January 12, 2022 Vol. 2

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The National Liquor Law Enforcement Association (NLLEA) is a non-profit association

of law enforcement personnel dedicated to the enforcement of liquor laws and regulations.

- PLEASE BE ADVISED -

As of mid-December 2021, the Maryland MVA changed the format of their Driver's License/ID “Customer identifier” numbers from the Soundex format and began issuing Driver’s Licenses/ID cards with a completely new format MD ID number. A sample is shown below.

 

The new MD ID number will begin with “MD”, a hyphen, and then be followed by eleven (11) random numbers. This means the entire ID number scheme will now contain a total of thirteen (13) digits. The hyphen is not counted as a digit.

 

MVA customers will now receive the new MD ID number the next time they renew or replace their current license. The phase-out process will occur over the next several years. All other features on the cards will remain the same.

 

Simply put, any ID "product" issued by the MD MVA with a “Date of issue” of mid-December 2021 or later will have an identification number beginning with "MD" followed by 11 numbers. This includes all driver's licenses, non-driver IDs, and any other card or account, including renewals.  


If you have any questions please contact:

Detective Mark Baxter #5084

Office of the Chief of Police

Howard County Police Department

Office 410-313-3208

NEW FORMAT

OLD FORMAT

US online alcohol sales surpass $6bn

E-commerce alcohol sales in the US reached US$6.1 billion in 2021, according to new data released by Rabobank. Online alcohol sales in the grocery channel increased 238% in 2020 and 9% last year. Rabobank said the increase is due to a large number of retail locations offering alcohol online. Using Walmart as an example, Rabobank said only 200 of the chain’s locations delivered alcohol by the end of 2019, but two years later, there were 1,500 stores delivering drinks. Rabobank expects alcohol sales in the grocery channel to rise by 15% in 2020. Furthermore, the report said online alcohol marketplaces increased by 274% in 2020, with the channel predicted to grow by 15% this year. Rabobank said companies such as Drizly and Instacart obtained millions of customers and added thousands of stores to their retail networks. Together, the two companies have an 86% market share of sales in the channel. The channel’s success resulted in major merger and acquisition activity, including Uber’s US$1.1 billion purchase of Drizly last year, Rabobank noted. In November 2021, e-commerce platform Reserve Bar agreed to acquire Minibar Delivery.

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Michigan City Sues Fraternity to Stop Parties After 15 Sexual Assaults Reported Since 2014

Washtenaw County prosecutor filed a lawsuit to temporarily halt parties hosted by the fraternity Delta Tau Delta at Eastern Michigan University after 15 sexual assaults were reported since 2014. The lawsuit alleges that the fraternity has properties that propagated underage drinking and sexual assault and that members attempted to cover up incidents and silence accusers, MLive.com reported. It says that the fraternity house and properties associated with it "pose a severe ongoing risk to public health and safety."

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MA-Package stores pushing ‘compromise’ ballot question

For Maloney, alcohol is a livelihood, and that’s why he’s supporting the Massachusetts Package Stores Association’s 2022 ballot question that would increase the number of beer and wine licenses that one entity can hold from nine to 18, while reducing the hard liquor permits per entity from nine to seven. The association’s proposal comes on the heels of a withdrawn 2019 Cumberland Farms proposal that would have eliminated the license cap altogether and is being billed as a compromise by the package stores because it increases the number of licenses a big corporation like Cumberland Farms could hold. “A lot of outside interests want to blow the doors out and have alcohol available everywhere,” said Maloney. “It’s just that alcohol is a livelihood for us [liquor store owners] and at big stores and supermarkets it’s just a department in their store.”

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ME-Compliance checks of local stores show 97% compliance rate with underage drinking laws

The Maine Sheriffs’ Association recently oversaw checks conducted throughout Bath, Brunswick and Topsham on stores that sell alcohol. Altogether, 32 stores were checked and 31 of them passed, meaning they refused to sell alcohol to the underage decoys, resulting in a 97% compliance rate.

“Preventing alcohol consumption by minors is a goal of all Maine law enforcement agencies,”

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UT-20 illegal gambling machines seized from Roy convenience store, police say

Nearly two dozen illegal gambling machines were seized Monday during raid of a convenience store in Roy, officials said.

An investigation by the CASE task force — short for "Crimes Against Statewide Economy" — found that there were illegal machines inside a Texaco gas station at 4395 S. 1900 West, according to Detective Josh Taylor with the Roy City Police Department.

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Avalara : California spirits DTC bill heads for showdown

Should distilleries be allowed to ship directly to consumers in California? Proponents and detractors of direct shipping will present their cases to the California Senate Governmental Organization Committee on Tuesday, January 11, 2022, in a hearing for Senate Bill 620. It could be a charged event. There's strong opposition to opening direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping to distilleries

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NC-Wilson store clerk charged with selling alcohol to underage person who then crashed, killing passenger

A store clerk in Wilson who sold alcohol to an underage person who then crashed his car, killing a passenger, was charged, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety said Friday.

On Dec. 26, 2021, state troopers responded to a crash in Wilson County just after 12:45 a.m. They alerted ALE that they believed the driver, 19-year-old Uriel Rodriguez Rodriguez, had consumed alcohol before the crash. ALE special agents later determined that Rodriguez had purchased malt beverages from the Food Mart 1 located at 6407 Ward Blvd. in Wilson.

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Four in 10 federal courthouses rank poorly for security: Congressional watchdog

A report by a Congressional watchdog agency has found widespread security deficiencies in federal courthouses nationwide, with 44% of facilities ranking poorly based on the judiciary's assessment of building conditions in 2020. The statistics come amid ongoing concerns about judicial security in the wake of a deadly attack in 2020 at the New Jersey home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas by a gunman who killed her son and wounded her husband.

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Avalara : 5 forces impacting beverage alcohol tax compliance in 2022

Changing business models and the explosive growth of ecommerce have turned the spotlight on beverage alcohol sellers. They'll likely face increased scrutiny in 2022 to ensure they're complying with federal, state, and local requirements.

We predict continued proliferation of marketplaces and delivery apps, leaving states to grapple with regulation. States that have hesitated to take a stance on takeout and delivery sales are likely to make a decision, while states prohibiting direct-to-consumer sales of spirits will feel the pressure to ease existing rules. States could strive to better understand the role of fulfillment houses and determine whether they'd benefit from additional regulations. Finally, there could be legal movement on discriminatory retailer direct-to-consumer laws in 2022. Read on for more details.

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If you have Alcohol Law Enforcement news to share please send it to Carrie Christofes, Executive Director carrie.christofes@nllea.org

2021-22 NLLEA Board Members:

Todd Merlina, President - PA - tmerlina@pa.gov

Thomas Kirby, Vice President - VA - thomas.kirby@virginiaabc.com

Israel Morrow, Secretary/Treasurer - NC - israel.morrow@ncdps.gov

Jim Diana, Sergeant at Arms - DE -james.diana@delaware.gov

John Yeomans, President - DE - john.yeomans@delaware.gov

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