Social host ordinances: How cities and counties are turning off the tap on underage drinking parties

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Stacy L. Saetta, JD and James F. Mosher, JD. Center for the Study of Law and Enforcement Policy, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 6062 Graham Hill Road, Felton, CA 95018, 831-335-1000, ssaetta@pire.org

The National Academies Institute of Medicine's seminal report entitled Reducing Underage Drinking: a Collective Responsibility, released in 2003, documents the wide ranging and devastating consequences of adolescent and young adult consumption of alcoholic beverages. Estimating the annual social cost of underage drinking to be at least $53 billion, Reducing Underage Drinking urges states and localities to enact a comprehensive set of strategies to reduce underage alcohol consumption. These strategies include strengthening social host liability laws to deter underage drinking parties and other gatherings.

Social host liability refers to laws holding non-commercial individuals responsible for underage drinking events on property they own, lease, or otherwise control. Depending on the jurisdiction, the hosting of a party on private property at which an underage drinker becomes intoxicated could result in three distinct types of liability against the social host and/or the property owner. One type of social host liability occurs at the level of local government in the form of municipal (city or county) ordinances. Some ordinances make the social host criminally liable and allow jail time as a penalty. Other ordinances treat social host liability in the same manner as a minor traffic offense and impose monetary fines, not jail time. Still other ordinances called response costs recovery ordinances hold social hosts and landowners civilly responsible for the costs of law enforcement, fire, or other emergency response services associated with multiple responses to the scene of an underage drinking party whether or not the hosts or landowners had knowledge of the parties.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Identify ways in which different communities in the United States have tailored social host laws to address alcohol-related problems specific to their cities or counties.
• Discuss how municipalities and their law enforcement agencies enforce social host laws to reduce the number and negative consequences of
- − Teen parties held at private homes
- − Underage drinking gatherings in rural and resort settings
- − Off-campus parties held by college/university students in houses or apartment complexes
- − Use of methamphetamine and other controlled substances
- • Describe additional legal tools available to municipalities to enhance the effectiveness of social host laws (e.g., large party safety plan ordinances, landlord license ordinance, noise ordinances).
Keywords: Alcohol, Youth
Related Web page: www.pire.org, www.cslep.org
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation

Effectiveness of Environmental Alcohol Policies
The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA