Ron. Jim,W.Weatherby

District Attorney 38th JudicialDistrict Kerrville,Texas

Dear Mr- Weatherby: opinion No. v-1021.

Re: Legality of employing a sixteenyear old minor to sell beer and wine in a licensedretall establishment.

Your request for an opinion reads as follows:

"It is desired that you give the undersignedyour opinion as to whether or not a minor who is over sixteenyears of age and under seventeenyears of age may be employed in a place where beer and wine is sold, and who will sell beer and wine after such minor has been granted the right to work by the County Judge and in complianaewith Artiole 5181, Revised Civil Statutes of Texas.

"It is my opinion that suoh Infant would not be allowed to work in such place, althoughunder Article 5181 the exceptions do not include the type of work which the minor is to pursue, and this opinion is based on the wording of Article 666-17, Section 5, Penal Code, which provides that an employeemust be twenty-oneyears of age prior to selling,handling or dispensing liquor."
Article 5181,V.C.S., provides in part:
"Permit for Chlld to Work. Upon appllcation being made to the County Judge of any county in which any chFld over the age of twelve (12) years shall reside, the earnings of which child are necessary for the support of itself, its mother when widowed, or in needy circumstances, or invalld father, or of other childrenyounger than the child for whom the permit is sought, the said County Judge may upon the sworn statementof suchHon. Jim W. Weatherby, page 2 (V-1021)

child or its parents or guardian, that the child for whom the permit is sought Is over twelve (12) years of age, that the said child has completedthe fifth grade in a public school or Its equivalent,and that it shall not be employed in or around any mill, faotory,workshop or other place vhem dangerous machinery is used, nor in any mine, auarm or other place where explosivesare &ed,*or where the moral or physicalcondition of th hild is liable to be injw and that t:e'earningsof such child sre neaessary for the support of such invalidparent, widowed mother or mother in needy ciroumstances, or of younger ohildren,and that such support cannot be obtained in any other manner, and that suitableemploymenthas been obtained for such child,which sworn statement shall be accompanied by the certlficete of a licensedphysicianshowing that such child is physicallyable to perform the work or labor for whiah the permit Is sought, is-. sue a pensit for such child to enter suah employment

. . ." (Emphasisours).

666, Subsectiona5 and 21 of Section 17, Article V.P.C., provide: "(5) It shall be unlawful for any person to employ anyone under twenty-one (21) years of age to sell, handle, transport,or dispense or to assist in selling,handling, transportingor dispensingany liquor." "(21) It shall be unlawfulfor any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years to import or possess for the purpose of importing any alooholicbeverage into the State of Texas. Any alcoholicbeverage imported into or possessed for the purpose of importation into the State of Texas by any person under the age of twenty-one (21) years or possessed in violation of Seotlon l'f'(20) la declared to be an illloitbeverage and may be seized without warrant unless otherwise provided in this Act."
The followingprovisionsare found .inSection 19 of Artiole 667, V.P.C.: -_.- Hon. Jim W. Weatherby,page 3 (V-1021)

“TheBoard or AdmLnistrator may cancel or suspend for a perlo@ of time not exceeding sixty (60) days, after notioe and hearing, any license or any renewal of such license, upon finding that the lioenseehas:

“A

. If a Retail Dealer’s Off-Premise License or Retail Dealer's On-PremiseLlcerise:

. . . “8. IWplo ed any person under the age of eLghteen (18

7 years to sell, handle, or dispense or to aasiat in selling,handling, or dispensingbeer in any establishment where beer is sold at retail to be consumed on the premiseswhere sold; or
. . . ,:< “B. If a General Diatributorts License, b- Local Distr’ibutor’s License, or Branch Distrlbutor’sLicense:

. . . “12. l&ilo ed anj person under the age of elghtgen 7183 years to sell, deliver or distrfbute,or to as&at in selling,delivering or distributingany beer; or
. . .” Among' the “definitions

made in the Texas Liquor Control Act are:

