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GA HB860
Bill
Status
Introduced
2/7/2018
Primary Sponsor
Emory Dunahoo
Click for details
AI Summary
- Creates a new "social host" criminal offense for any person who, with criminal negligence, organizes, permits, or hosts a gathering of two or more individuals on property, in a vehicle, or vessel they own, rent, borrow, or control, and furnishes or allows the furnishing of alcohol to anyone under 21 years of age
- Provides affirmative defenses for social hosts who took reasonable action to prevent underage drinking (such as verifying ages and monitoring consumption) or who took immediate action to stop the violation and reported it to law enforcement
- Exempts multifamily property owners or landlords from the social hosting offense if they were not involved in organizing the gathering and did not affirmatively allow it knowing underage drinking would likely occur
- Establishes penalties for first-time social hosting violations as a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months' imprisonment, a fine of up to $300.00, or both, with second or subsequent convictions classified as a standard misdemeanor; allows courts to grant conditional discharge with probation (up to three years) for first-time offenders with no prior alcohol-related convictions
- Allows law enforcement to arrest social hosting offenders by citation and permits criminal history record restriction for individuals who successfully complete conditional discharge probation for the social hosting offense
Legislative Description
Alcoholic beverages; social host's criminal responsibility; provisions
Last Action
House Second Readers
2/12/2018
Full Bill Text
No bill text available