The Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure heard hour‑long testimony on House Bill 325 and Senate Bill 225, legislation that would prohibit unsupervised or ‘‘grab‑and‑go’’ self‑checkout alcohol sales at large venues and require that an employee of the liquor licensee serve every alcoholic beverage.

The issue drew extensive testimony from venue workers and unions, venue operators and public officials. Unionized concession workers described frequent examples they say show the kiosks weaken enforcement of age and intoxication checks. Management from the Boston Red Sox, Aramark, TD Garden and Gillette Stadium said their supervised self‑checkout systems include staff oversight, third‑party security, and regulatory cooperation, and that the technology has substantially reduced wait times for fans.

Union and worker testimony focused on safety and enforceability. Carlos Aramayo, president of Unite Here Local 26, said a union survey found workers had observed ‘‘fans walking away with unopened drinks’’ (71 percent), theft at kiosks (nearly two‑thirds), underage appearing customers buying alcohol at kiosks (42 percent), and fans drinking in line prior to purchase (62 percent). Stand workers described scenarios in which scanners or kiosks admitted purchases before a human could verify an ID or properly evaluate intoxication.

Fenway Park stand workers gave detailed accounts. Laura Moffett, a certified beer seller, described seeing fans purchase alcohol at self‑checkout before gates opened and an instance where a fake ID was missed by a kiosk until a worker intervened. Amanda Savage, another long‑time stand worker, said she had regularly observed underage customers obtain alcohol and recounted mis‑ringed or unpaid items and customers attempting to leave with closed containers.

Venue operators defended their systems as layered and supervised. David Friedman, executive vice president and chief compliance officer for the Boston Red Sox, said ‘‘every stand is supervised by at least one Aramark employee’’ and that venue operators work with the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission and the Boston licensing board. He said self‑checkout stands at Fenway reduced transaction time roughly ‘‘42 to 49%’’ and that supervised self‑checkout has been used at Fenway since 2018 without ABCC violation notices specific to those operations, to his knowledge.

TD Garden and Gillette Stadium leaders described alternate technical approaches. Jim Nolan, Gillette’s chief operating officer, and Tim Townsell of Delaware North said their venues use staff oversight, security roving, and, in some cases, camera or sensor‑based systems that only charge payment at exit points. Townsell invited committee members to tour TD Garden’s markets to observe operations.

Lawmakers asked for data. Representative McKenna and others asked venue operators for sales volume and incident statistics to quantify whether self‑checkout affects overall alcohol purchases or alcohol‑related incidents. Venue representatives said some sales volume figures rose at kiosks and attributed part of the change to faster transactions, but noted that many variables — sporting rules, game length and event type — complicate direct comparisons.

No formal vote was taken. The record includes robust accounts from front‑line workers urging restrictions to protect public safety and from venue and service operators who argued that supervised self‑checkout, properly staffed and regulated, improves fan experience and can be implemented safely. Committee members requested written documentation of venue policies, training materials, and incident‑tracking procedures for further review before any committee action.