HILTON HEAD ISLAND -- As Gov. Mark Sanford officially signed a bill Thursday repealing a state law requiring liquor sold by the drink be poured from minibottles, Hilton Head Island's hospitality industry is readying for the change to free-pour.

The Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association will arrange a series of classes this fall for the group's members to learn not how to make a gin and tonic, but the importance of responsible drinking and alcohol law.

While the legal implications for bar owners and bartenders will change little when free-pour begins, it's a good opportunity to remind the industry that understanding the law is important, said Tom Sponseller, president of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina.

"People are thinking about it right now, so it's good timing," he said. "It's a good insurance policy for bars and restaurants to have someone who understands the law."

Voters approved a constitutional amendment last November allowing bars and restaurants to serve free-pour drinks rather than drinks made from 1.7-ounce minibottles. The new law went into effect, at least in part, June 7.

With the change, bars and restaurants will no longer have to go to liquor stores to pick up spirits. Rather, liquor stores with a special license from the state can make deliveries. Because the law won't be fully in effect until Jan. 1, suppliers can only deliver minibottles until then. Afterward, they can deliver large bottles for free-pour.

In the meantime, the hospitality industry has time to plan.

Last month more than a dozen local industry officials, including bar owners, human resources and food and beverage directors, met for an intensive one-day session on how to train bar staff.

The trainers learned how to spot fake identification, how to ask if a patron appears under-age, and how to deal with people who appear intoxicated, said Jill Golden, executive director of the Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association, who attended the class.

Knowing how to pour a drink is important, she said. But bar staff should know they risk prosecution and an establishment can lose its liquor license from complications associated with serving an intoxicated customer.

"It's up to the restaurant to train their employees," Golden said, "but it's up to the employee to be responsible, too."

Details of training sessions will be announced later in the year, she said.