2005 California Business and Professions Code Sections 25600-25620 Article 1. In General

25600.  (a) (1) No licensee shall, directly or indirectly, give any
premium, gift, or free goods in connection with the sale or
distribution of any alcoholic beverage, except as provided by rules
that shall be adopted by the department to implement this section or
as authorized by this division.
   (2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for purposes of this
section, a refund to, or exchange of products for, a dissatisfied
consumer by a licensee authorized to sell to consumers shall not be
deemed a premium, gift, or free goods given in connection with the
sale or distribution of an alcoholic beverage.
   (B) A winegrower may advertise or otherwise offer consumers a
guarantee of product satisfaction only in newsletters or other
publications of the winegrower or at the winegrower's premises.  A
winegrower may refund to a dissatisfied consumer the entire purchase
price of wine produced by that winegrower and sold to that consumer,
regardless of where the wine was purchased.
   (b) No rule of the department may permit a licensee to give any
premium, gift, or free goods of greater than inconsequential value in
connection with the sale or distribution of beer.  With respect to
beer, premiums, gifts, or free goods, including advertising
specialties that have no significant utilitarian value other than
advertising, shall be deemed to have greater than inconsequential
value if they cost more than twenty-five cents ($0.25) per unit, or
cost more than fifteen dollars ($15) in the aggregate for all those
items given by a single supplier to a single retail premises per
calendar year.
   (c) With respect to distilled spirits and wines, a licensee may
furnish, give, rent, loan, or sell advertising specialties to a
retailer, provided those items bear conspicuous advertising required
of a sign and the total value of all retailer advertising specialties
furnished by a supplier, directly or indirectly, to a retailer do
not exceed fifty dollars ($50) per brand in any one calendar year per
retail premises.  The value of a retailer advertising specialty is
the actual cost of that item to the supplier who initially purchased
it, excluding transportation and installation costs.  The furnishing
or giving of any retailer advertising specialty shall not be
conditioned upon the purchase of the supplier's product.  Retail
advertising specialties given or furnished free of charge may not be
sold by the retail licensee.  No rule of the department may impose a
dollar limit for consumer advertising specialties furnished by a
distilled spirits supplier to a retailer or to the general public of
less than five dollars ($5) per unit original cost to the supplier
who purchased it.
25601.  Every licensee, or agent or employee of a licensee, who
keeps, permits to be used, or suffers to be used, in conjunction with
a licensed premises, any disorderly house or place in which people
abide or to which people resort, to the disturbance of the
neighborhood, or in which people abide or to which people resort for
purposes which are injurious to the public morals, health,
convenience, or safety, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
25602.  (a) Every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to
be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic beverage to any
habitual or common drunkard or to any obviously intoxicated person is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (b) No person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold,
furnished, or given away, any alcoholic beverage pursuant to
subdivision (a) of this section shall be civilly liable to any
injured person or the estate of such person for injuries inflicted on
that person as a result of intoxication by the consumer of such
alcoholic beverage.
   (c) The Legislature hereby declares that this section shall be
interpreted so that the holdings in cases such as Vesely v. Sager (5
Cal. 3d 153), Bernhard v. Harrah's Club (16 Cal. 3d 313) and Coulter
v. Superior Court (____ Cal. 3d ____) be abrogated in favor of prior
judicial interpretation finding the consumption of alcoholic
beverages rather than the serving of alcoholic beverages as the
proximate cause of injuries inflicted upon another by an intoxicated
person.
25602.1.  Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 25602, a cause
of action may be brought by or on behalf of any person who has
suffered injury or death against any person licensed, or required to
be licensed, pursuant to Section 23300,  or any person authorized by
the federal government to sell alcoholic beverages on a military base
or other federal enclave, who sells, furnishes, gives or causes to
be sold, furnished or given away any alcoholic beverage, and any
other person who sells, or causes to be sold, any alcoholic beverage,
to any obviously intoxicated minor where the furnishing, sale or
giving of that beverage to the minor is the proximate cause of the
personal injury or death sustained by that person.
25602.2.  The director may bring an action to enjoin a violation or
the threatened violation of subdivision (a) of Section 25602.  Such
action may be brought in the county in which the violation occurred
or is threatened to occur.  Any proceeding brought hereunder shall
conform to the requirements of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section
525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except that
it shall be presumed that there is no adequate remedy at law, and
that irreparable damage will occur if the continued or threatened
violation is not restrained or enjoined.
