2023 CODE OF GEORGIA › Title 3 - ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES (§§ 3-1-1 — 3-15-4) › Chapter 3 - REGULATION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES GENERALLY (§§ 3-3-1 — 3-3-40) › Article 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 3-3-1 — 3-3-11) › Section 3-3-10 - Delivery of malt beverages, wine, and distilled spirits for personal use; marketing, receiving, and processing orders; regulation; penalty

(a)
For purposes of this Code section, the term:
(1)
"Air carrier" means a person that undertakes by any means, directly or indirectly, to provide air transportation.
(2)
"Carrier" means any person, including without limitation any motor carrier, freight forwarder, or air carrier, whose business is to transport goods or people while acting in the capacity as common, private, or contract transporter of a product or service using its facilities or those of other carriers.
(3)
"Electronic means" means internet enabled technology and digital media, including, but not limited to, websites and consumer applications accessible through computers, smartphones, or other electronic devices.
(4)
"Employee" means an individual who is:
(A)
A full-time or part-time employee of a packaged goods retailer; and
(B)
Authorized to act as an agent of such packaged goods retailer.
(5)
"Freight forwarder" means a person holding itself out to the general public to provide transportation of property for compensation and in the ordinary course of its business:
(A)
Assembles and consolidates, or provides for the assembly and consolidation of, shipments and performs or provides for break bulk and distribution operations of the shipments;
(B)
Assumes responsibility for such transportation from the place of receipt to the place of destination; and
(C)
Uses for any part of such transportation another freight forwarder, an air carrier, a motor carrier, or any other carrier.
(6)
"Motor carrier" means a person that provides motor vehicle transportation for compensation.
(7)
"Packaged goods retailer" means a person licensed under this title as a retailer to sell alcoholic beverages in unbroken packages for consumption off the premises that is not:
(A)
A manufacturer or any other person licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages;
(B)
A carrier;
(C)
A shipper; or
(D)
A person that takes delivery of alcoholic beverages directly from a:
(i)
Retailer; or
(ii)
Manufacturer or any other person licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages.
(8)
"Proper identification" shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section
3-3-23
.
(9)
"Third party" means:
(A)
Any person that:
(i)
Is registered to do business in this state;
(ii)
Has a contractual relationship with a packaged goods retailer;
(iii)
Is authorized to act as an agent of such packaged goods retailer; and
(iv)
Is not a manufacturer, any other person licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages, or an affiliate of such manufacturer or such other person; or
(B)
Any full-time or part-time employee or independent contractor of any person that:
(i)
Is registered to do business in this state;
(ii)
Has a contractual relationship with such third party as defined in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;
(iii)
Is authorized to act as an agent of such third party as defined in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; and
(iv)
Is not a manufacturer, any other person licensed to manufacture alcoholic beverages, or an affiliate of such manufacturer or such other person.
