[109th Congress Public Law 422]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[DOCID: f:publ422.109]
[[Page 2889]]
SOBER TRUTH ON PREVENTING UNDERAGE DRINKING ACT
[[Page 120 STAT. 2890]]
Public Law 109-422
109th Congress
An Act
To provide for programs and activities with respect to the prevention of
underage drinking. <<NOTE: Dec. 20, 2006 - [H.R. 864]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Sober Truth on
Preventing Underage Drinking Act.>>
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 42 USC 201 note.>> SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Sober Truth on Preventing Underage
Drinking Act'' or the ``STOP Act''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENT TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.
Section 519B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-25b)
is amended by striking subsections (a) through (f) and inserting the
following:
``(a) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) The term `alcohol beverage industry' means the
brewers, vintners, distillers, importers, distributors, and
retail or online outlets that sell or serve beer, wine, and
distilled spirits.
``(2) The term `school-based prevention' means programs,
which are institutionalized, and run by staff members or school-
designated persons or organizations in any grade of school,
kindergarten through 12th grade.
``(3) The term `youth' means persons under the age of 21.
``(4) The term `IOM report' means the report released in
September 2003 by the National Research Council, Institute of
Medicine, and entitled `Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective
Responsibility'.
``(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of the Congress that:
``(1) A multi-faceted effort is needed to more successfully
address the problem of underage drinking in the United States. A
coordinated approach to prevention, intervention, treatment,
enforcement, and research is key to making progress. This Act
recognizes the need for a focused national effort, and addresses
particulars of the Federal portion of that effort, as well as
Federal support for State activities.
``(2) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall
continue to conduct research and collect data on the short and
long-range impact of alcohol use and abuse upon adolescent brain
development and other organ systems.
``(3) States and communities, including colleges and
universities, are encouraged to adopt comprehensive prevention
approaches, including--
[[Page 120 STAT. 2891]]
``(A) evidence-based screening, programs and
curricula;
``(B) brief intervention strategies;
``(C) consistent policy enforcement; and
``(D) environmental changes that limit underage
access to alcohol.
``(4) Public health groups, consumer groups, and the alcohol
beverage industry should continue and expand evidence-based
efforts to prevent and reduce underage drinking.
``(5) The entertainment industries have a powerful impact on
youth, and they should use rating systems and marketing codes to
reduce the likelihood that underage audiences will be exposed to
movies, recordings, or television programs with unsuitable
alcohol content.
``(6) The National Collegiate Athletic Association, its
member colleges and universities, and athletic conferences
should affirm a commitment to a policy of discouraging alcohol
use among underage students and other young fans.
``(7) Alcohol is a unique product and should be regulated
differently than other products by the States and Federal
Government. States have primary authority to regulate alcohol
distribution and sale, and the Federal Government should support
and supplement these State efforts. States also have a
responsibility to fight youth access to alcohol and reduce
underage drinking. Continued State regulation and licensing of
the manufacture, importation, sale, distribution, transportation
and storage of alcoholic beverages are clearly in the public
interest and are critical to promoting responsible consumption,
preventing illegal access to alcohol by persons under 21 years
of age from commercial and non-commercial sources, maintaining
industry integrity and an orderly marketplace, and furthering
effective State tax collection.
``(c) Interagency Coordinating Committee; Annual Report on State
Underage Drinking Prevention and Enforcement Activities.--
``(1) Interagency coordinating committee on the prevention
of underage drinking.--
``(A) In general.-- <<NOTE: Establishment.>> The
Secretary, in collaboration with the Federal officials
specified in subparagraph (B), shall formally establish
and enhance the efforts of the interagency coordinating
committee, that began operating in 2004, focusing on
underage drinking (referred to in this subsection as the
`Committee').
``(B) Other agencies.--The officials referred to in
paragraph (1) are the Secretary of Education, the
Attorney General, the Secretary of Transportation, the
Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the
Surgeon General, the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the Director of the National
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the
Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration, the Director of the National
Institute on Drug Abuse, the Assistant Secretary for
Children and Families, the Director of the Office of
National Drug Control Policy, the Administrator of the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the
Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, the Chairman of the Federal
Trade Commission, and such other Federal officials
[[Page 120 STAT. 2892]]
as the Secretary of Health and Human Services determines
to be appropriate.
``(C) Chair.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall serve as the chair of the Committee.
``(D) Duties.--The Committee shall guide policy and
program development across the Federal Government with
respect to underage drinking, provided, however, that
nothing in this section shall be construed as
transferring regulatory or program authority from an
Agency to the Coordinating Committee.
``(E) Consultations.--The Committee shall actively
seek the input of and shall consult with all appropriate
and interested parties, including States, public health
research and interest groups, foundations, and alcohol
beverage industry trade associations and companies.
