A bill to increase the penalty for furnishing liquor to minors has failed to get out of the Senate Commerce Committee.
The panel refused to pass S1364, sponsored by Sen. Linda Gray, R-20, by a vote of 4-4 on Feb. 7.
Gray’s bill, which would raise the penalty for furnishing liquor to minors to a felony from a misdemeanor, received opposition from Sen. Robert Blendu, R-12, Sen. Pamela Gorman, R-6, and Sen. Jay Tibshraeny, R-21.
Currently the penalty for furnishing liquor to a minor in Arizona is a class 1 misdemeanor. Gray’s bill would raise the penalty to a class 6 felony, punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a fine of $250-$999.99.
Blendu and Gorman voiced concerns over placing minors convicted of providing liquor to fellow under age drinkers into a felony category.
Tibshraeny said, “I have a real problem with this part of the bill (changing 1364 from a misdemeanor to a felony) because I think it could possibly create more problems than it solves.”
He added, “For example, what if a 20-year-old friend bought another 20-year-old friend a beer, does it seem right to make them a felon for just a dumb mistake?”
Tibshraeny said he felt the changes to the penalties were far too stiff and unfairly placed minors in the same category as some violent offenders.
He said, “I know I am guilty of some minor discretions during my youth, and I would hate to see kids punished unfairly for simply making a bad decision.”
Sen. Carolyn Allen, R-8, said, “I’m not real comfortable with this either,” She added, “ What about out-of-state visitors, will they face the same penalties?”
Allen said she thought it would be unfair if someone from another state came to Arizona and bought liquor for someone who would be of legal age in their own state, but because they are visiting Arizona could be convicted of a felony.
Sen. Ken Cheuvront, D-15, pointed out that federal law now requires all citizens to be a minimum of 21 years of age to purchase alcohol.
Gray said she was disappointed that her bill failed, but added: “I will re-word this bill and try to re-introduce it for approval at a later date. The main goal of this bill was to supplement recent changes to these [underage drinking] laws.”
The Legislature is also holding hearings to require kegs purchased from liquor stored to record information about who is buying the keg as well as their age and address.
Gray said the new keg bill would not stop underage drinking because minors could still find a way to get someone to buy cans and bottles of beer, which are not required to be recorded by store owners, or use fake ID to buy the beer themselves.
Gray said, “This still doesn’t solve the problems we have with kids and desert parties, or parents who provide alcohol to minors, and that is what S1364 would have solved.”