Social host law tabled by Senate government panel

HELENA - A proposed law allowing Montana counties to pass ordinances targeting people who host underage drinking parties has been tabled in committee.

The bill would have authorized counties to pass ordinances making a person liable for civil fines up to $500 per offense for hosting or being in control of a party or place where underage drinkers are present.

But the bill was tabled last month in the Senate Local Government Committee after debate about the definition of a "gathering" - which was amended to mean 10 or more people - and the rights of property owners, according to Sen. Greg Barkus, R-Kalispell.

"Concerns were expressed by some of the members of the committee that it was an infringement on property rights," said Barkus, who sponsored the bill. There now is little chance the bill will become law, Barkus said.

It already is illegal in Montana for people under 21 to possess or consume alcohol or for adults to provide minors with alcohol.

However, an ordinance that holds a person responsible for allowing underage drinking to occur on private property would help fight underage drinking where it most frequently occurs, according to Travis Bruyer, a Flathead County Sheriff's deputy and Alcohol Enforcement Team coordinator.

The bill, which only gave counties the authority to pass their own versions of social host ordinances, did not actually implement statewide sanctions for people hosting underage drinkers.

"I think that might have gotten lost in the translation," Barkus said.

It also would have permitted local governments to hold a person found responsible for hosting a party with underage drinking liable for costs and expenses associated with the case.

Since 2005, more than 3,800 Flathead County minors have been arrested for possession of alcohol, more than 400 adults have been arrested for providing alcohol, and more than 25 minors have been treated for alcohol poisoning.

Authorities have said a no-host ordinance may have helped prevent the death of 16-year-old Rocky Allen Plawman, who overdosed from a combination of alcohol and prescription drugs at a November 2007 party in Happy Valley. The gathering was hosted by a 38-year-old man.

Kalispell and Columbia Falls already have disorderly house ordinances that allow them to prosecute people hosting parties attended by underage drinkers. Other cities in Montana have adopted specific no-host ordinances.