Issaquah, WA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

IMC 9.03.020 names three separate acts in a public place: opening a package containing liquor, possessing an open container of liquor, and consuming liquor. The acts are joined by "or", so any one of them completes the offense. The section's text does not define "public place" within itself.

The opening phrase, "Except as permitted by RCW Title 66", ties every exception to the state liquor code. The section names no Issaquah permit, event license or other local exception of its own. IMC 9.03.010 sits next to it and adopts by reference a list of Washington liquor statutes, with the word "title" read to mean RCW Title 66, including RCW 66.44.150 (buying liquor illegally), RCW 66.44.160 (illegal possession, transportation of alcoholic beverages) and RCW 66.44.270 (furnishing liquor to minors, possession, use). The same list includes RCW 66.44.010, titled for local officers to enforce the law.

The section labels the offense in its last sentence: violation of this section is a misdemeanor. That label decides which penalty rule applies. IMC 1.06.010(A) covers any provision designated a misdemeanor, with a fine not to exceed $1,000 or imprisonment not to exceed 90 days, or both, unless otherwise provided. The civil violation track in IMC 1.06.010(D) is limited to civil violations not otherwise deemed a misdemeanor, gross misdemeanor, or infraction, so it does not reach this section. IMC 1.06.020 adds that each and every day during any portion of which a violation is committed, continued or permitted is a separate offense.