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A bill that tightens security on liquor sales at automated self-checkout machines inside grocery stores has been approved by the state House.

House Bill 1009 would require stores to program the self-checkout machines to lock when a liquor sale is attempted until a worker verifies the purchaser’s age.

It is one of several bills related to alcohol sales that the Legislature is considering after the voter-approved Initiative 1183 privatized liquor in Washington.

“Several people who work in grocery stores came to me a said they were worried young people who were underage are going through the automated check-out stands purchasing alcohol with no one checking their ID,” said Rep. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia), the bill’s prime sponsor.

Last year, police in Hunt’s district reported a sharp rise in teens shoplifting booze after grocery stores began stocking liquor.

The bill now moves on to the Senate.