“Art. 666-3a. “(1) ‘Alooholio

Beverage’ shall mean alcohol and any beveragecontainingmore than one-halfof one per cent (l/2 of 1%) of alcoholby volumewhich Is oapable of use for beveragepurposes,either alone or when dtluted. “(5) ‘Liquor’shall mean any alcohollo beveragecontainingaloohol in excess of four (4) per oentum by weight, unless otherwise indFcated.‘-

Proof that an alcoholicbeverage is alcohol, spirtts of wine, whisky, liquor, wine, brandy, gin, rum, ale, malt liquor, tequila,mesoal,habanero, or barreteago, shall be prFma faole evidence that the same is liquor as herein defined.Hon. Jim W. Weatherby,page 4 (V-1021)

"Art. 667-l. ,~:. "(b) The term 'beer;means a malt bev-. erage.containing

one-half of 1% or more of. alcoholby volume,~and not more than 4% of' alcoholby weight, and shall not be inolusive of~anybeveragedesignatedby label or otherwiseby any other name than beer;"
Under the provisionsof the Liquor Control Bat, the Liquor ControlBoard or Admlnlstrator is authorized to cancel, or suspend fore period of the not exceeding sixty deys, after notioe and hearing,; the license of any person authorizedto sell beer upon finding that the'lioensee has employed any person under the age of eighteen years to sell, handle or dispense or tom assist in selling, handling or dlapensirig beer in any establishment where beer is sold at rata11 to be consumed on the premises where sold. It is our opinionthat the granting of a work permit to a minor by a County Judge under the provisions of Article 5181 will not prevent the exercise of the authoritygranted to the Board or Administrator in Article 667-19 of the Penal Code. The former is a general statute;the latter Is specifio and will contpo1. With referenceto beer, the oontrolllngage is eighteenyears. Wine ia included in the definitionof Ilquor under the terms of the Liquor Aot. We think that the provisions in Artiole 666-17 apply to the selling and handling of wine. The controllingage with referenoe to wtne is 21 years.

In OpinionNo. o-4536,written in a former administrationof this office,the questton of the right of an employer to hire a married female under eighteen years of age to handle beer was considered. Thhisoonsiderationwas made in view of Article 4625,Vi.C.S., which provides:

"Every female under the, age of twentyone years who shall marry in aooordanoe with the laws of this State, shall, fromlandafter the time of such marriage,be deemed to be of full age and shall have all the rights and privilegesto which she would have been entitledhad she been at the time of her marriage-.of

ull age."
The followingwas stated in that opinion: -.Hon. Jim W. Weatherby,page~'5 (V-1021)

"It is apparent,we think, that the Legislature intendedthatno peraon under the age of 18 years could be employed to sell, handle or dispense or to asslat in selling, handling, or dispensingbeer in any eatablishmentwhere beer is sold at retail to be consumed on the premia8swhere sold, regardless of the marital status of such person. We think that by analogy the principlescontrolling the decisionsabaa mentioned should have spplioetion

here. Therefore,we respeotfully answer the above stated question in the negative."

We adhere to the principle8nLnXlat%d In the above opinion. Copies of opinionaRos. O-4536 and O5088 are enclosed.

SWMARY

A person may not be legally employed to sell, handle, or dispensebeer, or to assist in selling,handling, or dispensingsaoh beverage, if under 

## 18years of age. Nor may a person be legally 8SiplOy8d to sell, handle, or dispensewine, or to SsSist in S811ing,handling, or dispensingwin8, If under 21 years

A permit issuedby a County Judge to i’m%i under th8 provisionso? Art1018 5181, V.C.S., will not legalize suoh employment.

YOUPS V8FJr **tidy,**

APPROVRD:
Red McDaUi81 State AffairsDivision PRICE DARIRL AttorneyGeneral

CharlesD. Mathews Rx8outivs Assistant

CBK:mw