25602.3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this division, no
licensee may petition the department for an offer in compromise
pursuant to Section 23095 for a second or any subsequent violation of
subdivision (a) of Section 25602 which occurs within 36 months of
the initial violation.
25603.  Every person, not authorized by law, who brings into any
state prison, city or county jail, city and county jail, or
reformatory in this State, or within the grounds belonging to any
such institution, any alcoholic beverage is guilty of a felony.
25604.  It is a public nuisance for any person to maintain any club
room in which any alcoholic beverage is received or kept, or to which
any alcoholic beverage is brought, for consumption on the premises
by members of the public or of any club, corporation, or association,
unless the person and premises are licensed under this division.  It
is a public nuisance for any person to keep, maintain, operate or
lease any premises for the purpose of providing therein for a
consideration a place for the drinking of alcoholic beverages by
members of the public or other persons, unless the person and
premises are licensed under this division.  As used herein
"consideration" includes cover charge, the sale of food, ice, mixers
or other liquids used with alcoholic beverage drinks, or the
furnishing of glassware or other containers for use in the
consumption of alcoholic beverage drinks.
   The Attorney General or any district attorney may bring an action
in the name of the people to abate the nuisance, and the Attorney
General shall, upon request of the department, bring the action.
25605.  No offsale licensee shall deliver any alcoholic beverages
pursuant to orders received for such alcoholic beverage by telephone
unless upon delivery the recipient shall be able to furnish proof of
age and identity to indicate that he or she is 21 years of age or
over.
25606.  It is unlawful for any person to use any automobile or other
vehicle to conceal, convey, carry, or transport any alcoholic
beverages which are subject to seizure under this division, or any
stills or parts thereof subject to seizure under this division, or
any materials or supplies capable of and intended for use in the
manufacture or production of alcoholic beverages with the design to
evade the excise taxes or license fees imposed by this division.
This section does not apply to any person who uses an automobile or
other vehicle to transport distilled spirits for lawful use in the
trades, professions, or industries.  Any person violating the
provisions of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or
by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
   The department may seize any automobile or other vehicle used
contrary to the provisions of this section.
25607.  (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), it is unlawful
for any person or licensee to have upon any premises for which a
license has been issued any alcoholic beverages other than the
alcoholic beverage which the licensee is authorized to sell at the
premises under his or her license.  It shall be presumed that all
alcoholic beverages found or located upon premises for which licenses
have been issued belong to the person or persons to whom the
licenses were issued.  Every person violating the provisions of this
section is guilty of a misdemeanor.  The department may seize any
alcoholic beverages found in violation of this section.
   (b) A bona fide public eating place for which an on-sale beer and
wine license has been issued may have upon the premises brandy, rum,
or liqueurs for use solely for cooking purposes.
25608.  (a) Every person who possesses, consumes, sells, gives, or
delivers to any other person, any alcoholic beverage in or on any
public schoolhouse or any of the grounds thereof, is guilty of a
misdemeanor. This section does not, however, make it unlawful for any
person to acquire, possess, or use any alcoholic beverage in or on
any public schoolhouse, or on any grounds thereof, if any of the
following applies:
   (1) The alcoholic beverage possessed, consumed, or sold, pursuant
to a license obtained under this division, is wine that is produced
by a bonded winery owned or operated as part of an instructional
program in viticulture and enology.
   (2) The alcoholic beverage is acquired, possessed, or used in
connection with a course of instruction given at the school and the
person has been authorized to acquire, possess, or use it by the
governing body or other administrative head of the school.
   (3) The public schoolhouse is surplus school property and the
grounds thereof are leased to a lessee which is a general law city
with a population of less than 50,000, or the public schoolhouse is
surplus school property and the grounds thereof are located in an
unincorporated area and are leased to a lessee which is a civic
organization, and the property is to be used for community center
purposes and no public school education is to be conducted thereon by
either the lessor or the lessee and the property is not being used
by persons under the age of 21 years for recreational purposes at any
time during which alcoholic beverages are being sold or consumed on
the premises.
   (4) The alcoholic beverages are acquired, possessed, or used
during events at a college-owned or college-operated veterans stadium
with a capacity of over 12,000 people, located in a county with a
population of over six million people. As used in this subdivision,
"events" mean football games sponsored by a college, other than a
public community college, or other events sponsored by noncollege
groups.
   (5) The alcoholic beverages are acquired, possessed, or used
during an event not sponsored by any college at a performing arts
facility built on property owned by a community college district and
leased to a nonprofit organization which is a public benefit
corporation formed under Part 2 (commencing with Section 5110) of
Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code. As used in this
subdivision, "performing arts facility" means an auditorium with more
than 300 permanent seats.
