[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.