(a) Alcoholic liquor shall not be sold or furnished to a minor. Subject to divisions (c), (d) and (e), a person who knowingly sells or furnishes alcoholic liquor to a minor or fails to make diligent inquiry as to whether the person is a minor, is in violation of this section.
(b) If a violation occurs in an establishment that is licensed by the Commission for the Consumption of Alcoholic Liquor on the licensed premises, a person who is a licensee, or the clerk, agent or employee of a licensee, shall not be charged with a violation of division (a) unless the licensee or the clerk, agent or employee of the licensee knew or should have reasonably known with the exercise of due diligence that a person less than 21 years of age possessed or consumed alcoholic liquor on the licensed premises and the licensee or clerk, agent or employee of the licensee failed to take immediate corrective action.
(c) If the enforcing agency involved in a violation of this section is the State Police or a local policing agency, a licensee shall not be charged with a violation of division (a) unless all of the following occur, if applicable:
(1) Enforcement action is taken against the minor who purchased or attempted to purchase, consumed or attempted to consume, or possessed or attempted to possess alcoholic liquor.
(2) Enforcement action is taken against the person 21 years of age or older who is not the retail licensee or the retail licensee's clerk, agent or employee who sold or furnished the alcoholic liquor to the minor.
(3) Enforcement action under this section is taken against the clerk, agent, or employee who directly sold or furnished alcoholic liquor to the minor.
(d) If the enforcing agency is the Commission and an appearance ticket or civil infraction citation has not been issued, then the Commission shall recommend to a local law enforcement agency that enforcement action be taken against a violator of this section who is not a licensee. However, division (c) does not apply if the clerk, agent or employee of the licensee who directly sold or furnished alcoholic liquor to the minor, or the person 21 years of age or older who sold or furnished alcoholic liquor to the minor is not alive or is not present in Michigan at the time the licensee is charged. Division (c)(1) does not apply under either of the following circumstances:
(1) The violation of division (a) is the result of an undercover operation in which the minor purchased or received alcoholic liquor under the direction of the person's employer and with the prior approval of the local prosecutor's office as part of an employer-sponsored internal enforcement action.
(2) The violation of division (a) is the result of an undercover operation in which the minor purchased or received alcoholic liquor under the direction of the State Police, the Commission, or a local police agency as part of an enforcement action.
(e) Any initial or contemporaneous purchase or receipt of alcoholic liquor by the minor under divisions (d)(1) or (d)(2) must have been under the direction of the State Police, the Commission, or the local police agency and must have been part of the undercover operation.
(f) If a minor participates in an undercover operation in which the minor is to purchase or receive alcoholic liquor under the supervision of a law enforcement agency, his or her parents or legal guardian shall consent to the participation if that person is less than 18 years of age.
(g) In an action for a violation of this section, proof that the defendant or the defendant's agent or employee demanded and was shown, before furnishing alcoholic liquor to a minor, a motor vehicle operator's or chauffeur's license or a registration certificate issued by the Federal Selective Service, or other bona fide documentary evidence of the age or identity of that person, shall be a defense to an action brought under this section.
(h) As used in this section:
(1) "Corrective action" means action taken by a licensee or a clerk, agent or employee of a licensee, designed to prevent a minor from further possessing or consuming alcoholic liquor on the premises. Corrective action includes, but is not limited to, contacting a law enforcement agency and dejecting the minor and any other person suspected of aiding and abetting the minor.
(2) "Diligent inquiry" means a diligent good faith effort to determine the age of a person, which includes at least an examination of an official Michigan operator's or chauffeur's license, an official Michigan personal identification card, or any other bona fide picture identification which establishes the identity and age of the person.
(i) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the sale of an alcoholic beverage to a minor upon the authority of and pursuant to a prescription of a duly licensed physician.
(Ord. 3-96. Passed 4-16-96; Ord. 01-03. Passed 4-15-03.)