   (6) The alcoholic beverage is wine for sacramental or other
religious purposes and is used only during authorized religious
services held on or before January 1, 1995.
   (7) The alcoholic beverages are acquired, possessed, or used
during an event at a community center owned by a community services
district and the event is not held at a time when students are
attending a public school-sponsored activity at the center.
   (8) The alcoholic beverage is wine which is acquired, possessed,
or used during an event sponsored by a community college district or
an organization operated for the benefit of the community college
district where the college district maintains both an instructional
program in viticulture on no less than five acres of land owned by
the district and an instructional program in enology, which includes
sales and marketing.
   (9) The alcoholic beverage is acquired, possessed, or used at a
professional minor league baseball game conducted at the stadium of a
community college located in a county with a population of less than
250,000 inhabitants, and the baseball game is conducted pursuant to
a contract between the community college district and a professional
sports organization.
   (10) The alcoholic beverages are acquired, possessed, or used
during events at a college-owned or college-operated stadium or other
facility. As used in this subdivision, "events" means fundraisers
held to benefit a nonprofit corporation that has obtained a license
pursuant to this division for the event. "Events" does not include
football games or other athletic contests sponsored by any college or
public community college. This subdivision shall not apply to any
public education facility in which any grade from kindergarten to
grade 12, inclusive, is schooled.
   (11) The alcoholic beverages are possessed, consumed, or sold,
pursuant to a license obtained under this division, for an event
during the weekend or at other times when pupils are not on the
grounds of an overnight retreat facility owned and operated by a
county office of education in a county of the 18th class.
   (12) The grounds of the public schoolhouse on which the alcoholic
beverage is acquired, possessed, used, or consumed is property that
has been developed and is used for residential facilities or housing
that is offered for rent, lease, or sale exclusively to faculty or
staff of a public school or community college.
   (b) Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall, in
addition to the penalty imposed for the misdemeanor, be barred from
having or receiving any privilege of the use of public school
property which is accorded by Article 2 (commencing with Section
82537) of Chapter 8 of Part 49 of the Education Code.
25609.  Every person who, in response to an inquiry or request for
any brand, type, or character of alcoholic beverages, sells or offers
for sale under an on-sale license a different brand, type, or
character without first informing the purchaser of the difference is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
25610.  (a) Any person who erases, removes, obliterates, destroys,
or renders illegible in any manner any serial numbers, stamps, marks,
brands, legends, or other information required by federal or state
law to be attached or placed upon any packages or original cases
containing alcoholic beverages, before the contents of such packages
or cases have been entirely removed, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (b) Any licensee who possesses any original unopened package or
case containing alcoholic beverages on which or from which any serial
number required by federal or state law to be attached or placed has
been erased, removed, obliterated, destroyed, or rendered illegible
in any manner, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
25611.1.  Any manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's agent,
rectifier, distiller, bottler, importer, or wholesaler, or any
officer, director, or agent of any of these persons may furnish,
give, lend, sell, or rent:
   (a) Interior signs, advertising either wine or distilled spirits,
for use in on-sale retail premises, each of which shall not exceed
630 square inches in size.  This limitation on the size of interior
signs, advertising either wine or distilled spirits, shall not be
applicable to off-sale retail premises.
   (b) Interior signs advertising beer in on-sale or off-sale retail
premises which shall bear conspicuous notice of the beer manufacturer'
s name, brand name, trade name, slogans, markings, trademarks, or
other symbols commonly associated with and generally used by the beer
manufacturer in identifying the beer manufacturer's name or product,
and which may bear graphic or pictorial advertising representations.
  These signs shall include, but are not limited to, posters,
placards, stickers, decals, shelf strips, wall panels, plaques,
shadow boxes, mobiles, dummy bottles, bottle toppers, case wrappers,
brand-identifying statuettes, tap markers, and table tents.  These
interior signs advertising beer shall not be deemed of intrinsic or
utilitarian value and shall remain the property of the beer
wholesaler who authorized and furnished them, unless given or sold to
the retail licensee.
   (c) Interior signs advertising beer for use in on-sale or off-sale
retail premises, which are illuminated or mechanized, and which
shall principally bear a conspicuous notice of the beer manufacturer'
s name, brand name, trade name, slogans, markings, trademarks, or
other symbols commonly associated with and generally used by the beer
manufacturer in identifying the beer manufacturer's name or product,
and which may bear graphic or pictorial advertising representations.
