Explanatory Notes and Limitations for Prohibitions Against Hosting Underage Drinking Parties
Explanatory Notes and Limitations Applicable to All APIS Policy Topics
1. State law may permit local jurisdictions to impose requirements in addition to those mandated by State law. Alternatively, State law may prohibit local legislation on this topic, thereby preempting local powers. APIS does not document policies established by local governments.
2. In addition to statutes and regulations, judicial decisions (case law) also may affect alcohol-related policies. APIS does not review case law except to determine whether judicial decisions have invalidated statutes or regulations that would otherwise affect the data presented in the comparison tables.
3. APIS reviews published administrative regulations. However, administrative decisions or directives that are not included in a State's published regulatory codes may have an impact on implementation. This possibility has not been addressed by the APIS research.
4. Statutes and regulations cited and linked in tables on this policy topic may have been amended or repealed after the specific date or time period specified by the site user's search criteria.
5. A comprehensive understanding of the data presented in the comparison tables for this policy topic requires examination of the jurisdiction notes and row notes that appear beneath the tables. Jurisdiction notes and row notes can also be accessed from the body of the table via links in the Jurisdiction column.
Explanatory Notes and Limitations Applicable to Prohibitions Against Hosting Underage Drinking Parties
1. Jurisdictions have enacted various provisions focusing on the furnishing and provision of alcohol to minors. See Furnishing Alcohol to Minors. For purposes of Prohibitions Against Hosting Underage Drinking Parties, APIS does not include provisions that prohibit persons from "aiding," "assisting," "abetting," or "knowingly enabling" a minor's possession or consumption of alcohol, or other provisions that relate generally to the furnishing of alcohol to a minor. Rather, the provisions collected under Prohibitions Against Hosting Underage Drinking Parties are those that prohibit persons from allowing or permitting underage possession or consumption on property within the person's ownership or control, without regard to whether the person furnished alcohol to minors.
2. Many jurisdictions have other provisions that may pertain to the actions of persons with regard to underage drinking. These provisions, although outside the scope of APIS, could potentially be used by law enforcement officials to provide State-imposed liability against a social host. This analysis does not consider or include the following types of provisions:
- general criminal statutes dealing with aiding or abetting alcohol possession or consumption by minors;
- statutes that declare, as a "public nuisance," maintaining a building or place where alcoholic beverages are manufactured, stored, transported, sold, or otherwise dispensed in violation of law;
- provisions dealing with contributing to the delinquency of a minor, child endangerment, or child abuse and neglect;
- provisions that may criminalize allowing a minor under an individual's supervision to drink alcohol, but without reference to any property under the individual's ownership or control; and
- provisions that pertain exclusively to persons in control of licensed premises.
3. Most jurisdictions do not specify a minimum number of guests at a gathering for a State-imposed liability statute to apply. Provisions that specify a minimum number are described in row notes or jurisdiction notes.
4. There is considerable variation across jurisdictions regarding the description of the social host's relationship to the property. Social hosts may have legal possession of property; control of property; ownership or control of property; or be the owner or occupant of property. APIS does not address these distinctions.
5. In some jurisdictions, State-imposed liability statutes apply only to social hosts above a certain age. APIS does not document the specific age provisions.
6. In some jurisdictions, State-imposed liability provisions apply only if the minors who are possessing or consuming alcohol are under a certain age less than 21. Such conditions are described in row notes or jurisdiction notes.
7. Some States have specific provisions relating to State-imposed liability for social hosts when underage drinking is limited to beverages containing less than one-half of one percent alcohol. APIS does not document provisions that are limited to such beverages.
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Explanatory Notes and Limitations