Alcohol

Youth Protection
Alcohol

79th Session Bills Address Consequences of Supplying Alcohol to a Minor

This past session, the Texas legislature got tough on those who contributed to underage drinking. These bills will carry stiff civil penalties for adults who are found to provide alcohol to a minor, and will increase penalties for minors caught drinking alcohol. In this last legislative session, over 60 alcohol related bills were considered and 30 were passed. The critical ones to our schools relate to minors drinking.

The American Medical Association recently released the results of two nationwide polls gauging how often and how easily minors obtain alcohol. The polls found that nearly half of teenagers aged 13 to 18 have obtained alcohol at some point. One-third of the teenagers polled said that it was easy to obtain alcohol from their parents knowingly and 25% have attended a party where minors were drinking in front of parents. With these scaring statistics looming, the following bills are very important to know and understand.

House Bill 2868 Holds Adults Accountable

Under the current law, adults who provide alcohol to minors cannot be held responsible for related damages, even if the intoxicated minor kills another or is killed as a result of the influence of alcohol. HB 2868 by State Rep. Stephen Frost (D-Atlanta) and State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos (D-McAllen), holds adults over the age of 21 accountable for providing alcohol to minors under the age of 18. HB 2868 does not apply to an adult who is the minor's parent, guardian, or spouse; or an adult in whose custody the minor has been committed by a court.

In order for an adult to be liable under HB 2868, the adult must have knowingly served or provided the minor with alcoholic beverages that contributed to their intoxication; or allowed the minor to be served or provided any of the alcoholic beverages that contributed to their intoxication on the premises owned or leased by the adult in question. The adult will be financially responsible for any damages caused by the intoxicated minor, including but not limited to destruction of property and even death.

House Bill 1357 Threatens Loss of Driver's License

Under current law, an adult convicted of giving alcohol to or buying alcohol for a minor is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, punishable only by monetary fines or jail time. HB 1357, by State Rep. Kino Flores (D-Mission), increases the drivers license suspension for minors from 30 days to 180 days on a first conviction and from 60 days to one year on second or subsequent convictions. The bill also calls for the suspension of an adult's driver's license for a specified term upon a conviction of furnishing alcohol to a minor. While HB 2868 only affects the adult if the intoxicated minor causes destruction, this bill will penalize an adult for the act of providing the alcohol to the minor.

The purpose of this legislation is to discourage adults and minors from supplying alcohol to a minor with the threat of losing their driver's license for a substantial amount of time. Nearly twenty other states have recently enacted similar legislation including Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.

Here are some tips on what you can do to help in your own home:

Talk with your child about alcohol and keep the lines of communication open
Be a good role model
Disapprove of underage drinking
Supervise your child and make sure you know where they are and who they are with
Recognize problem behavior and seek help when necessary

These tips and other information can be found at http://www.centurycouncil.org/