PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006

SOBER TRUTH ON PREVENTING UNDERAGE

DRINKING ACT

120 STAT. 2890 PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006

Public Law 109–422

109th Congress

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 schooldesignated 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—

42 USC 201 note.

Sober Truth on

Preventing

Underage

Drinking Act.

Dec. 20, 2006

[H.R. 864]

PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006 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.—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

Establishment.

120 STAT. 2892 PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006

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.

PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006 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.

120 STAT. 2894 PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006

‘‘(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 youthfocused 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

PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006 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.

120 STAT. 2896 PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006

‘‘(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).

PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006 120 STAT. 2897

‘‘(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;

Notice.

Federal Register,

publication.

120 STAT. 2898 PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006

‘‘(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.

PUBLIC LAW 109–422—DEC. 20, 2006 120 STAT. 2899

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 864:

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.

Æ

‘‘(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.