``(F) Annual report.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary, on behalf of
the Committee, shall annually submit to the
Congress a report that summarizes--
``(I) all programs and policies of
Federal agencies designed to prevent and
reduce underage drinking;
``(II) the extent of progress in
preventing and reducing underage
drinking nationally;
``(III) data that the Secretary
shall collect with respect to the
information specified in clause (ii);
and
``(IV) such other information
regarding underage drinking as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate.
``(ii) Certain information.--The report under
clause (i) shall include information on the
following:
``(I) Patterns and consequences of
underage drinking as reported in
research and surveys such as, but not
limited to Monitoring the Future, Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance System, the
National Survey on Drug Use and Health,
and the Fatality Analysis Reporting
System.
``(II) Measures of the availability
of alcohol from commercial and non-
commercial sources to underage
populations.
``(III) Measures of the exposure of
underage populations to messages
regarding alcohol in advertising and the
entertainment media as reported by the
Federal Trade Commission.
``(IV) Surveillance data, including
information on the onset and prevalence
of underage drinking, consumption
patterns and the means of underage
access. The Secretary shall develop a
plan to improve the collection,
measurement and consistency of reporting
Federal underage alcohol data.
``(V) Any additional findings
resulting from research conducted or
supported under subsection (f).
``(VI) Evidence-based best practices
to prevent and reduce underage drinking
and provide treatment services to those
youth who need them.
[[Page 120 STAT. 2893]]
``(2) Annual report on state underage drinking prevention
and enforcement activities.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall, with input
and collaboration from other appropriate Federal
agencies, States, Indian tribes, territories, and public
health, consumer, and alcohol beverage industry groups,
annually issue a report on each State's performance in
enacting, enforcing, and creating laws, regulations, and
programs to prevent or reduce underage drinking.
``(B) State performance measures.--
``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall
develop, in consultation with the Committee, a set
of measures to be used in preparing the report on
best practices.
``(ii) Categories.--In developing these
measures, the Secretary shall consider categories
including, but not limited to:
``(I) Whether or not the State has
comprehensive anti-underage drinking
laws such as for the illegal sale,
purchase, attempt to purchase,
consumption, or possession of alcohol;
illegal use of fraudulent ID; illegal
furnishing or obtaining of alcohol for
an individual under 21 years; the degree
of strictness of the penalties for such
offenses; and the prevalence of the
enforcement of each of these
infractions.
``(II) Whether or not the State has
comprehensive liability statutes
pertaining to underage access to alcohol
such as dram shop, social host, and
house party laws, and the prevalence of
enforcement of each of these laws.
``(III) Whether or not the State
encourages and conducts comprehensive
enforcement efforts to prevent underage
access to alcohol at retail outlets,
such as random compliance checks and
shoulder tap programs, and the number of
compliance checks within alcohol retail
outlets measured against the number of
total alcohol retail outlets in each
State, and the result of such checks.
``(IV) Whether or not the State
encourages training on the proper
selling and serving of alcohol for all
sellers and servers of alcohol as a
condition of employment.
``(V) Whether or not the State has
policies and regulations with regard to
direct sales to consumers and home
delivery of alcoholic beverages.
``(VI) Whether or not the State has
programs or laws to deter adults from
purchasing alcohol for minors; and the
number of adults targeted by these
programs.
``(VII) Whether or not the State has
programs targeted to youths, parents,
and caregivers to deter underage
drinking; and the number of individuals
served by these programs.
``(VIII) Whether or not the State
has enacted graduated drivers licenses
and the extent of those provisions.
[[Page 120 STAT. 2894]]
``(IX) The amount that the State
invests, per youth capita, on the
prevention of underage drinking, further
broken down by the amount spent on--
``(aa) compliance check
programs in retail outlets,
including providing technology
to prevent and detect the use of
false identification by minors
to make alcohol purchases;
``(bb) checkpoints and
saturation patrols that include
the goal of reducing and
deterring underage drinking;
``(cc) community-based,
school-based, and higher-
education-based programs to
prevent underage drinking;
``(dd) underage drinking
prevention programs that target
youth within the juvenile
justice and child welfare
systems; and
``(ee) other State efforts
or programs as deemed
appropriate.
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $1,000,000 for
fiscal year 2007, and $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2008 through 2010.
``(d) National Media Campaign To Prevent Underage Drinking.--
``(1) Scope of the campaign.--The Secretary shall continue
to fund and oversee the production, broadcasting, and evaluation
of the national adult-oriented media public service campaign if
the Secretary determines that such campaign is effective in
achieving the media campaign's measurable objectives.
``(2) Report.--The Secretary shall provide a report to the
Congress annually detailing the production, broadcasting, and
evaluation of the campaign referred to in paragraph (1), and to
detail in the report the effectiveness of the campaign in
reducing underage drinking, the need for and likely
effectiveness of an expanded adult-oriented media campaign, and
the feasibility and the likely effectiveness of a national
youth-focused media campaign to combat underage drinking.