  These illuminated or mechanized interior signs advertising beer
shall not be deemed of intrinsic or utilitarian value and shall
remain the property of the beer wholesaler who authorized and
furnished them, unless given or sold to the retail licensee.
   (d) Signs or other advertising matter for exterior use at any
on-sale or off-sale retail premises as may be permitted by this
division and rules of the department adopted pursuant thereto.
25611.2.  Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit any alcoholic
beverage manufacturer, manufacturer's agent, winegrower, or
wholesaler from furnishing or giving electronic data services to a
licensed retail premises.  For purposes of this section, "electronic
data services" are limited to the transmission by telephone line,
microwave, or other electronic means of data relating to retailer
inventory of the manufacturer's, winegrower's, or wholesaler's
brands, monitoring of brand sales performance, electronic invoice
transmissions, and electronic funds transfer.
25612.  Signs or other advertising matter used in connection with
the licensed premises of any retailer of alcoholic beverages shall
not be of any obnoxious, gaudy, blatant, or offensive nature and
shall in no manner contrary to the rules of the department obstruct
the view of the interior of the premises from the street.
25612.5.  (a) This section shall apply to licensees other than a
retail on-sale licensee or on-sale beer and wine licensee who is
licensed and operates as a bona fide public eating place, as defined
in Section 23038, 23038.1, or 23038.2, or as a hotel, motel, or
similar lodging establishment, as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section 25503.16; a winegrowers license; a licensed beer
manufacturer, as defined in Section 23357; a retail licensee who
concurrently holds an off-sale retail beer and wine license and a
beer manufacturer's license for those same or contiguous premises;
and a retail on-sale licensee or on-sale beer and wine licensee who
is licensed and operates as a bona fide public eating place, as
defined in Section 23038, 23038.1, or 23038.2, or as a hotel, motel,
or similar lodging establishment, as defined in subdivision (b) of
Section 25503.16, a licensed beer manufacturer, as defined in Section
23357, or a winegrowers license, who sells off-sale beer and wine
under the on-sale license on those same or contiguous premises.
   (b) The Legislature finds and declares that it is in the interest
of the public health, safety, and welfare to adopt operating
standards as set forth in this section for specified retail premises
licensed by the department.  The standards set forth in this section
are state standards that do not preclude the adoption and
implementation of more stringent local regulations that are otherwise
authorized by law.
   (c) Other than as provided in subdivision (a), each retail
licensee shall comply with all of the following:
   (1) A prominent, permanent sign or signs stating "NO LOITERING IS
ALLOWED ON OR IN FRONT OF THESE PREMISES" shall be posted in a place
that is clearly visible to patrons of the licensee.  The size,
format, form, placement, and languages of the sign or signs shall be
determined by the department.  This paragraph shall apply to a
licensee only upon written notice to the licensee from the
department.  The department shall issue this written notice only upon
a request, from the local law enforcement agency in whose
jurisdiction the premises are located, that is supported by
substantial evidence that there is loitering adjacent to the
premises.
   (2) A prominent, permanent sign or signs stating "NO OPEN
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTAINERS ARE ALLOWED ON THESE PREMISES" shall be
posted in a place that is clearly visible to patrons of the
licensee.  The size, format, form, placement, and languages of the
sign or signs shall be determined by the department.  This paragraph
shall apply to a licensee only upon written notice to the licensee
from the department.  The department shall issue this written notice
only upon a request, from the local law enforcement agency in whose
jurisdiction the premises are located, that is supported by
substantial evidence that there is drinking in public adjacent to the
premises.
   (3) No alcoholic beverages shall be consumed on the premises of an
off-sale retail establishment, and no alcoholic beverages shall be
consumed outside the edifice of an on-sale retail establishment.
   (4) The exterior of the premises, including adjacent public
sidewalks and all parking lots under the control of the licensee,
shall be illuminated during all hours of darkness during which the
premises are open for business in a manner so that persons standing
in those areas at night are identifiable by law enforcement
personnel.  However, the required illumination shall be placed so as
to minimize interference with the quiet enjoyment of nearby residents
of their property.
   (5) Litter shall be removed daily from the premises, including
adjacent public sidewalks and all parking lots under the control of
the licensee.  These areas shall be swept or cleaned, either
mechanically or manually, on a weekly basis to control debris.
   (6) Graffiti shall be removed from the premises and all parking
lots under the control of the licensee within 72 hours of
application.  If the graffiti occurs on a Friday or weekend day, or
on a holiday, the licensee shall remove the graffiti 72 hours
following the beginning of the next weekday.
