Anchorage bars and restaurants will soon be required to check everyone’s IDs before selling them alcohol.
The Assembly unanimously approved the new rules Tuesday night. They take effect on March 1.
East Anchorage member Karen Bronga said the Assembly originally passed an ordinance in 2011 requiring that liquor stores check IDs to ensure buyers were not underage.
“It was always said in all the paperwork that we read that we would circle back and expand this to establishments that serve alcohol, including bars and restaurants and brew pubs,” Bronga said. “But we never came back to it.”
The law aims to not only prevent people under the age of 21 from buying alcohol. It also prohibits purchases from people who’ve been issued a restrictive “red-stripe” driver’s license due to a court order, usually related to alcohol offenses.
More than 2,100 people have red-stripe licenses in Anchorage, according to the DMV.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
