§11-16-19 Unlawful acts of persons; criminal penalties. - West Virginia Statutes

§11-16-19. Unlawful acts of persons; criminal penalties.
(a) (1) Any person under the age of twenty-one years, who purchases, consumes, sells, possesses or serves nonintoxicating beer is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 or shall be confined in jail, or, in the case of a juvenile, a detention facility, for a period not to exceed seventy-two hours, or both fined and confined or, in lieu of such fine and confinement, may, for the first offense, be placed on probation for a period not to exceed one year. Any person convicted under this section may be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of section one-a, article eleven-a, chapter sixty-two of this code.

(2) Nothing in this article, nor any rule or regulation of the commissioner, shall prevent or be deemed to prohibit any person who is at least eighteen years of age from serving in the lawful employment of any licensee, which may include the sale or delivery of nonintoxicating beer as defined in this article. Further, nothing in this article, nor any rule or regulation of the commissioner, shall prevent or be deemed to prohibit any person who is less than eighteen but at least sixteen years of age from being employed by a licensee whose principal business is the sale of food or consumer goods or the providing of recreational activities, including, but not limited to, nationally franchised fast-food outlets, family-oriented restaurants, bowling alleys, drug stores, discount stores, grocery stores and convenience stores: Provided, That such person shall not sell or deliver nonintoxicating beer.

(3) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a person who is at least eighteen years of age from purchasing or possessing nonintoxicating beer when he or she is acting upon the request of or under the direction and control of any member of a state, federal or local law-enforcement agency or the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Administration while the agency is conducting an investigation or other activity relating to the enforcement of the alcohol beverage control statutes and the rules of the commissioner.

(b) Any person under the age of twenty-one years who, for the purpose of purchasing nonintoxicating beer, misrepresents his or her age or who for such purpose presents or offers any written evidence of age which is false, fraudulent or not actually his or her own or who illegally attempts to purchase nonintoxicating beer is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $100 or shall be confined in jail, or in the case of a juvenile, a juvenile detention facility, for a period not to exceed seventy-two hours, or both such fine and confinement or, in lieu of such fine and confinement, may, for the first offense, be placed on probation for a period not exceeding one year.

(c) Any person who shall knowingly buy for, give to or furnish nonintoxicating beer to anyone under the age of twenty-one to whom they are not related by blood or marriage is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $100 or shall be confined in jail for a period not to exceed ten days, or both such fine and confinement.

(d) (1) Any person who at any one time transports into the state for their personal use, and not for resale, more than six and seventy-five hundredths gallons of nonintoxicating beer, upon which the West Virginia barrel tax has not been imposed, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $100 or confined for ten days in jail, or both fined and imprisoned. The untaxed nonintoxicating beer found in the person's possession shall be confiscated.

(2) If the Congress of the United States repeals the mandate established by the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 relating to national uniform drinking age of twenty-one as found in section six of Public Law 98-363, or a court of competent jurisdiction declares the provision to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, it is the intent of the Legislature that the provisions contained in this section and section eighteen of this article which prohibit the sale, furnishing, giving, purchase or ownership of nonintoxicating beer to or by a person who is less than twenty-one years of age shall be null and void and the provisions therein shall thereafter remain in effect and apply to the sale, furnishing, giving, purchase or ownership of nonintoxicating beer to or by a person who is less than nineteen years of age.