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Senate & House Committees Make Fighting Underage
Drinking a Top Priority
HARRISBURG -- In
an effort to stem underage drinking, the four chairmen of the Senate Law and
Justice Committee and House Liquor Control Committee held a news conference
today in the state capitol to kick off statewide hearings to address the growing
problem of underage drinking. Representative Ron Raymond, Senator Sean Logan
and Representative Robert Donatucci joined Senator John Rafferty (R-44) at the press
conference in Harrisburg.
Rafferty,
who chairs the Senate Law and Justice Committee, said the joint Senate/House
hearings will focus on a number of issues, including making it harder for
teenagers to gain access to alcohol, new technology to ensure that young people
have proper identification, keg registration, public education efforts at the
high school and college levels, and a number of legislative initiatives.
“Our goal is to seek input on
the problem, potential solutions and discover ways the Legislature can help to
meet funding needs and develop legislation to combat this growing problem,”
Rafferty said. “Alcohol is the most frequently abused drug by high school
seniors, and its use is increasing. The American Public Health Association
estimates that two-thirds of high school seniors consume alcohol, with one-third
of those being binge drinkers.”
Rafferty is sponsoring two
pieces of legislation to combat underage drinking, including a measure to
suspend driver’s licenses for adults who furnish alcohol to minors and a bill to
require all colleges, universities and community colleges to have a written
alcohol policy, including counseling and penalties for underage drinking.
He said the Senate Law and
Justice Committee and House Liquor Control Committee will travel around the
state to seek public input on the problem and proposed solutions from educators,
representatives of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), Pennsylvanians Against
Underage Drinking, law enforcement officials and parents.
“We must all share in the
responsibility to protect our children from the impact of underage use of
alcohol. We all want to keep our children safe, and today shows that we can
count on the community to support our efforts,” said Representative Ron Raymond.
“Underage drinking remains a
serious problem, with more than 17 percent of 12 to 18-year-olds reporting
drinking in the past month. Studies also indicate that minors remain
overrepresented in alcohol-related fatalities.” Rafferty said. “As the new
chairman of the Senate Law and Justice Committee, I am anxious to work with my
colleagues on this bipartisan effort to curb underage drinking.”
According to experts, adults
are the biggest source of alcohol for underage drinkers with 65% of underage
drinkers getting their alcohol from parents or adult friends. A recent report
to Congress by the National Academy of Sciences identified parties, friends and
adult purchasers as the most frequent sources of alcohol among college students
and older adolescents, and family members as the most frequent source for
younger adolescents.
Rebecca Shaver, State
Executive Director, MADD, who participated in the press conference added,
“Teenagers are not well informed about alcohol’s effects, and unfortunately,
parents need to change their attitude about childhood drinking. It’s not a
right of passage. It’s illegal and it’s extremely harmful to our children in so
many ways.”
“When you limit underage
access to alcohol, you make underage drinking a lot harder to accomplish,” said
Guy Smith, Diageo North America's Executive Vice President, External Affairs.
“As the industry leader on social responsibility, it is imperative we take a
stand for our kids. We’re parents and we know how important it is that we all
step up to the plate.”
 
Chart (pdf file)
Sen. John Rafferty, chairman of the Senate Law & Justice Committee,
speaks at a March 16 news conference in the Capitol rotunda to announce
a series of
statewide hearings to address the growing problem of underage drinking.
He was joined by other members of the
Senate Law and
Justice Committee and House Liquor Control Committee.
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