JEFFERSON CITY, July 14, 2005—Gov. Matt Blunt signed legislation yesterday that will curb underage drinking. Multiple provisions of SB 402 affect the Missouri Department of Public Safety’s Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control (ATC).

The new legislation authorizes Alcohol and Tobacco Control, for the first time, to use minors in undercover “alcohol sting” investigations. Dale Roberts, State Supervisor of ATC, has previously commented on the proposed use of minors in sting operations.

“We need the tools to adequately address the problem of underage drinking. My agents have decades of law enforcement experience and that’s a tremendous resource, but they can’t pass as minors.”

ATC has until July 1, 2006, to establish formal criteria for the use of minors. Those standards must include that, participants be either 18 or 19 years old, appear youthful, carry his or her actual driver license, produce that license if requested and the minor must truthfully answer questions about his or her age. The standardized guidelines will ensure fair treatment of alcohol vendors as well as the appropriate use of minors under controlled circumstances.

“Liquor sales to minors is a serious problem and I’m encouraged that we now have the ability to address the problem head on,” Roberts said. “But I am also mindful of our added responsibility to protect the welfare of the minors who will work with us on this issue.”

An additional benefit of the rules to be established by ATC is that they will apply to law enforcement statewide and provide standardized legal guidelines that will be recognized in any state Missouri Court.

The new legislation will also allow ATC agents to arrest a minor who appears visibly intoxicated, or has a detectable blood alcohol level of .02 or higher, even without external possession of alcohol. In the past, intoxicated minors could not be arrested unless they actually had a container of alcohol.

“ATC agents were required to release intoxicated minors and watch them drive off into the sunset,” Roberts said. “This improvement, alone, will be critical in our ability to keep intoxicated minors from getting behind the wheel.”

The new legislation also allows ATC agents to cite property owners who allow or knowingly fail to stop minors from drinking on their property, unless that person is the minor’s parent or guardian. Previously, the law stated that only the persons, other than parents or guardians, who sold or supplied the alcohol to minors, could be charged. The expansion of the law to include property owners will reduce the open atmosphere of house parties where teens are allowed to drink and law enforcement’s ability to respond was limited.

In addition, the legislation:
Ø Requires every school district to develop a school alcohol policy by June 30, 2006.
Ø Allows those issued a minor in possession to apply, after one year or upon reaching age 21, for an order of expungement granted only if they have not had another alcohol-related violation in the past year, and have never received another expungement.
Ø Makes anyone who obtains, transfers, or uses any form of ID for the purpose of making and selling fake IDs liable for a Class A misdemeanor.
Ø Suspends driver licenses for those age 15-20 who receive a minor in possession, including a 30 day suspension for first-time offenders, a 90-day suspension for second-time offenders, and a one-year suspension for those with three or more violations.