A while back I was at Total Wine & More and when we were checking out I said, "We don't need a bag." My wife and I like to be environmentally conscious and not use bags when we don't need to, and use reusable bags when we need a bag. The checker informed me that state law required them to bag alcohol.
Thanks to the California Department of Alcoholic Beverages Control ("ABC") this has been clarified in a statement on their website:
"Over the past several years, the Department has received numerous inquiries concerning laws or rules that compel retail licensees to place alcoholic beverages in bags or other containers before handing the beverages to consumers. Be advised that neither the provisions of the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Act nor the Department's business regulations require any licensee to put alcoholic beverage purchases in bags or other containers before customers leave the licensed premises. It is possible that some cities or counties may have enacted ordinances that require the bagging of alcoholic beverages. If so, licensees should adhere to these local ordinances."
Neither the city nor the county at the Total Wine I went to require alcohol to be bagged. Well Total Wine checker, I was right, but thanks for the blog post idea.