(b)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except where prohibited by local ordinance or resolution, a packaged goods retailer may deliver malt beverages and wine in unbroken packages lawfully sold to and purchased by an individual for personal use and not for resale to an address designated by such individual, subject to the following terms and conditions:
(1)
The individual making the purchase shall, prior to ordering and purchasing malt beverages and wine for delivery, establish an account maintained by the packaged goods retailer that shall be available for inspection by the department;
(2)
The packaged goods retailer or employee shall process all payments made by the individual who is transacting the purchase with the packaged goods retailer prior to the malt beverages and wine leaving such packaged goods retailer's licensed premises for delivery;
(3)
The packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party shall assemble, package, and fulfill each order at the licensed premises of the packaged goods retailer from inventory located at such licensed premises and shall not pull from the inventory of any other person, including another retailer or licensed premises;
(4)
All malt beverages and wine that leave the licensed premises of the packaged goods retailer for delivery shall:
(A)
Remain in the possession of the individual, either the packaged goods retailer, the employee, or the third party, that removed it from the licensed premises for delivery and shall not be transferred to any other person until the time of delivery in compliance with the requirements of this subsection or until the time of the return to the packaged goods retailer if delivery is not made;
(B)
Only be transported in a vehicle or other transportation device containing products or goods traveling in intrastate commerce for delivery in the local licensing jurisdiction of the licensed premises of such packaged goods retailer; and
(C)
Not be carried, commingled, or stored with, or transported in any vehicle or other transportation device containing, products or goods traveling in interstate commerce for delivery;
(5)
Delivery shall be made by the packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party who:
(A)
Is at least 21 years of age;
(B)
Has a valid Georgia driver's license;
(C)
Has undergone within the last 12 months a background check that includes a local and national criminal history and driving records and:
(i)
Has not had more than three moving violations in the prior three-year period;
(ii)
Has not had a major traffic violation, as such term is defined in Code Section
40-5-142
, in the prior three-year period;
(iii)
Has not been convicted within the past seven years of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol;
(iv)
Has not been convicted at any time of fraud, a sexual offense, the use of a motor vehicle to commit a felony, a crime involving property damage, a crime involving theft, a crime involving an act of violence, or a crime involving an act of terror; and
(v)
Does not have a match on the National Sex Offender Registry data base;
(D)
Has undergone training approved by the department on sales and delivery of malt beverages and wine in this state;
(E)
Shall not possess or handle as part of or during the delivery forms of compensation that are used to purchase or transact the sale of malt beverages and wine;
(F)
Does not receive compensation based upon whether an attempted delivery results in a completed transaction; and
(G)
At all times during which the malt beverages and wine to be delivered are in the vehicle, transportation device, possession, or care of such packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party, shall not also have in his or her vehicle, transportation device, possession, or care any products or goods traveling in interstate commerce;
(6)
Delivery shall be made by the packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party to an individual who is at least 21 years of age and presents proper identification verifying the age of such individual;
(7)
At the time of delivery, the packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party shall verify the identity and age of the individual accepting delivery by validating the proper identification of the individual accepting delivery in person and obtaining his or her signature on a written or electronic acknowledgment of receipt of the order and certification of legal age to purchase malt beverages and wine. The packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party shall scan or otherwise verify the proper identification of the individual accepting delivery at the time of delivery and shall retain a record of such individual's name and date of birth that shall be available for inspection upon request for a minimum of three years;
(8)
The packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party conducting the delivery shall refuse to make the delivery if:
(A)
No individual is visibly present and available at the address to accept delivery; or
(B)
The individual visibly present and available attempting to accept the delivery:
(i)
Is less than 21 years of age;
(ii)
Fails to produce proper identification verifying his or her age;
(iii)
Fails to provide a signature that matches such proper identification; or
(iv)
Is noticeably intoxicated;
(9)
All deliveries shall be inspected at the time of delivery by the individual accepting such delivery. The transaction shall be deemed complete upon acceptance of delivery of the malt beverages and wine, and all sales shall be final;
(10)
The delivery address shall be located within the local licensing jurisdiction of the packaged goods retailer;
(11)
The delivery shall take place only during the lawful times when malt beverages and wine can be sold by the packaged goods retailer for consumption off the premises;
(12)
The delivery shall be made only within the same calendar day on which the malt beverages and wine leave the licensed premises of the packaged goods retailer for delivery; and
(13)
No delivery shall knowingly be made to any address or to any property that is part of:
(A)
Any public or private elementary or secondary educational school, including without limitation any dormitory, housing, or common space located on the campus of any elementary or secondary educational school;
(B)
Any prison, reformatory, and other correctional facilities;
(C)
Any addiction or substance abuse facilities;
(D)
Any locker, mailbox, package shipping location, or similar service or storage facility business; or
(E)
Any retailer.
(c)
A packaged goods retailer may use electronic means to market, receive, and process orders for malt beverages and wine it is licensed to sell placed by individuals who are at least 21 years of age, provided that any such orders shall be delivered in accordance with subsection (b) of this Code section.
