ABC Acts; Alcoholic Beverages

Subject:

Requested By: Donald M. Murray Director Alcohol Law Enforcement Division

Questions: May law enforcement officers in general enforce the provisions of Chapter 18B?

 

1.  
2. Does Chapter 18B authorize state, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies generally to conduct inspections of licensed premises?

    

Conclusions: Yes, so long as the officer is within his territorial and other subject matter jurisdiction.

 

1.  
2. No, unless the officer is a member of an agency contracting with a local board for ABC enforcement.

    

The General Assembly repealed Chapter 18A and enacted a new Chapter 18B governing alcoholic beverages. The new chapter clarifies earlier statutory provisions and makes substantive changes in certain areas of the law.

G.S. 18B-102(b) makes any violation of Chapter 18B a misdemeanor unless otherwise specified. Thus, violations of the Chapter are clearly criminal offenses. A person convicted of such violation may receive a fine or imprisonment for nor more than two years or both. Chapter 18B nowhere alters the criminal jurisdiction generally recognized by Chapter 15A (Criminal Procedure), or the statutes granting authority to various law enforcement agencies. Thus so long as an officer is within his territorial and subject matter jurisdiction found elsewhere in the General Statutes, he may enforce the criminal provisions of Chapter 18B. When so doing, the officer must conduct himself as he would in any criminal investigation, and the suspect is entitled to the full protections afforded any criminal suspect or defendant. G.S. 18B-502 provides:

"Inspection of licensed premises. — (a) Authority. To procure evidence of violations of the ABC law, Alcohol Law Enforcement agents, employees of the Commission, local ABC officers, and officers of the Commission, local ABC officers, and officers of local law enforcement agencies that have contracted to provide ABC enforcement under G.S. 18B-501(f) shall have authority to investigate the operation of each licensed premises for which an ABC permit has been issued, to make inspections that include viewing the entire premises, and to examine the books and records of the permittee. The inspection authorized by this section may be made at any time it reasonably appears that someone is on the premises."

This provision of the statute opens a licensed premise to entry and inspection to procure evidence of violations of the ABC law at any time it reasonably appears someone is on the premises. Such entry and inspection need not be based upon reasonable suspicion or probable cause requirements normally associated with criminal search and seizure law, and is a departure upon reasonable suspicion or probable cause requirements normally associated with criminal search and seizure law, and is a departure from criminal procedure as found in Chapter 15A. The statute, however, clearly limits the inspection authority to Alcohol Law Enforcement agents employees of the Commission, local ABC officers, and officers from local agencies under contract to a local ABC board. Chapter 15A does not authorize such an inspection. Thus, law enforcement officers outside the socpe of G.S. 18B-502 may not use that section as authority for an entry, search, or seizure in a licensed premises.

Officers of specific local law enforcement agencies may come within the inspection authority of

G.S.

18B-502 by contract or by agreement between the local board and the particular agency.

G.S.

18B-701(8) grants authority to a local board to "employ local ABC officers or make other provisions for enforcement of the ABC laws as provided by Article V." G.S. 18B-501(f) provides:

"(f) Contracts with other agencies. Instead of hiring local ABC officers, a local board may contract to pay its enforcement funds to a sheriff’s department, city police department, or other local law enforcement agency for enforcement of the ABC Laws within the agency’s territorial jurisdiction. Enforcement agreements may be made with more than one agency at the same time. When such a contract for enforcement exists, the officers of the contracting law enforcement agency shall have the same authority to inspect under G.S. 18B-502 that an ABC officer employed by that local board would have."

Section 7 of Chapter 412 specifically repealed all local acts in conflict with G.S. 18B-701. Thus, provisions and local acts requiring the local board to employ ABC officers are repealed with the effective date of G.S. 18B-701. Any local board, therefore, may, in lieu of providing ABC officers, contract with a local law enforcement agency for ABC enforcement. The contracting agency’s officers would have full inspection authority pursuant to G.S. 18B-502.

Similarly, G.S. 18B-501(d) provides:

"(d) Assisting other local agencies. The local ABC officers employed by a local board shall constitute a "law enforcement agency" for purposes of G.S. 160A-288, and a local board shall have the same authority as a city or county governing body to approve cooperation between law enforcement agencies under that section."

Thus, in addition to employing ABC officers, a local board may now enter into cooperative agreements with local agencies to borrow officers for periods of time. Under such agreements, the borrowed officers possess the full power and authority of the requesting agency. In the case of a local ABC board requesting law enforcement assistance, the borrowed officers would have the power of a local ABC officer including full inspection authority.

As noted above, Chapter 18B nowhere impinges upon a law enforcement officer’s authority to enforce the criminal law consistent with his subject matter and territorial jurisdiction, nor does the Chapter amend the subject matter jurisdiction of any officer or class of officers as that jurisdiction is found elsewhere in the General Statutes. Officers not granted inspection authority pursuant to 18B-502 or by other agreement remain free to enforce the provisions of Chapter 18B and procure evidence of criminal violations as they would any criminal provision found in the General Statutes.

Rufus L. Edmisten Attorney General

David Roy Blackwell Assistant Attorney General