Legislature(2003 - 2004)
04/20/2004 02:04 PM Senate L&C
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
CSHB 428(JUD)-CIVIL PENALTY: MINORS & ALCOHOL
CHAIR CON BUNDE announced CSHB 428(JUD) to be up for
consideration.
REPRESENTATIVE KEVIN MEYER, sponsor, said HB 428 was requested
by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and Brown Jug. It simply
tries to deter kids from asking adults to buy alcohol for them
and tries to deter adults from buying alcohol for kids. "The way
to do this is to have businesses take civil action against these
people who try to do it." A business in Anchorage has already
used this technique, nicknamed 'Hey, Mister' on about 100
people. Once a person is notified of a civil action, he is given
a choice of either paying a fine of $1,000 or going to an
education program sponsored by MADD and other organizations to
get $700 waived. Most people choose to participate in this
program.
He explained that three different groups of people buy alcohol
for minors - older brothers and sisters, homeless people and sex
offenders (who probably have other motives). This bill has
passed the House with no opposition. There was a concern that
businesses would be forced to take this type of action, but it
is totally optional. It doesn't cost the state or the city
anything.
SENATOR HOLLIS FRENCH said he totally agreed with the intent of
the bill and asked what happens to the $1,000 once Brown Jug
gets its mitts on it.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER answered that Brown Jug's testimony states
that it waives $700 of the fine and keeps $300, if the offender
agrees to go through the alcohol education program. The $300
covers their administrative costs.
MR. O.C. MADDEN, Director, Human Resources and Loss Prevention,
Brown Jug, Inc., explained that the municipal assembly adopted
this ordinance last year. The civil penalty has been used to
encourage a bunch of youngsters who would not have otherwise
received treatment to get involved in a treatment program.
We offer a bonus to our employees to seize fake IDs
from minors and minors who illegally enter licensed
premises and now we are offering a bonus to employees
to interrupt these third-party sales where an adult
has purchased alcohol for a minor. We use the $300 to
pay the bonus to the employee; we waive $700 of the
$1,000 if the minor will agree to sign up for
treatment. Virtually all of them have. We are also
able to do the same thing with the adults who are
purchasing alcohol for minors. We found this to be a
very effective tool and due to some questions we have
from other licensees around the state that are
interested in doing the same thing, we approached
Representative Meyers with this idea.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked which statute deals with persons who buy
alcohol for minors.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER replied that it falls under AS 4.16.060.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if the bill goes after the fake IDs or the
Hey, Mister sale.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER replied that Brown Jug has been very
aggressive in getting fake IDs, but that action falls under a
different bill and a different statute. This bill focuses on the
Hey Mister sales.
MR. DAVE LAMBERT, Fairbanks, said he owns two establishments and
strongly supported HB 428. He said a similar bill about minors
entering premises passed a couple of years ago had worked very
well. It gave employees incentive to go after minors trying to
purchase. Prior to that, most employees didn't care.
SENATOR FRENCH asked how the $1,000 is divvied up when he is
successful in one of these suits.
MR. LAMBERT replied that he has five in the works right now and
has received partial payment on two of them. An employee
receives $500 for catching his first offender. After that, he
gets $250 for each one - after the money is collected.
So, all of a sudden the door-people and bartenders are
really paying attention to checking IDs.... A thousand
dollars isn't that much if a minor comes into a
premises and is served and goes out and gets in a
wreck. A thousand dollars doesn't go very far to cover
our legal fees.
SENATOR FRENCH asked if he could assume that the other half of
the money in the first instance and the other three quarters of
it in the second in the subsequent instances go to him as the
bar-owner.
MR. LAMBERT replied yes, after he collects it. He strongly
supports the training, but he doesn't think it should be part of
this bill. The city of Fairbanks doesn't have the money to go
after small things.
SENATOR SEEKINS asked if paragraph (B) puts a foster parent at
risk for the actions of a 14 or 15 year old who wants him to buy
a six-pack.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER replied that he didn't think so, because
it's currently legal for parents to buy alcohol for their kids
within their own home and for their own use.
SENATOR SEEKINS clarified that he was wondering about a person
who has legal custody of an unemancipated minor.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER said he didn't know.
MS. CINDY CASHEN, MADD Juneau Chapter, said she is also
representing the other three MADD Alaska Chapters in Anchorage,
Mat-Su and Fairbanks and supported HB 428 because it will assist
in the prevention of underage drinking. The Alaska Youth Risk
Behavior Survey is conducted annually. The latest one included
42 schools out of 19 districts with 2,175 completed
questionnaires for grades 9 - 12. According to the survey, 38.7
percent of teenagers claim they had at least one drink in the 30
days prior to filling out the survey; almost 27 percent claimed
five or more drinks within a couple of hours, binge drinking, in
the previous month. In comparison, 29.9 percent of Alaskan
adults reported binge drinking one or more times in the past
month. This bill will help prevent that by adding a tool to
community policing.
SENATOR GARY STEVENS asked if Anchorage is the only area that
has a program and if MADD would be involved if it were here.
MS. CASHEN replied that's true. MADD would be involved in the
communities that wanted to start the program.
MS. JESSICA PARIS, MADD Youth In Action Program, said as an
opponent of underage drinking, she supports HB 428, because it
proposes a unique, free and proactive way to prevent underage
drinking and the tragedies associated with it like dropping out
of high school, premature sexual activity, car crashes, etc.
"This bill provides the incentives for store owners to get
involved and help prevent these transactions."
MS. PARIS stated that a $1,000 civil fine is an appropriate
amount because it is enough to impact either an adult or a
youth. It is compensation for an otherwise thankless task of
providing extra staff, confronting people in their parking lot,
sending legal documents and risking being taken to court by the
defendant.
MS. SUZANNE CUNNINGHAM, Staff to Representative Meyer, explained
that AS 4.16.051 does not prohibit a parent or a guardian or the
legal spouse of that person from giving alcohol to a minor. It
doesn't say legal guardian specifically, but the bill includes
that. She wasn't sure about the foster parent question.
CHAIR BUNDE noted there was no further testimony and closed the
public hearing.
SENATOR SEEKINS moved to pass CSHB 428 (JUD) from committee with
individual recommendations and attached fiscal note. Senators
Bettye Davis, Hollis French, Ralph Seekins, Gary Stevens and
Chair Con Bunde voted yea; and CSHB 428(JUD) moved out of
committee.
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