SC: Senate May Consider Alcohol Training for Servers, Bartenders
freetimes
By Eva Moore
February 22, 2017
The Senate could take up a bill that would require everyone who serves alcohol in South Carolina to undergo training on how to spot and deal with drunk people and avoid serving underage people.
Dubbed Alli’s Law, the bill is named for an Upstate teen who wrecked her car and died while driving home from a bar.
On Feb. 19, the Senate Judiciary unanimously advanced the bill to the full Senate.
The alcohol training programs — the most common national versions of which are called ServSafe and TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures) — would have to be approved by SLED and departments of Revenue and Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services. The cost of the classes would be capped at $50 per person. They’d be offered in both English and Spanish, and both online and in person.
Those who pass the course would be issued a license, which would need to be renewed with another class every three years. New hires would have to get a license within 60 days. Those who violate alcohol laws could face fines and suspension of their license.
About 6,000 establishments in South Carolina have permits to serve alcohol for on-premises consumption, Senate staff said. They don’t have an estimate of how many staff work at those establishments. The state Department of Revenue would have to maintain a database of all permits.
The state Restaurant and Lodging Association supports the bill, saying many of its members already send their staff through alcohol training. Groups like Mothers Against Drunk Drivers also support the bill.
If there’s to be a sticking point, it’s that the amended bill would prevent those who serve alcohol from drinking on the job — a proposal that Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, supported.
“I’m going to revisit the issue of when you see a bartender do shots — and I’ve seen it time and time again,” Senn said at the subcommittee meeting.
But Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, one of the bill’s sponsors, noted that sommeliers have to taste wine as part of their jobs.
“On the issue of sommeliers, can’t they just spit in the bucket?” Senn asked.