S.B. ordinances target drinking below legal age
Records would be kept of keg purchasers; stiffer penalties for underagers
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - A pair of ordinances aimed at curbing underage drinking were moved forward by the Township Council during its Tuesday work session meeting.

One ordinance would impose fines and suspension of driving privileges for underage people caught drinking on private property. The other would require all beer kegs sold in South Brunswick to have an identification tag allowing a specific keg to be traced to a specific retailer, which, in turn, must keep records of the keg's purchaser.

Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz said that no specific incident in South Brunswick inspired the ordinances, but mentioned that other towns were passing similar measures and they seemed like a good idea, as the township has an interest in stopping underage drinking anyway.

The ordinance specifically targeting underage drinkers was drafted at the suggestion of both the Advisory Board of Health and the local organization Stop Underage Drinking Zone. Its passage would make it unlawful for anyone under the legal drinking age to knowingly possess or knowingly consume an alcoholic beverage on private property.

One exception to this rule is if the underage person is drinking as part of a religious ceremony or rite. Another allows the underage person to possess alcoholic beverages if that's part of his job, such as working at a liquor store or making a penne vodka.

Other than these two exceptions, if someone under the legal drinking age is caught on private property drinking alcohol, he or she is fined $250 for the first offense and $350 for each one after. Further, that person will either lose their license for six months or, if they don't have one yet, will have to wait six months longer than the legal age to be eligible for one.

The other ordinance requires all alcoholic beverage retailers to place big, visible tags on any beer keg they sell that links the retailer to that keg. Meanwhile, they would need to record either the number of the driver's license, government-issued ID card, military ID card, or passport of whoever buys a keg from them, along with the date and time of the purchase, the keg ID number and the buyer's signature. The ordinance itself recognizes that beer kegs are often a main source of alcohol for teenage parties and that when police arrive, revelers often scatter, leaving authorities no way to determine who bought the alcohol for the underage drinkers.

The keg ordinance is similar to ones being passed in other communities such as Belmar. A similar underage drinking ordinance was recently passed in North Brunswick.