   (7) No more than 33 percent of the square footage of the windows
and clear doors of an off-sale premises shall bear advertising or
signs of any sort, and all advertising and signage shall be placed
and maintained in a manner that ensures that law enforcement
personnel have a clear and unobstructed view of the interior of the
premises, including the area in which the cash registers are
maintained, from the exterior public sidewalk or entrance to the
premises.  However, this latter requirement shall not apply to
premises where there are no windows, or where existing windows are
located at a height that precludes a view of the interior of the
premises to a person standing outside the premises.
   (8) Upon request of the local law enforcement agency in whose
jurisdiction the licensed premises are located or at the discretion
of the department, each public telephone located on off-sale premises
(or located in an adjacent area under the control of the off-sale
licensee) shall be equipped with devices or mechanisms that prevent
persons from calling into that public telephone.
   (9) Every licensed retailer who sells or rents video recordings of
harmful matter, as defined by Section 313 of the Penal Code, shall
create an area within his or her business establishment for the
placement of video recordings of harmful matter and for any material
that advertises the sale or rental of these video recordings.  This
area shall be labeled "adults only." The licensed retailer shall make
reasonable efforts to arrange the video recordings in this area in
such a way that minors may not readily access the video recordings or
view the video box covers.  The failure to create and label the
"adults only" area is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more
than one hundred dollars ($100).  The failure to place a video
recording or advertisement, regardless of its content, in this area
shall not constitute an infraction.
   (10) A copy of the applicable operating standards shall be
available during normal business hours for viewing by the general
public.
25613.  Every holder of an on-sale retail license who gives, sells,
or otherwise dispenses any draught beer shall, upon the faucet,
spigot, or outlet from which the beer is drawn, attach and keep
posted a clear and legible notice, placard, or marker which shall in
the English language indicate and declare the name or brand adopted
by the manufacturer of the draught beer so given, sold, or dispensed
by the licensee.  If the faucet, spigot, or other drawing device is
in a location not within the room of the place of service and
consumption of the beer, there shall also be kept posted a similar
notice, placard, or marker in the place of service and consumption of
the beer which shall truthfully state and indicate only the kinds
and brands of draught beer actually on sale in the premises of the
on-sale licensee.
25614.  Any person who violates any of the provisions of Sections
25611 to 25613, inclusive, or substitutes another or different brand
of draught beer from that indicated by any of the required notices,
placards, or markers, or substitutes one brand of beer for another,
or misrepresents the brand or kind of beer served to a consumer is
guilty of a misdemeanor.
25616.  Any person who knowingly or willfully files a false license
fee report with the department, and any person who refuses to permit
the department or any of its representatives to make any inspection
or examination for which provision is made in this division, or who
fails to keep books of account as prescribed by the department, or
who fails to preserve such books for the inspection of the department
for such time as the department deems necessary, or who alters,
cancels, or obliterates entries in such books of account for the
purpose of falsifying the records of sales of alcoholic beverages
made under this division is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
punished by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars ($200) nor
more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the
county jail for not less than one month nor more than six months, or
by both such fine and imprisonment.
25617.  Every person convicted for a violation of any of the
provisions of this division for which another penalty or punishment
is not specifically provided for in this division is guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonment in the county jail for
not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
25618.  Every person convicted of a felony for a violation of any of
the provisions of this division for which another punishment is not
specifically provided for in this division shall be punished by a
fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or by
imprisonment in the state penitentiary for not less than one year nor
more than five years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
25619.  Every peace officer and every district attorney in this
State shall enforce the provisions of this division and shall inform
against and diligently prosecute persons whom they have reasonable
cause to believe offenders against the provisions of this division.
Every such officer refusing or neglecting to do so is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
25620.  (a) Any person possessing any can, bottle, or other
receptacle containing any alcoholic beverage that has been opened, or
a seal broken, or the contents of which have been partially removed,
in any city, county, or city and county owned park or other city,
county, or city and county owned public place, or any recreation and
park district, or any regional park or open-space district shall be
guilty of an infraction if the city, county, or city and county has
enacted an  ordinance that prohibits the possession of those
containers in those areas or the consumption of alcoholic beverages
in those areas.
   (b) This section does not apply where the possession is within
premises located in a park or other public place for which a license
has been issued pursuant to this division.
   (c) This section does not apply when an individual is in
possession of an alcoholic beverage container for the purpose of
recycling or other related activity.