Assembly Approves Legislation to Curb Teen Alcohol Deaths

Friday, April 23, 2010

SACRAMENTO - UPEC Business Manager Chris Darker and a number of supporters for AB 2486 received the good news yesterday on the progress of the Bill. Yesterday,the Assembly approved the Teen Alcohol Safety Act of 2010, a measure authored by Assembly Member Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) designed to save young lives by strengthening the consequences faced by adults who knowingly provide alcohol to underage teens in the home.  AB 2486 passed on a bipartisan vote of 60 to 0.
Supplying alcohol to a minor is a crime under state law, but California remains one of just a few states that prohibit civil recourse for such cases.  AB 2486 seeks to boost parental responsibility and deter adults from providing alcohol to teens by correcting that glaring restriction in the law.  The bill ensures that a civil action can be brought against an adult “social host” who provides alcohol to teens at the front end of such tragedies.
California has seen a spate of tragedies in recent years as teens have been hospitalized or even killed after engaging in binge drinking. The most shocking episodes involved parents or other adults knowingly providing alcohol to teens.
“This Bill will help save lives. No minor nor adult has the right to furnish alcohol to my children or your children and not be held responsible for the consequences of their actions”, said Darker. “Common sense, respect for other parents and their children isn’t enough for some people”. Darker said.  The United Public Employees of California is a founding sponsor and supporter of the Shelby Lyn Allen Alcohol Poisoning Education Foundation and actively supports AB 2486 and another Bill aimed at saving lives. AB 1999 authored by Portantino would amend the Business and Professions Code to provide an exception for a minor who is under the influence of alcohol if they call “911” and actively support authorities in the rescue of another minor in a medical emergency arising out of the consumption of alcohol. The idea is to get minors to summon help for victims of alcohol poisoning who wouldn’t normally call for fear of being in trouble themselves. “These Bills are no substitute for education and parents talking to their children about the dangers of alcohol poisoning”, said Darker.
The tragic death of Shelby Allen, a 17-year-old from Redding, Ca., inspired the legislation.  Shelby died of alcohol poisoning December 20, 2008 at a friend’s house party while the parents were in the home.  When efforts to seek criminal prosecution failed, Shelby’s own parents attempted to pursue answers through the civil courts only to be rebuffed by California’s unusual barrier against such lawsuits.
Under AB 2486, the families of a minor injured or killed by alcohol would still need to prove in court the elements of negligence - that an adult breached their responsibility to uphold the law and knowingly provided alcohol. Because of the measure’s limited scope, its greatest impact would be to act as further deterrence to help keep parents from promoting behavior that runs counter to common sense and criminal law.