State Increases Consequences for Distributing Alcohol to People Under 21

Among college students, underage drinking is popular and widely accepted. Although, after this bill has been proposed, we may want to think twice before distributing the substance. The house is putting forth a bill that increases the consequences of a second-time offender giving, selling or serving alcoholic beverages to people under the age of 21.

Every weekend, we are constantly bombarded with where to go out at night, and every single place involves bars and clubs. Something that goes hand in hand with bars and clubs: drinking. No underage person wants to go to these places and be the only sober person there.

For some people, “pre-gaming” or drinking before we go out at night, seems like the only option. Students under the age of 21 ask older people to buy them their alcohol. This bill is not going to have an impact on people’s decisions to buy, give or sell alcohol to underage people.

Brittany Winebrenner, a sophomore and advertising and public relations major says, “They are going way overboard with the underage drinking.”

Only a small number of people on campus actually get caught selling, giving and serving alcohol, and when they do, most of the time it is in the dorms and the person either gets kicked off campus, or written up. This is an extremely different punishment from the bill that is being proposed in front of the house. Unless in extreme circumstances, most of the time, police are not called when students get caught serving alcohol to other students under the age of 21.

The University of Tampa student handbook states, “Students are expected to observe campus policies, which prohibit: (1) any person under 21 years of age from possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages, (2) any person from selling, distributing, or serving alcoholic beverages to persons under 21 years of age.”

While the bill does not revise the consequences for committing this crime for the first time, it does revise and increase the penalties for committing the crime a second time. The bill states “a person who violates this subparagraph a second or subsequent time within 1 year after a prior conviction commits a misdemeanor of the first degree.”

The staff analysis of this bill states, “the bill may have a fiscal impact upon county government because of potential jail bed impact.”

The bill is due to take effect on July 1, 2010.