On a split vote, a bill cleared the House of Representatives on Thursday that would allow adults too young to drink alcoholic beverages to be able to mix and serve them.
House Bill 195 would lower the age at which someone could work as a bartender from 21 to 18 years old, while maintaining the legal threshold age to consume alcohol at 21.
Under the bill, adults between the ages of 18 and 21 working as bartenders would be required to be directly supervised by someone at least 21 years old.
Other provisions of the measure would increase the frequency of mandated alcoholic beverage server training from every 4 years to every 2 years. Anyone under the age of 21 would be barred from working in “strip clubs,” “adult entertainment clubs,” “gentlemen’s clubs,” or taverns and taprooms offering sexually oriented performances or services.
Supporters of the proposal say Delaware is an outlier in requiring bartenders to be at least 21 years old and that reducing the age would broaden the labor pool and allow businesses here to better compete with those in neighboring states.
The bill received bipartisan support, winning approval by a vote of 31 to 5. State House Republican Leader Tim Dukes (R-Laurel), who was one of the dissenting votes, said he took issue with the disconnect between requiring adults to be at least 21 before they could drink beer, wine, and liquor, while allowing 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds to handle, mix, and serve the same beverages.
The bill is pending action in the Senate Banking, Business, Insurance & Technology Committee.
