§ 658

Sale or furnishing to minors; enabling consumption by minors; minors causing death or serious bodily injury (a) A person shall not:(1) sell or furnish alcoholic beverages to a person under 21 years of age; or(2) knowingly enable the consumption of alcoholic beverages by a person under 21 years of age. (b) As used in this section, 'enable the consumption of alcoholic beverages' means creating a direct and immediate opportunity for a person to consume alcoholic beverages. (c) A person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not less than $500.00 nor more than $2,000.00 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. However, an employee of a licensee or an employee of a State liquor agency, who in the course of employment violates subdivision (a)(1) of this section: (1) during a compliance check conducted by a law enforcement officer as defined in 20 V.S.A. § 2358:(A) shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than $100.00 for the first violation and a civil penalty of not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for a second violation that occurs more than one year after the first violation; and (B) shall be subject to the criminal penalties provided

l penalty of not less than $100.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for a second violation that occurs more than one year after the first violation; and (B) shall be subject to the criminal penalties provided in this subsection (c) for a second violation within a year of the first violation, and for a third or subsequent violation within three years of the first violation. (2) may plead as an affirmative defense that:(A) the purchaser exhibited and the employee carefully viewed photographic identification that complied with section 589 of this title and indicated the purchaser to be 21 years of age or older; (B) an ordinary prudent person would believe the purchaser to be of legal age to make the purchase; and (C) the sale was made in good faith, based upon the reasonable belief that the purchaser was of legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages. (d)(1) A person who violates subsection (a) of this section, where the person under 21 years of age, while operating a motor vehicle, snowmobile, vessel, or all-terrain vehicle on a public highway, public land, or public waters, or in a place where a Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) trail maintenance assessment or a Vermont ATV

le, vessel, or all-terrain vehicle on a public highway, public land, or public waters, or in a place where a Vermont Association of Snow Travelers (VAST) trail maintenance assessment or a Vermont ATV Sportsman’s Association (VASA) Trail Access Decal is required, causes death or serious bodily injury to himself or herself or to another person as a result of the violation, shall be imprisoned not more than five years or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both. (2) As used in this subsection:(A) 'All-terrain vehicle' shall have the same meaning as set forth in 23 V.S.A. § 3501.(B) 'Public land' means all land in Vermont that is either owned or controlled by a local, State, or federal governmental body. (C) 'Public waters' shall have the same meaning as in 10 V.S.A. § 1422.(D) 'Snowmobile' shall have the same meaning as set forth in 23 V.S.A. § 3201.(E) 'Vessel' shall have the same meaning as set forth in 23 V.S.A. § 3302. (Amended 1981, No. 246 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 1997, No. 117 (Adj. Sess.), § 5; 1999, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2001, No. 63, § 65a, eff. June 16, 2001; 2017, No. 83, § 114; 2017, No. 158 (Adj. Sess.), § 16, eff. May 21, 2018; 2019, No. 73, § 12.)