Minor in possession charges will cost those under 21 years of age a lot more than court fines – a drivers license suspension of up to one-year and court ordered alcohol treatment – under a pair of bills that recently passed through legislation and are supported by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
Any minor – a person between ages 13 and 20 – who is involved in the possession, use or abuse of alcohol, will lose his or her driving privileges if the offender is found guilty.
The first violation garners a 90 -day suspension; the second and subsequent violations require the Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend the minor’s driving license for a year after each offense.
Eugene police reported 654 MIP cases in 2006 and 675 MIP cases in 2005.
Those arrested may choose to be referred to a deference program and avoid the adjudication process; however, if they fail to complete the program, an order to suspend their license will be sent to the Motor Vehicle Department and will face the same suspensions.
House Bill 2147, part of the Underage Drinking Task Force recommendation package, passed the Senate on May 18 with 38-9 vote, and is on its way to Gov. Kulongoski for signature into law.
“The issues that surround underage drinking are complex and the effects of underage drinking on Oregon’s youth are substantial,” Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers said in his Underage Drinking Task Force report. “The fact that the rate of underage drinking in Oregon is significantly higher than the national average is disturbing and the proliferation of binge drinking by Oregon youth is distressing.”
By the time underage drinkers in Oregon reach the eighth grade, 54.4 percent of 14-year-olds reported having consumed alcohol, compared with the national average of 43.9 percent. Thirty percent reported having consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, with the national average at 18.6 percent, according to the report.
Out of those who have reached the 11th grade, 47.4 percent of Oregon students reported drinking on one or more occasions in the past 30 days, and 28.8 percent had engaged in binge drinking.
The task force was developed after Gov. Kulongoski requested Attorney General Myers review underage drinking laws in Oregon and suggest more ways to improve enforcement and adjudication of those provisions.
Nine bills originated out of the task force were introduced into the legislature during 2007; some have died, some are static and a few have moved through Congress and will become law when they are signed by Kulongoski.
House Bill 2147, one of the bills that has been signed into law, was unlike the others – it offered help instead of punishment. The report found that people who begin drinking before the age of 15 are four times more likely to become abusers of alcohol than those who began drinking at age 21.
The bill mandates that if a person with an MIP charge is found guilty, then he or she will be referred to an assessment process to determine if an alcohol abuse problem exists and counseling help is needed. If the person is charged with an MIP and chooses to accept a deferment option to avoid the adjudication process, then the same assessment and counseling system will take place.
“We’re hopeful that (the passed bills) will help in terms of preventing underage drinking and will make for a consistent enforcement of the statuary provisions that prohibit underage drinking,” Philip Schradle, special counsel to the Oregon Attorney General said. “This is a serious issue that reaches way beyond legislative issues and needs to be adduced in a coordinated matter by parents, schools and law enforcement.”
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