STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1591

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 1153
                                        H.D. 1
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No.
1153, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO RETAIL LIQUOR SALES TO
     MINORS,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to exempt minors between
eighteen and twenty years of age from the prohibition that minors
cannot purchase liquor, if that minor is participating in a
controlled purchase as part of a law enforcement activity or a
study authorized by the Department of Health.

     Your Committee finds that the prohibition against minors
possessing or purchasing liquor is a valid one when measured
against the statistics that show liquor use by minors increases
the chance of motor vehicle accidents, alcoholism experienced in
later life, damage to the minor's health, and other social
problems produced by alcohol related behaviors.  Yet some recent
studies have shown that minors remain largely undereducated about
the ill effects of alcohol and even shopkeepers unwittingly aid
youngsters by selling liquor products to underage persons.

     In order to bring this problem under control, sometimes
using underaged persons to participate in controlled purchases of

 
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                                   STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1591
                                   Page 2


liquor will enable law enforcement agencies to identify the
shopkeepers who sell liquor to underage persons who appear to be
older than they really are.  Following these identifications, the
shopkeepers can be educated about the law and the importance of
checking the age of the purchasers.  This bill is designed to
exempt minors who help the Department of Health or law
enforcement agencies in their work in this area.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
1153, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Third Reading.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Judiciary,



                                   ______________________________
                                   AVERY B. CHUMBLEY, Co-Chair



                                   ______________________________
                                   MATTHEW M. MATSUNAGA, Co-Chair

 
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