance of bona fide evidence, as defined, constitutes a defense to any action against the licensee. Existing law requires that evidence to contain a description of the person.
California AB 1896 (20092010) — Alcoholic beverage control: proof of age.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act makes it a misdemeanor for any person under the age of 21 years to purchase any alcoholic beverage or consume any alcoholic beverage in any on‑sale premises. The act also subjects a holder of a license to sell alcoholic beverages to criminal prosecution and suspension or revocation of that license if the licensee sells any alcoholic beverages to any person under the age of 21 years. Existing law provides that a licensee's acceptance of bona fide evidence, as defined, constitutes a defense to any action against the licensee. Existing law requires that evidence to contain a description of the person.
Version chain
The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
2010-02-16 Read first time. To print. reading-1
2010-02-17 From printer. May be heard in committee March 19.
2010-02-25 Referred to Com. on G.O. referral-committee
2010-04-15 From committee: Amend, do pass as amended, and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 20. Noes 0.) (April 12). amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage
2010-04-19 Read second time and amended. amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1
2010-04-20 Re-referred to Com. on APPR. referral-committee
2010-04-28 In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. referral-committee
2010-05-28 From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (May 28). amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, committee-passage
2010-05-28 Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading. amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1
2010-06-01 Read second time. To third reading. reading-2, reading-1
2010-06-02 Read third time, passed, and to Senate. (Ayes 75. Noes 0. Page 5454.) reading-3, passage, reading-1
2010-06-03 In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. reading-1
2010-06-10 Referred to Com. on G.O. referral-committee
2010-06-30 From committee: Do pass, and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. Re-referred. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (June 29). committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage
2010-08-02 From committee: Be placed on second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and to Consent Calendar. committee-passage
2010-08-03 Read second time. To Consent Calendar. reading-2, reading-1
2010-08-05 Read third time, passed, and to Assembly. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 4372.) reading-3, passage, reading-1
2010-08-05 In Assembly. To enrollment.
2010-08-09 Enrolled and to the Governor at 4:50 p.m.
2010-08-23 Approved by the Governor. executive-signature
2010-08-23 Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 165, Statutes of 2010.
Source
OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot 2026-07-01; origin ocd-bill/fe67522d-80e9-4402-adce-1a134e45ebb9. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).