§ 28-1-4 — Delivery of Alcoholic Beverages

(a) The words and phrases used in this section shall have the meanings ascribed to them in Section 28-3-1.
(b)Except as provided in subsection (c) and (d), it shall be unlawful for any common carrier, operator of trucks, buses, or other conveyances or a manufacturer, supplier, or importer to make delivery of any alcoholic beverage to any person within the state, except to the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and to manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, and warehouses licensed by the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to receive the alcoholic beverages so delivered.
(c)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b), a delivery service licensee or an employee or independent contractor of a delivery service licensee, pursuant to Section 28-3A-13.1, may transport and deliver beer, wine, and spirits to an individual in the state who is at least 21 years of age.
(2) Notwithstanding any law, rule, ordinance, or resolution to the contrary, this section and Section 28-3A-13.1 shall exclusively govern the delivery of beer, wine, and spirits throughout the state.
(3) Act 2021-188 has been enacted pursuant to the authority granted to the state under the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution and the powers reserved to the state under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and the inherent powers of the state under the Constitution of Alabama of 2022. It is the intent of the Legislature that Act 2021-188 maintains the current three-tier system of control over the sale, distribution, purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption, and possession of alcoholic beverages in the state and promotes the health, safety, and welfare of residents of this state. Act 2021-188 shall be liberally construed to ensure that the sale, purchase, transportation, manufacture, consumption, delivery, and possession of alcoholic beverages shall be prohibited except as authorized in Act 2021-188. If any provision of Act 2021-188 or its application to any person or circumstance is determined by a court or other authority of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, that provision shall be stricken and the remaining provisions shall be construed in accordance with the intent of the Legislature to further limit rather than expand commerce in alcoholic beverages, malt beverages, unfortified wine, and fortified wine, and shall be construed to enhance strict regulatory control over taxation, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages through the three-tier regulatory system and the franchise laws imposed by Act 2021-188.
(d)(1) A common or permit carrier may ship and transport shipments of wine to an Alabama resident who is at least 21 years of age at the direction of a direct wine shipper licensee, as provided in Sections 28-3A-6.1 and 28-3A-6.2. A common or permit carrier making a shipment as provided in Sections 28-3A-6.1 or 28-3A-6.2 is not required to maintain in the vehicle or within the possession of the driver of the vehicle a bill of lading, consignment, or any other documentary evidence of the cargo being transported other than information available on the package shipping label.
a. A common or permit carrier that ships and transports wine to a resident of the state shall make shipment as provided in Sections 28-3A-6.1 and 28-3A-6.2, shall confirm that any individual physically receiving a shipment of wine is at least 21 years of age, and shall require the individual’s signature before releasing the shipment to that individual. Any failure by a common or permit carrier, upon receipt of the shipment, to verify the age of the individual receiving the wine may result in the suspension of the common or permit carrier’s license to operate in the state or the imposition of any other penalty the relevant licensing authority in the state is authorized to impose.
b. A common or permit carrier that ships and transports wine to a resident of the state shall make shipment as provided in Sections 28-3A-6.1 and 28-3A-6.2, shall maintain a copy of the signature of the individual who physically received the shipment for at least three years following the date of completion of that shipment, and, upon request, shall provide a copy of that signature to the Tax and Trade Practices Division of the board. Failure by a common or permit carrier to maintain a copy of the signature of the individual receiving the wine pursuant to this section, or failure to provide a copy of that signature to the board or the Department of Revenue upon request, may result in the suspension of the common or permit carrier’s license to operate in the state or the imposition of any other penalty the relevant licensing authority in the state is authorized to impose.
(2) A common or permit carrier that ships and transports wine to a resident of the state shall make shipment as provided in Sections 28-3A-6.1 and 28-3A-6.2 and shall file quarterly reports with the Tax and Trade Practices Division of the board of all wine shipments during the reporting period that report all of the following with regard to each shipment:
a. The name and business address of the person who directed the common or permit carrier to ship wine.
b. The weight of the shipment.
c. The name and address of the consumer to whom the wine was shipped.
d. A unique tracking number.
e. The date of delivery.
(3) Reports made under this subsection shall be considered public records for purposes of Article 3, commencing with Section 36-12-40, of Chapter 12 of Title 36, and shall be made available to law enforcement officers.
(4) A willful failure by a common or permit carrier to comply with the reporting requirements in this section which continues for more than 30 days after receiving notice by the board or Department of Revenue of the failure may result in the suspension of the common or permit carrier’s license to operate in the state or the imposition of any other penalty the relevant licensing authority in the state is authorized to impose.
(5) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that Act 2021-419 is enacted pursuant to the authority granted to the state under the Twenty­-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, the powers reserved to the state under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and the inherent powers of the state under the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, in order to regulate the traffic of alcoholic beverages and to substitute the regulations and oversight established in Act 2021-419 for the application of federal and state antitrust laws that otherwise would apply to any potential anti­competitive effects of the title. For the avoidance of doubt, the intent of the Legislature is to maintain the uniform three­-tier system of control over the sale, purchase, taxation, transportation, manufacture, consumption, and possession of alcoholic beverages in the state to promote the health, safety, and welfare of residents of this state by, among other purposes, ensuring the state shall be able to register, audit, inspect, seize, recall and test alcoholic beverages shipped into, distributed, and sold throughout this state; and this expression of the policy and intent of the Legislature is intended to satisfy the clear articulation test for state action immunity as has been established by the United States Supreme Court in California Retail Liquor Dealers Assn. v. Midcal Aluminum, Inc., et al.
(6) If any provision of Act 2021-419, or its application to any person or circumstance, is determined by a court to be invalid or unconstitutional, that provision shall be stricken and the remaining provisions shall be construed in accordance with the intent of the Legislature to further limit rather than expand commerce in alcoholic beverages, including by prohibiting any commerce in alcoholic beverages, not expressly authorized, and to enhance strict regulatory control over taxation, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages through the existing uniform system of regulation of alcoholic beverages.
(e) The board may adopt rules to implement Act 2021-419.

Legislative History

(Acts 1981, No. 81-768, p. 1320; Act 2021-419, §§1, 2, 5, 7; Act 2021-188, §§1, 2.)