An Act relating to a minor operating a vehicle after consuming alcohol, to a minor refusing to submit to chemical tests, and to driving during the 24 hours after being cited for one of those offenses; and providing for an effective date.

The purpose of CSSB224 is to change Alaska's law to allow for stiffer penalties to apply when a person under the legal drinking age drives after consuming any amount of alcohol.

Under current Alaska law, a person under 21 who drives with a BAC of below .08 will receive a charge of minor consuming and/or minor operating a vehicle after consuming, both of which are infractions. Typically, infractions can be given for minor matters such as jaywalking.

SB224 makes it a Class B Misdemeanor for minors not complying with zero tolerance laws and increases those penalties for repeat offenders. A minor with no prior convictions will receive a fine up to $1000.00 and/or community service. Someone coming in with a prior conviction faces fines up to $2000.00, a minimum of 40 hours of community service. Because the offense is a Class B Misdemeanor, the minor may receive up to 90 days in jail.

If 21 is of age to legally drink alcohol, why should it be acceptable for any person under the legal drinking age to drink and drive? Drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 years old make up roughly 7% of the total driving population. That 7% constitutes 14% of the alcohol related fatalities. Zero Tolerance laws can act as a deterrent and dramatically help change this deadly pattern of behavior.

# # #