Out-of-state vertical driver’s licenses may soon be used to buy alcohol in Arizona, after Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law last Tuesday.
In Arizona a vertical license, which is issued to minors, cannot be used to buy alcohol more than 30 days after turning 21. In other states, vertical licenses don’t expire at age 21 and therefore don’t force individuals to renew their license for a horizontal card.
A previous 2014 law prohibited the use of any vertical license for buying alcohol, but legislators found the statute was causing problems because it did not consider the laws in other states.
The discrepancies in state laws prevented out-of-state license holders from using legitimate identification to purchase alcohol, which impacted businesses who were forced to turn away out-of-state customers.
State Rep. Sonny Borrelli sponsored House Bill 2031 after a personal incident left him wondering why the 2014 law was a statute at all. He personally watched out-of-state customers being turned away from a bar because of the orientation of an ID.
“He can drive with it [out-of-state ID], he can purchase a firearm with it, but he can’t buy a beer with it,” Borrelli said.
While the orientation of licenses is meant to help bartenders distinguish between minors and those of legal drinking age, the old 2014 law hindered businesses and tourism, Borelli said.
“We are turning away tourism dollars just because of the shape of an ID,” Borrelli said. “We’re just trying to fix this statute so we’re not turning away business just because a license is shaped the wrong way.”
The goal, Borrelli explained, is to not force businesses to turn away customers. Local bars such as Hanny’s in downtown Phoenix agree the old law was a burden.
“This bill will probably increase our sales by a bit,” said Hanny’s manager Miles Buckles. “We have had to turn people away for having the wrong license, so now we won’t have that problem.”
The new law will help tourism, but also allow out-of-state students to continue using their still-valid, vertical IDs to purchase alcohol without having to return home to renew their licenses.
For students like Arizona State University sophomore Alyssa Kriner of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the new law is a relief because she will not need to worry about returning home to renew her license after her 21st birthday.
“I’m glad the law was passed because it is unnecessary and a waste of people’s time to get it fixed,” Kriner said. “From experience I know that businesses lost money just because the customer’s card wasn’t formatted how the law wanted it.”
HB 2031 will go into effect 90 days after the legislative session ends, which could be later this month.
Contact the reporter at tefries@asu.edu