(d)
A packaged goods retailer may market, receive, and process orders for malt beverages and wine it is licensed to sell placed by individuals who are at least 21 years of age using electronic means owned, operated, or maintained by a third party, provided that any such orders shall be delivered in accordance with subsection (b) of this Code section and:
(1)
The packaged goods retailer maintains control and responsibility over the sales transaction and the transfer of the physical possession of the malt beverages and wine from the inventory of such packaged goods retailer to the individual conducting the delivery in accordance with subsection (b) of this Code section;
(2)
The packaged goods retailer shall retain sole discretion to determine whether to accept and complete an order or to reject an order;
(3)
The purchase transaction takes place between the individual placing the order and the packaged goods retailer and the packaged goods retailer appears as the merchant of record at all times, including at the time of purchase and at the time of receipt of the delivery;
(4)
Any credit or debit card information provided by the individual placing the order to a third party for the purpose of transacting the purchase with the packaged goods retailer is automatically directed to the packaged goods retailer;
(5)
The packaged goods retailer that accepts the order receives the payment that is made by the individual who is transacting the purchase with such packaged goods retailer; and
(6)
The delivery of malt beverages and wine to the individual who placed the order is made by the packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party in compliance with the requirements of subsection (b) of this Code section.
(d.1)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except where prohibited by local ordinance or resolution, a licensed retail package liquor store that is also a packaged goods retailer may deliver distilled spirits in unbroken packages lawfully sold to and purchased by an individual for personal use and not for resale in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as provided in this Code section for the delivery of malt beverages and wine.
(e)
The department shall develop a curriculum for or list of required elements of the sales and delivery training required under subparagraph (b)(4)(D) of this Code section and shall determine the providers approved to conduct such training. A packaged goods retailer or third party may submit to the department a proposed program for such required training, upon receipt of which the department shall have 15 days to approve, deny, or indicate what modifications are necessary to such program.
(f)
Persons appointed by the commissioner as special agents or enforcement officers of the department shall, in addition to the powers and duties provided for in Code Section
3-2-30
, have the power to inspect, without a warrant, in a lawful manner any premises of the packaged goods retailer or any vehicle or other transportation device being used by the packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party to make a delivery under this Code section for the purpose of:
(1)
Determining if any of the provisions of this Code section or any rule or regulation promulgated under its authority is being violated; or
(2)
Securing evidence as may be needed for an administrative proceedings action, as provided in this Code section or any other provisions of this title.
(g)
The commissioner shall be authorized to promulgate and enforce such rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to carry out or make effective the provisions of this Code section, including, but not limited to, rules and regulations governing the training of individuals making deliveries.
(h)
(1)
In addition to the commissioner's power to suspend, revoke, or cancel licenses, permits, or registrations issued pursuant to this title, upon a violation of any provision of this Code section or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, the commissioner shall have the power to impose a fine not to exceed $500.00 for each violation and may suspend for up to 30 days for each violation the authorization provided by this Code section for the packaged goods retailer to deliver malt beverages and wine or to use an employee or third party to deliver malt beverages and wine. Any violation committed by an employee or a third party shall be attributed to and deemed to be an act taken by a packaged goods retailer for purposes of this Code section. A packaged goods retailer, employee, and third party may each be fined for the same violation. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to allow the commissioner to suspend or terminate the authorization of a packaged goods retailer to sell malt beverages and wine on the licensed premises as a result of a violation of this Code section by a third party.
(2)
Any local governing authority of a municipality or county that issues a license to a packaged goods retailer and allows for delivery of malt beverages and wine by a packaged goods retailer, an employee, or a third party may impose penalties upon a packaged goods retailer, employee, or third party, and may fine more than one person for the same violation, provided that such penalties do not exceed the amount of the fine or the number of delivery suspension days provided for in this paragraph. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to allow any local governing authority of a municipality or county to suspend or terminate the authorization of a packaged goods retailer to sell malt beverages and wine on the licensed premises as a result of a violation of this Code section.
(3)
The penalties provided for in this Code section shall be in addition to any criminal penalties that may otherwise be provided by law.
Added by 2020 Ga. Laws 558,§ 3, eff. 8/3/2020.