Bill Text: CA SCR45 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Underage alcohol use.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-3)

Status: (Passed) 2011-09-06 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 78, Statutes of 2011. [SCR45 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SCR45-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SCR 45	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 18, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Corbett
    (   Coauthors:   Senators   De
León,   Pavley,   and Runner   ) 
    (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members 
 Beth Gaines,   Hall,   Huffman,  
Jeffries,   and Williams   ) 

                        MAY 3, 2011

   Relative to alcoholic beverage control.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 45, as amended, Corbett. Underage alcohol use.
   This measure would urge the Governor to make the prevention of
underage alcohol use a priority within this state by engaging in a
statewide effort to prevent and reduce underage drinking and its
consequences.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, Recent scientific studies show that alcohol causes much
more damage to the developing brains of adolescents and teenagers
than previously thought, and adolescent brains suffer much more
damage from the abuse of alcohol than adult brains; and
   WHEREAS, The adolescent brain is uniquely sensitive to alcohol's
effects because major changes in brain structure and function occur
during this developmental period; and
   WHEREAS, Recent research indicates that adolescent substance users
show abnormalities in their brain functions that are also linked to
changes in neurocognition over time; and
   WHEREAS, Abnormalities have been seen in brain structure volume,
white matter quality, and activation to cognitive tasks, even in
youth with as little as one to two years of heavy drinking and
consumption levels of 20 drinks per month, especially if more than
four to five drinks are consumed on a single occasion. It is unknown
whether these changes are reversible; and
   WHEREAS, Because of continuous neurological developments in
adolescence and young adulthood, increased preferences for risky
behavior and novelty seeking emerge, predisposing teenagers to
experiment more with drugs and alcohol while being particularly at
risk of developing addictive behaviors; and
   WHEREAS, The neural circuits that release chemicals that link new,
adult-like experiences with the motivation to repeat them develop
more rapidly during the teenage years than do the mechanisms to
control these urges and impulses which depend on exercising reason
and judgment at the conscious level, basically the knowledge of right
from wrong. As a result, teenagers are not only more likely to feel
enticed by drugs and alcohol than older people, but are also more
vulnerable to the adverse effects of substance abuse; and
   WHEREAS, Each year, approximately 5,000 young people under 21
years of age die as a result of underage drinking; including about
1,900 deaths from motor vehicle crashes, 1,600 as a result of
homicides, 300 from suicide, as well as hundreds from other injuries
such as falls, burns, and drownings; and
   WHEREAS, Drinking continues to be widespread among adolescents, as
shown by nationwide surveys as well as studies in smaller
populations. According to an annual survey of  U.S. 
 United States  youth, three-fourths of 12th graders, more
than two-thirds of 10th graders, and about two in every five 
eighth   8th  graders have consumed alcohol; and
   WHEREAS, When youth drink, they tend to drink intensively, often
consuming four to five drinks at one time. Eleven percent of 
eighth   8th  graders, 22 percent of 10th graders,
and 29 percent of 12th graders report engaging in heavy 
episodic, or binge,   episodic or binge  drinking
within the past two weeks; and
   WHEREAS, Data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism's 2001-02 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and
Related Conditions, a survey of 43,000  U.S.  
United States  adults, showed that early alcohol use,
independent of other risk factors, may contribute to the risk of
developing future alcohol problems. Those who began drinking in their
early teens were at greater risk of developing alcohol dependence at
some point in their lives, and they were also at greater risk of
developing dependence more quickly and at younger ages. The findings
were reported in Volume 160 of the Archives of Pediatrics and
Adolescent Medicine from July 2006; and
   WHEREAS, In 2007, the United States Surgeon General, in
collaboration with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, issued a call to action to combat teen alcohol
drinking. The call to action highlighted the need to "e]ngage
parents, schools, communities, all levels of government, all social
systems that interface with youth, and youth themselves, in a
coordinated national effort to prevent and reduce underage drinking
and its consequences." In addition, the call to action urged
policymakers to "p]romote an understanding of underage alcohol
consumption in the context of human development and maturation that
takes into account individual adolescent characteristics as well as
environmental, ethnic, cultural, and gender differences"; and
   WHEREAS, The accumulating evidence of alcohol's adverse effects on
the developing brain is compelling. Given the prevalence of drinking
and binge drinking among adolescents, the prevention and reduction
of underage drinking must be a priority for the people of the State
of California; and
   WHEREAS, Governors of 41 states have joined the Leadership to Keep
Children Alcohol Free, a unique coalition of governors, governors'
spouses, federal agencies, and public and private organizations
working to prevent the use of alcohol by children 9 to 15 years of
age. It is the only national effort that focuses on this age group.
The initiative is alerting the nation to the critical public health
problem of underage drinking, mobilizing stakeholders, and promoting
evidence-based public policy initiatives; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature urges the Governor to make
the prevention of underage alcohol use a priority of the state by
working with state law enforcement, education, and public health
leaders; engaging parents, schools, communities, and all levels of
government, all social systems that interface with youth, and youth
themselves in a statewide effort to prevent and reduce underage
drinking and its consequences; and ensuring that California is active
in the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.