NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1969 SESSION

CHAPTER 998

HOUSE BILL 399

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 18 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES SO AS TO CREATE A PRESUMPTION OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE AGE OF A PURCHASER OF MALT BEVERAGES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1.  Chapter 18 of the General Statutes is hereby amended by adding a new section to be codified as G.S. 18-78.2 and to read as follows:

G.S. 18-78.2.  Presumption of knowledge of age of purchaser. Whenever a sale of beverages as defined in Sec. 18-64 is made to a person under the age of eighteen (18) years, it shall be prima facie evidence that the person making the sale had knowledge that the purchaser was under the age of eighteen (18) years. Such prima facie evidence may be rebutted by showing that the purchaser produced for inspection a drivers license, selective service card, school identification card, or military identification card showing the age of the purchaser to be eighteen (18) years or more and the description of the physical appearance of the person on the identification card reasonably describes the purchaser. In the absence of such identification, the prima facie evidence of knowledge of age may be rebutted by the vendor by other evidence which reasonably indicated at the time of sale that the purchaser was eighteen (18) years of age or more.

Sec. 2.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 3.  This Act shall become effective upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 23rd day of June, 1969.