``(3) Consultation requirement.--In carrying out the media
campaign, the Secretary shall direct the entity carrying out the
national adult-oriented media public service campaign to consult
with interested parties including both the alcohol beverage
industry and public health and consumer groups. The progress of
this consultative process is to be covered in the report under
paragraph (2).
``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection, $1,000,000 for
fiscal year 2007 and $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2008 through 2010.
``(e) Interventions.--
``(1) Community-based coalition enhancement grants to
prevent underage drinking.--
``(A) Authorization of program.--The Administrator
of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, in consultation with the Director of the
Office of National Drug Control Policy, shall award, if
the Administrator determines that the Department of
[[Page 120 STAT. 2895]]
Health and Human Services is not currently conducting
activities that duplicate activities of the type
described in this subsection, `enhancement grants' to
eligible entities to design, test, evaluate and
disseminate effective strategies to maximize the
effectiveness of community-wide approaches to preventing
and reducing underage drinking. This subsection is
subject to the availability of appropriations.
``(B) Purposes.--The purposes of this paragraph are
to--
``(i) prevent and reduce alcohol use among
youth in communities throughout the United States;
``(ii) strengthen collaboration among
communities, the Federal Government, and State,
local, and tribal governments;
``(iii) enhance intergovernmental cooperation
and coordination on the issue of alcohol use among
youth;
``(iv) serve as a catalyst for increased
citizen participation and greater collaboration
among all sectors and organizations of a community
that first demonstrates a long-term commitment to
reducing alcohol use among youth;
``(v) disseminate to communities timely
information regarding state-of-the-art practices
and initiatives that have proven to be effective
in preventing and reducing alcohol use among
youth; and
``(vi) enhance, not supplant, effective local
community initiatives for preventing and reducing
alcohol use among youth.
``(C) Application.--An eligible entity desiring an
enhancement grant under this paragraph shall submit an
application to the Administrator at such time, and in
such manner, and accompanied by such information as the
Administrator may require. Each application shall
include--
``(i) a complete description of the entity's
current underage alcohol use prevention
initiatives and how the grant will appropriately
enhance the focus on underage drinking issues; or
``(ii) a complete description of the entity's
current initiatives, and how it will use this
grant to enhance those initiatives by adding a
focus on underage drinking prevention.
``(D) Uses of funds.--Each eligible entity that
receives a grant under this paragraph shall use the
grant funds to carry out the activities described in
such entity's application submitted pursuant to
subparagraph (C). Grants under this paragraph shall not
exceed $50,000 per year and may not exceed four years.
``(E) Supplement not supplant.--Grant funds provided
under this paragraph shall be used to supplement, not
supplant, Federal and non-Federal funds available for
carrying out the activities described in this paragraph.
``(F) Evaluation.--Grants under this paragraph shall
be subject to the same evaluation requirements and
procedures as the evaluation requirements and procedures
imposed on recipients of drug free community grants.
[[Page 120 STAT. 2896]]
``(G) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph,
the term `eligible entity' means an organization that is
currently receiving or has received grant funds under
the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 (21 U.S.C. 1521 et
seq.).
``(H) Administrative expenses.--Not more than 6
percent of a grant under this paragraph may be expended
for administrative expenses.
``(I) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
paragraph $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and
$5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through
2010.
``(2) Grants directed at preventing and reducing alcohol
abuse at institutions of higher education.--
``(A) Authorization of program.--The Secretary shall
award grants to eligible entities to enable the entities
to prevent and reduce the rate of underage alcohol
consumption including binge drinking among students at
institutions of higher education.
``(B) Applications.--An eligible entity that desires
to receive a grant under this paragraph shall submit an
application to the Secretary at such time, in such
manner, and accompanied by such information as the
Secretary may require. Each application shall include--
``(i) a description of how the eligible entity
will work to enhance an existing, or where none
exists to build a, statewide coalition;
``(ii) a description of how the eligible
entity will target underage students in the State;
``(iii) a description of how the eligible
entity intends to ensure that the statewide
coalition is actually implementing the purpose of
this section and moving toward indicators
described in subparagraph (D);
``(iv) a list of the members of the statewide
coalition or interested parties involved in the
work of the eligible entity;
``(v) a description of how the eligible entity
intends to work with State agencies on substance
abuse prevention and education;
``(vi) the anticipated impact of funds
provided under this paragraph in preventing and
reducing the rates of underage alcohol use;
``(vii) outreach strategies, including ways in
which the eligible entity proposes to--
``(I) reach out to students and
community stakeholders;
``(II) promote the purpose of this
paragraph;
``(III) address the range of needs
of the students and the surrounding
communities; and
``(IV) address community norms for
underage students regarding alcohol use;
and
``(viii) such additional information as
required by the Secretary.
