TABC is about to crack down on your drunken ass

Believe it or not, I am actually TABC certified. The TABC is the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. To work in any place that serves booze, you have to be TABC certified. It doesn’t matter if you are a waitress or a bartender. To get certified you have to sit through some outdated training videos that teach you how to recognize if somebody is drunk or not. They also teach you how to spot fake IDs. Stuff like that. It’s very boring and the test they give you at the end could be passed by anybody with the slightest grasp of the English language.

However, based on any night in downtown Austin, it’s kind of hard to believe that public drunkenness is not encouraged. But apparently it is, and the TABC is about to crack down. Apparently, there has been an “outcry” from tourism officials and industry legislators. My bet is that this outcry comes from people whose only experience with downtown nightlife is watching The Real World Austin.

Here’s a clip from the Associated Press via KVUE:

Commission spokeswoman Carolyn Beck Wednesday said undercover agents will still ticket or arrest bar patrons who seem exceedingly drunk. But she says commission officials are taking the complaints seriously. TABC has done stings in bars since 2001, but began doing more after getting additional funding from the Legislature. Public intoxication is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.