Florida State Legislative Session 2008

2008 Alcohol Legislation

The following alcohol-related bills were proposed this legislative session but none of them passed in both houses, therefore they will not become laws in 2008.

H 1527-  General Bill by Representative Sasso (identical bill to S 2044)

Serving alcohol to a minor- increased penalties

S 456 General Bill by Senator Wise

Requires ignition interlock for certain first time offenders

H 369 General Bill by Representative Simmons (Compare to S 456)

Requires ignition interlock for certain first time offenders

Watch this video produced by Mothers Against Drunk Driving Florida to support the ignition interlock legislation: Grace's Law

Gaps In Florida Alcoholic Beverage Laws 

Reference- Overview of Florida Underage Drinking and Impaired Driving Laws

Gaps in Florida Alcohol Laws

Underage Drinking and Alcohol Abuse on University and College Campuses, November 2006 Senate Committee on Regulated Industries report

21 and up Patron Age Restriction                                                             

Did you know that it is legal for 18 year olds to hang out in bars in Florida? This puts underage people in a high risk environment where they may have easy access to alcoholic beverages. Ten cities and counties in Florida have enacted ordinances to restrict bar patrons to ages 21 and up. The two most recent cities to adopt an ordinance are: Venice (see the City of Venice ordinance) and Sunrise. Ft. Lauderdale's patron age restriction ordinance has been in effect since 2001.  The Ft. Lauderdale Police Department reported a 34% decrease in crime in the entertainment district after the ordinance was enforced. Manatee County and the City of Sarasota recently enacted 21 age restriction ordinances. On February 28, 2007, the Sarasota County Commission held a public forum to discuss a  21 age restriction ordinance on.  MADD and TAC made presentations in support of the ordinance.  The commissioners voted unanimously to enact a ban on minors in bars.  On May 23, the Sarasota County Commission voted unanimously in favor of the ordinance. The Tampa Alcohol Coalition advocates for a 21 and up patron age restriction ordinance for bars in Hillsborough County and for the entire state.

Community Resources:

21 and up Fact Sheet.

Sarasota County ordinance that bans 18- 20 year olds from bars

Drink Specials Restriction

Florida is one of 11 states that doesn't have any statutes or rules restricting drink specials. The "High Risk Drinking on College Campuses" White Paper by the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Commission provides an overview of  the problems associated with drink specials, a table that lists the type of drink special regulations in each state and the actual state statutes and rules. "Select State Laws Governing On-Premises Alcohol Sales", a report by the National Restaurant Association, summarizes happy hour laws for all 50 states.  TAC endorses restricting drink specials because cheap drink specials promote irresponsible drinking, intoxication and DUI.. Tampa bars offer specials such as "ladies drink free", "kill the keg", and "all you can drink for $10".  These promotions can lead to alcohol-related crashes and other tragedies.

The Tampa Tribune reported on September 14, 2006 that Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio supports ending cheap and free drink specials in Tampa. The St. Petersburg Times ran a story entitled: "Last Call for Drink Specials?" which discussed irresponsible bar promotions and ways to stop them. The Tampa City Attorney wrote a memorandum of law and sent a letter asking for a Florida Attorney General Opinion on the ability of a city or county to enact a drink special ordinance. In November 2006, the Attorney General's office asked the Department of  Business and professional regulations to give the opinion. DBPR sent a letter to the Tampa City Attorney that said cities do not have the ability to adopt drink special ordinances in Florida. The City may get a second opinion. For more details, see Tampa Tribune article "City Can't Dry Up Drink Specials".

TAC supports local and state legislation to stop irresponsible drink specials.  The Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee proposed an underage drinking bill (S 7056) in January 2007 that included language to allow municipalities to regulate drink specials.  On February 20th, an amendment by Senator Haridopolos removed the drink special language.  TAC and Florida MADD have requested that language allowing cities to adopt an ordinance to restrict drink specials be added back to the bill, but this request was not honored. A bill to allow cities to restrict Drink Specials will be developed for the 2008 legislative session.

Law Against Serving Intoxicated Persons                                             

Did you know that Florida is one of only three states that does not have a law prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages to intoxicated persons. States that lack laws restricting drink specials and lack laws prohibiting sales to intoxicated persons may have higher rates of binge drinking, impaired driving, alcohol poisoning, blackouts, violence, assaults, alcohol-related injuries and fatalities. A state law against selling or serving alcohol to intoxicated persons would help promote responsible beverage service. For more information on this topic, read "Preventing the Over-consumption of Alcohol: Sales to the Intoxicated and Happy Hour Laws", a research paper published by NHTSA in February 2005. TAC supports adopting a law against serving intoxicated people.

Keg Registration                                                                                                     Many states have keg registration laws- Florida does not. Keg registration can help law enforcement officers trace the adult who purchased a beer keg at parties where underage persons are caught drinking. This may encourage adults to think twice before buying a keg of beer for persons under age 21. Lake County is the first county in Florida to enact a keg registration ordinance in February 2008 (Click here to read the keg ordinance). The Lake County keg registration policy has been challenged- read about it here. TAC supports keg registration as a strategy to help reduce underage drinking in Florida. Community Resource: Keg Registration Fact Sheet

What are the Current Alcoholic Beverage Laws and Ordinances?

To find out what your existing local alcoholic beverage ordinances are, go to www.municode.com and click on "on-line library," then click on "Florida," "alcoholic beverage code". Florida's state alcoholic beverage laws can be found on the Department of Business and Professional Regulation web site.

• State of Florida Alcohol-Related Laws

• Florida DUI and Zero-Tolerance Laws

Strategies to Reduce Underage Drinking                                                         

For more strategies to reduce underage alcohol use, visit the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center To learn more about Tampa Alcohol Coalition's strategies to reduce underage drinking, view the TAC PowerPoint presentation that was given at the 2006 Florida Statewide Prevention Conference.

Two helpful publications on environmental strategies are:

• Strategies to Reduce Underage Alcohol Use: Typology and Brief Overview

• Regulatory Strategies for Preventing Youth Access to Alcohol: Best Practices.

Do you drink too much? Find out by taking this quiz. Click on "Is my drinking risky?"

Tampa Alcohol Coalition is a subcommittee of the Hillsborough County Anti Drug Alliance.

Do you have questions about Tampa Alcohol Coalition or comments on this web site? Contact er.snelling@verizon.net