§ 5565. Minors- Mixing Prohibited
TITLE 4: ECONOMIC RESOURCES DIVISION 5: BUSINESS REGULATION § 5565. Minors: Mixing Prohibited. A licensee, his agent, or employee shall not permit any person under the age of 21 years to mix any alcoholic beverages at any on-sale establishment. Provided further that, for purposes of this subsection, on-sale establishments may permit persons 18 years of age and older to serve or sell but not mix alcoholic beverages for purposes of employment. Any person who violates the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction, be fined not more than $1,000 and/or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both, and shall be required to perform not less than 80 hours but not more than 250 hours of community service which cannot be suspended or converted to a fine. Source: MIDC § 11.12.150; PL 17-83 § 2(g) (Sept. 23, 2012), modified; repealed and re-enacted by PL 21-12 § 2 (Oct. 30, 2019). Commission Comment: [Historical comments removed] In addition to severability and savings clauses, PL 21-12 included the following Findings and Purpose sections: Section1. Findings and Purpose. The Legislature finds that many of our graduating high school students aspire to work in the hotel service industry to gain valuable experience to build careers in hotel hospitality and customer service. Some of these students also aspire to work as waiters or waitresses for certain business establishments but are currently unable to do so as a result of provisions set forth in 4 CMC § 5565 which prohibits individuals under the age of 21 from serving or selling alcohol in on-sale establishments. The Legislature finds that currently, one of the highest growths in the CNMI’s job market fall under hotel hospitality and other service industries. The Legislature finds that it is necessary to amend current provisions that prohibit aspiring graduating high school students from entering into the labor force especially in their fields of interest due to strict provisions. Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to amend 4 CMC § 5565 to allow certain individuals to be able to serve and sale alcohol and fully participate in the service industry.
Source: CNMI Law Revision Commission