Adults face alcohol liability

COLUMBUS - State lawmakers and Gov. Dave Heineman have served up a new tool for preventing underage drinking, a measure that Project Extra Mile has pressed hard for in recent years.

“This is an important bill,'' said Chairman John Nelson during Thursday's monthly meeting of the local coalition aimed at curbing underage drinking. “We've been working on it for several years.”

Lawmakers passed the Minor Alcoholic Liquor Liability Act (LB573) last week, and the bill was signed by the governor earlier this week. The new measure, commonly known as the dram shop and social host liability law, establishes a legal basis for people suffering damages as a result of a sale to a minor or providing alcohol to a minor in a social setting.

“The landscape has changed in Nebraska,'' Nelson said.

The new law holds adults accountable for giving alcohol to kids in both retail and social settings, he said.

Under the bill, adults who serve or provide alcohol to minors can be held liable if that individual harms or kills someone.

The bill also was amended to tighten the state's keg registration law. Any person who is in possession of a keg with an altered or removed keg identification number can be charged with a Class III misdemeanor, carrying a penalty of a $500 fine, up to 3 months in jail or both.

Prior to the bill's passage, most tags were immediately removed by buyers after purchase, making it difficult to track who purchased the keg. Now, when law enforcement raids an underage drinking party, officers can cite the individual who has possession of the keg.

There are 81 liquor licenses in the city of Columbus and a total of 101 in the county overall, according to the figures from the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission.

Passage of this new law comes on the heels of the completion of the annual graduation season, a time when adults often provide alcohol to underage youths.

Adults are now on notice that a graduation party where alcohol is served (to underage youths) can land them in court, Nelson said.

At a recent graduation party in Elkhorn, the parents who hosted the event and more than 40 underage drinkers were cited for alcohol violation, he said.

Prior to passage of LB573, Nebraska was one of just nine states in the nation without a dram shop and social host liability law. A number of states with the law have seen reductions in drinking driving and heavy drinking rates.

“We're catching up with the rest of the country,'' Nelson said.