Model Ordinances to Reduce the Supply of Alcohol to Youth

REDUCING SOCIAL ACCESS TO ALCOHOL

Keg Registration
Beer kegs are marked with an unique identification number, which alcohol retailers register along with information about the keg purchaser. This enables police officers to identify the adult purchaser at parties where underage individuals are caught drinking beer from kegs.

Noisy Assembly
A noise ordinance may help police officers control underage drinking parties in private residences.

Open House Assembly
Some communities have enacted ordinances that allow communities to fine parents or other responsible adults when underage drinking parties are held on their property. This may encourage these adults to monitor the youth to prevent underage drinking parties from occurring.

Alcohol Restrictions in Certain Areas
A common place for youth to have alcohol parties in many communities is on public property such as beaches, parks, and parking lots. Communities can pass laws restricting the use of alcohol on public property, and then encourage police to patrol these areas and enforce these laws.

Exterior Parking Lot Lighting
Some youths ask adults going into alcohol establishments to purchase alcohol for them. Good exterior lighting makes it easier for employees and police to identify adults who are purchasing alcohol for underage individuals.

Special Event Licenses
Youth may have easy access to alcohol at community events, obtaining it either through friends or purchasing it themselves. Some communities have limited youth access to alcohol at these events by having a fenced-off drinking area and requiring all servers at the event to receive training.

PROMOTING RESPONSIBLE SELLING AND SERVING

Responsible Beverage Server Training
Training of alcohol servers and sellers may decrease the likelihood that they will sell alcohol to underage youth. Training can stress the importance of checking all age identification and teach servers and sellers how to identify fake identification.

Server Licensing
By licensing servers and sellers of alcohol, a community can gain additional leverage in controlling alcohol sales to underage persons.

Employment of Minors
Young people who sell alcohol are more likely to sell to other young people. By establishing a minimum seller age of 18, a community can reduce alcohol sales to young people.

Compliance Checks/Administrative Penalties
Some communities feel that owners and managers of alcohol establishments have an obligation to make sure their employees are not selling alcohol to underage youth. To encourage them to monitor their employees, some communities develop civil fines against licensees for sales to underage individuals and then conduct routine compliance checks.

Banning Home Alcohol Deliveries
Youth may obtain alcohol more easily through home deliveries. Alcohol sellers are more likely to sell to underage individuals if the sellers are young and are not monitored by their managers.

Warning Signs Posted at Alcohol Establishments
Supplying alcohol to people under age 21 is a crime. Posting signs in alcohol outlets will remind adult buyers that they are breaking the law if they supply alcohol to people under age 21.

IMPROVING THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

Billboards and Signage
Billboards and exterior advertising may glamorize alcohol. Since parents cannot regulate their children's exposure to these advertisements, youth may constantly see these pro-alcohol messages. Some communities have eliminated outdoor alcohol advertising.

Warning Labels on Alcohol Advertisements
To alert adults that it is illegal to purchase alcohol for people under the age of 21, communities may require warning labels to be placed on alcohol advertisements.