Councilmember
Jack Evans
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION IN THE
COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
To declare the existence of an emergency with
respect to the need to amend the District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage Control Act by
establishing civil penalties for individuals under 21 who use false identification for the
purpose of purchasing or consuming alcoholic beverages; requiring as identification the
use of an official identification issued by an agency of government containing at a
minimum, the name, date of birth, signature, and photograph of the bearer; authorizing the
Metropolitan Police to seize the suspected false identification for purposes of evidence
in potential court proceedings; and, directing the District of Columbia Alcoholic Beverage
Control Board to promulgate appropriate regulations to implement and administer this
legislation.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the "Underage Drinking Emergency
Declaration Resolution of 2000".
Sec. 3. (a) Underage drinking continues to be
perceived as a major public policy issue because of its impact on the nation’s youth, and
because it puts all citizens at risk due to alcohol-related accidents and violence. State
and local governments, businesses, community leaders, student groups and families are
working together to address this problem.
(b) The Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments (COG) and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) reported in 1996 that
there were nearly 100,000 youth under age 21 attending area universities (1 1), colleges
(6) and community colleges (3) across the Washington Metropolitan Region. On these
campuses and among the students at these schools, (as described in the D.C. Grants and
Management application to the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, The
Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking in the District of Columbia (PROUD)), there
are numerous violations on university campuses despite policies prohibiting alcohol
consumption by minors. Minors frequent establishments that sell alcohol including
restaurants, "Mom and Pop" grocery stores, corner liquor stores and nightclubs.
(c) The Georgetown neighborhood located in the
Second Police District has one of the largest concentrations of establishments that serve
alcohol. The nearby college campuses of Georgetown, George Washington, and American
University as well as the University of the District of Columbia combine to produce the
largest student populations within any police district. The Department of Consumer and
Regulatory Affairs, Alcohol Beverage Control Division (ABC) reports that the greatest
number of violations involving the sale of alcohol to minors, possession of fraudulent
identification cards and possession of alcohol by minors is within the Second Police
District.
(d) With the approach of summer, the recent
tragic publicity surrounding the death of a Georgetown University student involved in an
alcohol related incident, the concern and attention of local and Federal officials to the
issue of underage drinking, and the experience of last summer’s campaign by the District’s
Police Department and the ABC Division to force compliance with current underage
consumption laws through highly controversial and questionable sting operations, it is
clear that other, more constructive and productive strategies are required to address the
underage issue.
(e) Currently the burden for enforcement of
laws concerning underage drinking lies primarily with the ABC licensee. The youthful
offender bares little or no consequence for either attempting to purchase alcohol with a
false identification, or for consuming it. The current fine is $50. Thus, there is no real
disincentive for individuals under 21 to purchase or attempt to purchase alcoholic
beverages, especially through the use of false identifications.
(f) The proposed emergency legislation would
correct that imbalance in the current law. It would shift more of the burden to the
individual attempting to break the law, away from the licensee who risks threats to their
life and property if they refuse to sell to someone attempting to illegally purchase
alcoholic beverages with or without a false identification.
(g) The proposal amends Section 25-130 of the
District of Columbia Code to establish a civil infraction for individuals under 21 to use
of a false identification for the purpose of purchasing alcoholic beverages. Under this
measure, individuals would be required to present at least one forms of identification,
which shall be an official identification issued by an agency of government containing at
a minimum, the name, date of birth, signature, and photograph of the bearer. Further, an
individual suspected, arrested and convicted of holding or using a false identification
for the purposes of entering a licensed establishment or consuming alcoholic beverages
would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $300 for the first offense and multiples of
that amount for subsequent offenses. Additionally, the Police would be authorized to seize
the suspected false identification and hold it as evidence in case of potential court
proceedings.
(h) This legislation is fashioned after
provisions in the law in neighboring jurisdictions of Arlington County, Virginia and
Montgomery County, Maryland.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of
Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency
circumstances making it necessary that the Underage Drinking Emergency Amendment Act of
2000 be adopted after a single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect
immediately.