STOP Act

        [Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 864 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

H.R.864

One Hundred Ninth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and six

An Act

To provide for programs and activities with respect to the prevention of
underage drinking.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. 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--
``(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.--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
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.

``(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.
``(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 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.
``(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).
``(D) Accountability.--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;
``(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.
``(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.''.

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.