DEWINE, DODD INTRODUCE BILL TO PREVENT UNDERAGE DRINKING

U.S. Senators Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Chris Dodd (D-CT) today introduced the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act designed to prevent the spread of underage drinking. The bill would coordinate efforts at the federal level, authorize an national adult-oriented media campaign against underage drinking, provide grants to prevention programs, and increase research and data collection on underage drinking.

“Children in America have ready access to alcohol and it is extremely troubling,” said Senator DeWine. “Alcohol plays a major role in the leading causes of death in our youth and it may have an adverse effect on brain development. We must educate our children, as well as adults, on the potential dangers of underage alcohol consumption.”

“The road to adulthood isn’t an easy one, but when it comes to alcohol and children, it’s a dead-end street,” said Dodd. “This measure will - for the first time - help lead a national effort to combat underage drinking.”

The bill has four major areas of underage drinking policy development. The first would provide $2 million to create an Interagency Coordinating Committee to coordinate the efforts and expertise of various federal agencies to combat underage drinking. It would also mandate an annual report to Congress from the Committee on their efforts to prevent underage drinking and require an annual report card from the Department of Health and Human Services on efforts at the state level to combat underage drinking.

Given that most children and underage youth who drink obtain the alcohol from their parents or another adult, the bill would also authorize a national media campaign directed at adults. According to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, for every one advertisement the alcohol industry runs to discourage underage alcohol use, 609 advertisements are run promoting alcohol use. The Ad Council received $800,000 last year to begin this campaign and this legislation would authorize $1 million.

The third section would provide $5 million in enhancement grants to the Drug Free Communities program to be directed at the problem of underage drinking. A new program would be created to provide competitive grants to states, non-profits, and institutions of higher education to create statewide coalitions to prevent underage drinking and alcohol abuse by university students, which would also be funded at $5 million annually.

Finally, the bill would provide $6 million to increase research and data collection at the federal level on underage drinking conducted. This information would include the types and brands of alcohol that kids use and the short- and long-term impact of underage drinking upon adolescent brain development.

From the office of Senator Michael DeWine

     FINAL REPORT ON THE 77TH SESSION OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE

The just completed session of the Texas Legislature was one of the best for MADD.  Last year, MADD, Texas identified four issues as our top legislative priorities.  Two of those issues passed (beefing up Administrative License Revocation and open container), one passed (so-called "mandatory" testing), and no bill was filed on the other measure (sobriety checkpoints).

Administrative License Revocation (ALR), HB 63 by Representative Steve Wolens (D-Dallas), sponsored by Senator Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo), has been signed by Governor Perry and has been in effect since September 1, 2001.  Texas now has a real ALR law.  Police will take possession of a person's drivers license at the time of arrest if that person refuses or fails a breath test.  ALR is still a long way from being perfect, but this bill closes one of the biggest loopholes in the current law.  The bill also significantly lengthens the periods of suspension, especially for people who refuse to take a breath test.

Open container, HB 5 by Representative Dunnam, sponsored by Senator Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), has been in effect since September 1, 2001.  The bill may just barely meet the federal open container guidelines, but those guidelines are pretty tough, so Texas now has a real open container law.  Representative Fred Hill (R-Richardson) greatly improved the bill on the House floor by removing a part of the bill that would have ended enforcement of the law if the federal guidelines expired.

"Mandatory" tests in fatal crashes (HB 345) by Representative Terry Keep (R-Austin) died waiting to be placed on the House calendar.

MADD tracked over 180 bills; listed below are some of the high spots on what happened to some of them.  You may also be able to find more information on these bills by going to www.capitol.state.tx.us.

Other good bills that passed (Have been in effect since September 1, 2001):

HB 598 by Representative Goodman (R-Arlington), sponsored by Senator Chris Harris (R-Arlington), increases Community Supervision fees to a maximum of $60 per month.  The old limit, which had been set in 1986, was $40.

HB 1572 by Representative Pat Haggerty (R-El Paso), sponsored by Senator Todd Staples (R-Palestine), expands the rights of victims and limits use of "The Rule" to exclude victim witnesses from trials.

HB 2250 by Representative Todd Smith (R-Euless), sponsored by Senator Mike Moncrief (D-Fort Worth), makes an Intoxication Manslaughter conviction available to enhance a subsequent DWI regardless of how long ago the Intoxication Manslaughter offense occurred.

SB 577 by Senator Teel Bivins (R-Amarillo), sponsored by Representative Joe Driver (R-Garland) is a good start to a strong Graduated Drivers License law in Texas.

SB 586 by Senator Steve Ogden (R-College Station), sponsored by Representative Clyde Alexander (D-Athens), establishes the Center for Transportation Safety.

SB 1202 by Senator Zaffirini, sponsored by Representative Pete Gallego (D-Alpine), increases the limits on payments by the state to crime victims to $75,000.  The old limit was $50,000.  The bill also expands the types of expenses that are eligible for crime victims compensation payments.

Bad bills that passed:

At this time, it does not appear that any bills passed that weaken current DWI laws.

Good bills that died:

HB 1078 by Representative Todd Smith (R-Euless) would have increased the penalties for convicted drunken drivers whose BAC was higher than .15.  The bill would have also required people who must serve a certain amount of time in confinement as a condition of community supervision to serve that time continuously.  The bill never had a hearing.

HB 893 by Representative Juan Hinojosa (D-McAllen), sponsored by Senator Chris Harris, would have increased vehicle registration fees by $5 and used that money to fund trauma centers.  The bill passed the House but died on the Senate floor.

Several insurance verification bills were filed; they all died.  These bills would have required 500,000 randomly selected  vehicle owners to send proof of liability insurance or financial responsibility to the Texas Department of Transportation (TX DOT) each year.  TX DOT would have cancelled the registrations of those who did not produce proof of financial responsibility or minimum liability insurance.  Similar insurance verification systems in other states have dramatically increased compliance with mandatory insurance laws.

SB 56 by Senator Judith Zaffirini, sponsored by Representative Robert Talton (R-Pasadena), would have established a presumption that a person's BAC when he was arrested for DWI was the same or higher than his BAC when he was tested if the test occurred within a certain time of the arrest.  it passed the Senate but died in the House committee.

Several "child endangerment" bills died; none was particularly strong.

Bad bills that died:

HB 2387, by Representative Jim Dunnam, would have severely hampered, if not ended, Administrative License Revocation.  The worst part of the bill would have ended the separation between the civil ALR hearings from the criminal DWI trials.  The bill died in committee.

HB 705 by Representative Geanie Morrison (R-Victoria), would have made the zero-tolerance law much more cumbersome by giving minors stopped for driving under the influence (as opposed to driving while intoxicated) the right to a breath test.  It died in committee.

HB 1734 by Representative Joe Moreno (D-Houston) would have redefined "deadly weapon" to exclude motor vehicles.  It did not receive a hearing.

HB 1064 by Representative Tom Uher (D-Bay City) would have weakened occupational license laws.  It died in committee.

HB 839 by Representative Juan Hinojosa would have given revoked offenders on community supervision credit for the time they had served prior to their revocation.  It died in committee.

No bills were filed that would have made DWI offenders eligible for deferred adjudication.

This session was remarkable because two big bills passed that help stop drunk driving -- strengthening ALR and open container.  While federal funding concerns may have helped with open container, federal funding was not an issue with the ALR bill.  The Legislature passed it because it was the right thing to do.

The following is a summary of drunk driving-related bills that passed and did not pass during the 1999 legislative session.

GOOD BILLS THAT PASSED

GOOD BILLS THAT FAILED

BAD BILLS THAT FAILED

BAD BILLS THAT PASSED