``(C) Uses of funds.--Each eligible entity that
receives a grant under this paragraph shall use the
grant funds to carry out the activities described in
such entity's application submitted pursuant to
subparagraph (B).
[[Page 120 STAT. 2897]]
``(D) Accountability.-- <<NOTE: Notice. Federal
Register, publication.>> On the date on which the
Secretary first publishes a notice in the Federal
Register soliciting applications for grants under this
paragraph, the Secretary shall include in the notice
achievement indicators for the program authorized under
this paragraph. The achievement indicators shall be
designed--
``(i) to measure the impact that the statewide
coalitions assisted under this paragraph are
having on the institutions of higher education and
the surrounding communities, including changes in
the number of incidents of any kind in which
students have abused alcohol or consumed alcohol
while under the age of 21 (including violations,
physical assaults, sexual assaults, reports of
intimidation, disruptions of school functions,
disruptions of student studies, mental health
referrals, illnesses, or deaths);
``(ii) to measure the quality and
accessibility of the programs or information
offered by the eligible entity; and
``(iii) to provide such other measures of
program impact as the Secretary determines
appropriate.
``(E) Supplement not supplant.--Grant funds provided
under this paragraph shall be used to supplement, and
not supplant, Federal and non-Federal funds available
for carrying out the activities described in this
paragraph.
``(F) Definitions.--For purposes of this paragraph:
``(i) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible
entity' means a State, institution of higher
education, or nonprofit entity.
``(ii) Institution of higher education.--The
term `institution of higher education' has the
meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)).
``(iii) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means
the Secretary of Education.
``(iv) State.--The term `State' means each of
the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
``(v) Statewide coalition.--The term
`statewide coalition' means a coalition that--
``(I) includes, but is not limited
to--
``(aa) institutions of
higher education within a State;
and
``(bb) a nonprofit group, a
community underage drinking
prevention coalition, or another
substance abuse prevention group
within a State; and
``(II) works toward lowering the
alcohol abuse rate by targeting underage
students at institutions of higher
education throughout the State and in
the surrounding communities.
``(vi) Surrounding community.--The term
`surrounding community' means the community--
``(I) that surrounds an institution
of higher education participating in a
statewide coalition;
[[Page 120 STAT. 2898]]
``(II) where the students from the
institution of higher education take
part in the community; and
``(III) where students from the
institution of higher education live in
off-campus housing.
``(G) Administrative expenses.--Not more than 5
percent of a grant under this paragraph may be expended
for administrative expenses.
``(H) Authorization of appropriations.--There are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this
paragraph $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2007, and
$5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through
2010.
``(f) Additional Research.--
``(1) Additional research on underage drinking.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall, subject to
the availability of appropriations, collect data, and
conduct or support research that is not duplicative of
research currently being conducted or supported by the
Department of Health and Human Services, on underage
drinking, with respect to the following:
``(i) Comprehensive community-based programs
or strategies and statewide systems to prevent and
reduce underage drinking, across the underage
years from early childhood to age 21, including
programs funded and implemented by government
entities, public health interest groups and
foundations, and alcohol beverage companies and
trade associations.
``(ii) Annually obtain and report more precise
information than is currently collected on the
scope of the underage drinking problem and
patterns of underage alcohol consumption,
including improved knowledge about the problem and
progress in preventing, reducing and treating
underage drinking; as well as information on the
rate of exposure of youth to advertising and other
media messages encouraging and discouraging
alcohol consumption.
``(iii) Compiling information on the
involvement of alcohol in unnatural deaths of
persons ages 12 to 20 in the United States,
including suicides, homicides, and unintentional
injuries such as falls, drownings, burns,
poisonings, and motor vehicle crash deaths.
``(B) Certain matters.--The Secretary shall carry
out activities toward the following objectives with
respect to underage drinking:
``(i) Obtaining new epidemiological data
within the national or targeted surveys that
identify alcohol use and attitudes about alcohol
use during pre- and early adolescence, including
harm caused to self or others as a result of
adolescent alcohol use such as violence, date
rape, risky sexual behavior, and prenatal alcohol
exposure.
``(ii) Developing or identifying successful
clinical treatments for youth with alcohol
problems.
``(C) Peer review.--Research under subparagraph (A)
shall meet current Federal standards for scientific peer
review.
[[Page 120 STAT. 2899]]
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There are authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $6,000,000 for
fiscal year 2007, and $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2008 through 2010.''.
Approved December 20, 2006.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 864:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 152 (2006):
Nov. 14, considered and passed House.
Dec. 6, considered and passed Senate, amended.
Dec. 7, House concurred in Senate amendment.
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