Exceptions. 1. Except as permitted in this section, a licensee who dispenses alcoholic beverages to an individual under twenty-one years of age, or who permits an individual under twenty-one years of age to remain on the licensed premises while alcoholic beverages are being sold or displayed, is guilty of a class A misdemeanor, subject to sections 5-01-08, 5-01-08.1, and 5-01-08.2. 2. An individual under twenty -one years of age may enter and remain on a licensed premises while alcohol is being sold or displayed, at the discretion of the owner of the licensed premises, if: a. The individual is accompanied by a parent or guardian who is twenty-one years of age or older. For purposes of this section, "guardian" means an individual who has the legal responsibility for the health and well -being of the individual under twenty-one years of age; b. The individual is on the premises to consume a meal or in an emergency situation; c. The premises serves at a tabletop, food that is prepared in a kitchen with at least an indoor grill; d. The individual is not on the licensed premises after ten p.m.; and e. The owner of the licensed premises receives permission of the local licensing authority for individuals to be on the premises as allowed under this section and the licensed premises is located in a city with a population of one thousand five hundred or fewer people, or the licensed premises is not located in a city. 3. a. At the discretion of the owner of the licensed premises, an individual under twenty-one years of age may be permitted to enter and remain in a restaurant where alcoholic beverages are being sold and in the area of the restaurant designated for the opening or mixing of alcoholic beverages if the individual: (1) Is accompanied by a parent or guardian; (2) Is not seated at or within three feet [0.91 meters] of the bar counter; and (3) Does not enter or remain in the designated area after ten p.m. b. At the discretion of the owner of a brewer taproom licensed under section 5-01-21, an individual under twenty -one years of age may be permitted to enter and remain in the brewer taproom if: (1) The brewer taproom is connected to or contracts with an establishment, including a mobile food unit, at which food is prepared and available for purchase to be consumed in the brewer taproom and which is connected to or located at the brewer taproom and receives the majority of its gross sales from the sale of food; and (2) The individual: (a) Is accompanied by the individual's parent or guardian; (b) Is not seated at or within three feet [0.91 meters] of the bar counter; and (c) Does not enter or remain in the brewer taproom after ten p.m. or during any time that food is not available for consumption as provided in paragraph 1. c. An individual under twenty -one years of age may be permitted to remain in a restaurant where alcoholic beverages are being sold if the restaurant is separated from the designated area in which alcoholic beverages are opened or mixed and gross sales of food are at least equal to gross sales of alcoholic beverages which are consumed in the dining area, or if the individual is employed by the restaurant as a food waiter, food waitress, busboy, or busgirl under the direct supervision of an individual twenty -one years of age or older and is not engaged in the sale, dispensing, delivery, or consumption of alcoholic beverages. d. For purposes of this subsection, "mobile food unit" means a vehicle-mounted food service establishment designed to be readily movable from which a vendor prepares, cooks, sells, or serves food or beverages for immediate consumption. 4. An individual under twenty -one years of age may enter and remain on the licensed premises if the individual is an independent contractor or the independent contractor's employee engaged in contract work and is not engaged in selling, dispensing, delivering, or consuming alcoholic beverages; if the individual is a law enforcement officer or other public official who enters the premises in the performance of official duty; or if the individual enters the licensed premises for training, education, or research purposes under the supervision of an individual twenty -one or more years of age with prior notification of the local licensing authority. 5. An individual under twenty -one years of age may attend an event where alcoholic beverages are sold in accordance with the conditions of an event permit issued pursuant to section 5-02-01.1. 6. A restaurant may employ an individual who is eighteen years of age or older but under twenty-one years of age as provided in subsection 3 to serve and collect money for alcoholic beverages, if the individual is under the direct supervision of an individual twenty-one or more years of age, but may not be engaged in mixing, dispensing, or consuming alcoholic beverages. Any establishment that sells alcoholic beverages may employ an individual from eighteen to twenty -one years of age to work on the premises as a musician, disc jockey, or entertainer, or to perform duties directly related to working as a musician, disc jockey, or entertainer if the individual is under the direct supervision of an individual twenty-one or more years of age. 7. For purposes of this section, an individual is not twenty -one years of age until eight a.m. on that individual's twenty-first birthday. 8. If an individual is convicted of this section, the court shall consider the following in mitigation: a. After consuming the alcohol, the underage individual was in need of medical assistance as a result of consuming alcohol; and b. Within twelve hours after the underage individual consumed the alcohol, the defendant contacted law enforcement or emergency medical personnel to report that the underage individual was in need of medical assistance as a result of consuming alcohol.
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