West Virginia Code § 11-16-19

Unlawful acts of persons; criminal penalties
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(a) (1) Any person under the age of twenty-one years, who purchases, consumes, sells,
possesses or serves nonintoxicating beer is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $500 or shall be confined in jail, or, in the
case of a juvenile, a detention facility, for a period not to exceed seventy-two hours, or both
fined and confined or, in lieu of such fine and confinement, may, for the firset offense, be
placed on probation for a period not to exceed one year. Any person convicted under this
section may be sentenced pursuant to the provisions of section one-a, arrticle eleven-a,
chapter sixty-two of this code.
(2) Nothing in this article, nor any rule or regulation of the commissioner, shall prevent or
be deemed to prohibit any person who is at least eighteen yetars of age from serving in the
lawful employment of any licensee, which may include the sale or delivery of nonintoxicating
beer as defined in this article. Further, nothing in this article, nor any rule or regulation of
the commissioner, shall prevent or be deemed to prohibit any person who is less than
eighteen but at least sixteen years of age from being employed by a licensee whose principal
business is the sale of food or consumer goodss or the providing of recreational activities,
including, but not limited to, nationally franchised fast-food outlets, family-oriented
restaurants, bowling alleys, drug stores, discount stores, grocery stores and convenience
stores: Provided, That such person sghall not sell or deliver nonintoxicating beer.
(3) Nothing in this subsection eshall prohibit a person who is at least eighteen years of age
from purchasing or possessing nonintoxicating beer when he or she is acting upon the
request of or under the Ldirection and control of any member of a state, federal or local law-
enforcement agency or the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Administration while the agency
is conducting an investigation or other activity relating to the enforcement of the alcohol
beverage control statutes and the rules of the commissioner.
(b) Any person under the age of twenty-one years who, for the purpose of purchasing
nonWintoxicating beer, misrepresents his or her age or who for such purpose presents or
offers any written evidence of age which is false, fraudulent or not actually his or her own or
who illegally attempts to purchase nonintoxicating beer is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $100 or shall be confined in jail,
or in the case of a juvenile, a juvenile detention facility, for a period not to exceed seventy-
two hours, or both such fine and confinement or, in lieu of such fine and confinement, may,
for the first offense, be placed on probation for a period not exceeding one year.
(c) Any person who shall knowingly buy for, give to or furnish nonintoxicating beer to anyone
under the age of twenty-one to whom they are not related by blood or marriage is guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $100 or
shall be confined in jail for a period not to exceed ten days, or both such fine and
confinement.
(d) (1) Any person who at any one time transports into the state for their personal use, and
not for resale, more than six and seventy-five hundredths gallons of nonintoxicating beer,
upon which the West Virginia barrel tax has not been imposed, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined an amount not to exceed $100 or
confined for ten days in jail, or both fined and imprisoned. The untaxed nonintoxicating beer
found in the person's possession shall be confiscated.
(2) If the Congress of the United States repeals the mandate established by ethe Surface
Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 relating to national uniform drinking age of twenty-
one as found in section six of Public Law 98-363, or a court of competernt jurisdiction
declares the provision to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, it is the intent of the
Legislature that the provisions contained in this section and section eighteen of this article
which prohibit the sale, furnishing, giving, purchase or ownership of nonintoxicating beer to
or by a person who is less than twenty-one years of age shaltl be null and void and the
provisions therein shall thereafter remain in effect and apply to the sale, furnishing, giving,
purchase or ownership of nonintoxicating beer to or by a person who is less than nineteen
years of age.

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