Clandestino
01-02-2005, 11:33 AM
AUSTIN — For those 20-year-olds just waiting to be served a celebratory beer at the bar at 12:01 a.m. the day they turn 21, hold on a minute.
A state lawmaker wants you to wait a little longer.
Eissler's measure — dubbed the "Cinderella bill" — would forbid the holder of a permit for the sale of on-premises alcohol consumption to sell or serve alcohol to people on the date they turn 21 before 7 a.m. most days and noon Sundays. A violation would be a Class A misdemeanor.
It's among bills carried by Eissler that's championed by Porter resident Susan Wagener, who has worked to educate people about the dangers of youthful drinking and to strengthen state laws on the subject since the alcohol-related death of her son, Michael, in 1999.
Michael, who was to enter his senior year at Texas A&M, never woke up after a night out that included friends buying him as many as eight or nine celebratory shots — along with a free one provided by a bar — just after midnight as he turned 21, Wagener said.
"The idea behind changing the hour of service is to eliminate that trying-to-beat-the-clock mentality, which certainly encourages binge drinking," said Wagener, though she noted she wasn't saying that was the mindset of Michael and his friends.
She said in a handout detailing her son's story that Michael "had so many friends who wanted to share in celebrating by buying their friend a drink."
The friends took Michael home, turned him so he wouldn't choke if he vomited in his sleep and stayed the night in case he needed them, but they didn't realize his body was shutting down, Wagener said.
The shots were in 4-ounce glasses, Wagener said, leading her to push for another bill carried by Eissler, HB 38, that would limit the alcoholic content of drinks served to no more than a half-ounce of absolute alcohol. A violation would be a Class A misdemeanor.
"If you're served a drink and just consuming that drink will get you legally drunk, I think they're going beyond the scope of reasonable drinking," Eissler said. He said he was expecting to get industry input.
Richie Jackson of the Texas Restaurant Association said he would like to talk with Eissler about the bill to determine the exact intent of the legislation and perhaps see if there's another way to accomplish it.
"You can't have more than a half-ounce of pure alcohol, so if you take 100-proof gin and serve a martini, that would mean the volume of liquid in the martini couldn't exceed one ounce" under the bill, he said, explaining that 100-proof liquor is 50 percent alcohol. "As a general rule, a martini served up would exceed that. It may be an ounce-and-a-half to two ounces."
A third bill by Eissler, HB 193, would require those who buy a keg that holds at least four gallons to complete a registration form giving their name and address and stating that they're at least 21. It's aimed at curbing underage drinking, he said.
"That way, they can find out who's responsible for buying the beer when all the participants flee," Eissler said.
"Right now in Texas, if there's a keg party out in some meadow and the police want to find out who's providing beer to underage kids, and they all scatter and (the police) don't get any of them, there's no way of knowing."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA10205.7B.austin.6671ac56.html
A state lawmaker wants you to wait a little longer.
Eissler's measure — dubbed the "Cinderella bill" — would forbid the holder of a permit for the sale of on-premises alcohol consumption to sell or serve alcohol to people on the date they turn 21 before 7 a.m. most days and noon Sundays. A violation would be a Class A misdemeanor.
It's among bills carried by Eissler that's championed by Porter resident Susan Wagener, who has worked to educate people about the dangers of youthful drinking and to strengthen state laws on the subject since the alcohol-related death of her son, Michael, in 1999.
Michael, who was to enter his senior year at Texas A&M, never woke up after a night out that included friends buying him as many as eight or nine celebratory shots — along with a free one provided by a bar — just after midnight as he turned 21, Wagener said.
"The idea behind changing the hour of service is to eliminate that trying-to-beat-the-clock mentality, which certainly encourages binge drinking," said Wagener, though she noted she wasn't saying that was the mindset of Michael and his friends.
She said in a handout detailing her son's story that Michael "had so many friends who wanted to share in celebrating by buying their friend a drink."
The friends took Michael home, turned him so he wouldn't choke if he vomited in his sleep and stayed the night in case he needed them, but they didn't realize his body was shutting down, Wagener said.
The shots were in 4-ounce glasses, Wagener said, leading her to push for another bill carried by Eissler, HB 38, that would limit the alcoholic content of drinks served to no more than a half-ounce of absolute alcohol. A violation would be a Class A misdemeanor.
"If you're served a drink and just consuming that drink will get you legally drunk, I think they're going beyond the scope of reasonable drinking," Eissler said. He said he was expecting to get industry input.
Richie Jackson of the Texas Restaurant Association said he would like to talk with Eissler about the bill to determine the exact intent of the legislation and perhaps see if there's another way to accomplish it.
"You can't have more than a half-ounce of pure alcohol, so if you take 100-proof gin and serve a martini, that would mean the volume of liquid in the martini couldn't exceed one ounce" under the bill, he said, explaining that 100-proof liquor is 50 percent alcohol. "As a general rule, a martini served up would exceed that. It may be an ounce-and-a-half to two ounces."
A third bill by Eissler, HB 193, would require those who buy a keg that holds at least four gallons to complete a registration form giving their name and address and stating that they're at least 21. It's aimed at curbing underage drinking, he said.
"That way, they can find out who's responsible for buying the beer when all the participants flee," Eissler said.
"Right now in Texas, if there's a keg party out in some meadow and the police want to find out who's providing beer to underage kids, and they all scatter and (the police) don't get any of them, there's no way of knowing."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA10205.7B.austin.6671ac56.html