SECTION 50.33. Alcohol Delivery Compliance Software Applications

(a) Definition. In this section, the term "software application" means an alcohol delivery compliance software application.

(b) To qualify for limitations on liability for the actions of its delivery drivers under Alcoholic Beverage Code §57.08 by using a software application, a consumer delivery permit holder must require its drivers to use a software application when delivering alcoholic beverages that meets the minimum requirements of this rule.

(c) The software application must enable the delivery driver to:

(1) access electronically readable data from a government issued driver's license or identification card;

(2) manually enter the birthdate of the holder of the driver's license or identification card, in the event that the information cannot be read electronically for any reason;

(3) provide an affirmation electronically that at the time of delivery, the person accepting the alcoholic beverage deliver:

(A) does not display signs of intoxication;

(B) presents a valid, unexpired government-issued driver's license or identification card; and

(C) is 21 years of age or older;

(4) cancel the transaction in the event that delivery is not completed;

(5) indicate the reason for any non-delivery of alcoholic beverage(s), which at a minimum must include the options to select:

(A) person receiving the delivery displayed signs of intoxication;

(B) person receiving the delivery failed to present a valid, unexpired government-issued driver's license or identification card demonstrating that the holder is at least 21 years of age; or

(C) unable to complete delivery within a reasonable amount of time after leaving the retailer's premises, which is now closed; and

(6) record the disposition of any undelivered alcohol.

(d) Delivery address verification.

(1) The consumer delivery permit holder is responsible for ensuring the type of alcoholic beverage ordered can legally be delivered to the delivery address (wet/dry status). This may be accomplished automatically, either during the online ordering process or by the software application, or by the delivery driver, using the software application.

(2) If the consumer delivery permit holder's online ordering process or the software application automatically verifies that the type of alcoholic beverage ordered can legally be delivered to the delivery address, the software application must enable the delivery driver to affirm that the delivery address is the same address entered during the online ordering process.

(3) The mechanism or program employed to comply with this section must use, at a minimum, publicly available information provided by the commission regarding the eligibility for sale of each type of alcohol to the delivery address.

(e) In addition to all other requirements of this rule, a software application used in the delivery of alcohol to a consumer pursuant to Alcoholic Beverage Code §28.1001 must enable the delivery driver to affirm that:

(1) the amount of distilled spirits delivered does not exceed 375 milliliters;

(2) all alcoholic beverages are delivered in containers sealed by the manufacturer; and

(3) food was delivered concurrently with the alcoholic beverage(s).

(f) The software application must use industry standard mechanisms to authenticate the identity of each delivery driver using the software application. At a minimum, the software application must use a generally accepted single-factor authentication method to verify the identity of the user, such as a password or biometric identification.

(g) The consumer delivery permit holder must maintain the following information for each transaction and must provide it to the commission upon request:

(1) whether the consumer passed or failed age verification, based on either the reading of the electronically readable data from the driver's license or identification card or manual entry of the birthdate on the driver's license or identification card presented at the time of delivery;

(2) the physical address to which the alcoholic beverage was delivered;

(3) the specific alcoholic beverage(s) or type(s) of alcohol delivered (e.g., malt beverages, wine, and/or distilled spirits);

(4) time stamps for when the order was received, when the delivery driver obtained the alcoholic beverages from the retailer, and when the alcoholic beverages were either delivered to the consumer or the transaction was canceled;

(5) information related to the disposition of undelivered alcoholic beverages; and

(6) the software application compliance features used on the date of the transaction.

(h) The information listed in subsection (g) of this section:

(1) must be stored for at least six months; and

(2) if the information is the subject of an ongoing commission enforcement action, must be stored in the consumer delivery permit holder's usual manner until the enforcement action is closed.

(i) Information from a government-issued driver's license or identification card accessed under this section must be maintained and used in a manner compliant with Alcoholic Beverage Code §109.61.

(j) The consumer delivery permit holder may submit its software application compliance features to the commission for review prior to rollout of the initial version, and at any time the software application compliance features are updated in a manner that may impact its compliance with the requirements of this rule. The commission will provide the permit holder with an opinion as to whether the software application compliance features meet rule requirements or need changes to come into compliance.

(k) The commission may perform periodic audits to verify compliance with this rule.

Source Note: The provisions of this §50.33 adopted to be effective June 6, 2022, 47 TexReg 3247