House Bill 1833
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HM 1833
By Representative Crow
1 House Memorial
2 A memorial to the Congress of the United
3 States, requesting that Congress conduct
4 hearings on the life-threatening problems of
5 underage drinking and drunk driving.
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7 WHEREAS, underage drinking and drunk driving are a
8 serious problem that threatens the lives and safety of
9 America's children and the security of America's families, and
10 WHEREAS, the news media routinely report horrific
11 accounts of young people being killed and maimed throughout
12 Florida and the nation due to underage drinking and drunk
13 driving, and
14 WHEREAS, at the Alcohol Policies XI Conference held in
15 May 1998, General Barry McCaffrey, director of the Office of
16 National Drug Control Policy, provided the assessment that
17 "there is no question that the worst drug among adolescents
18 right now from any standpoint is alcohol," and
19 WHEREAS, United States Surgeon General David Satcher
20 quotes the finding that "alcohol-related car crashes are a
21 major cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24," and
22 WHEREAS, the Office of the Surgeon General cites that
23 among teenagers, alcohol is used more frequently than all
24 illicit drugs combined, and
25 WHEREAS, it is believed that underage drinking
26 exacerbates the problem of drunk driving and other
27 alcohol-related societal problems, and is a major factor in
28 school dropout rates and poor academic performance, and
29 WHEREAS, despite the abundance of statistical evidence
30 supporting the dangers of underage drinking, the most
31 meaningful statistic is always the personal tragedy that
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HM 1833
568-157A-99
1 occurs whenever the loss of or injury to a single child is
2 experienced as a result of underage drinking or drunk driving,
3 and
4 WHEREAS, the problem of underage drinking and drunk
5 driving remains out of control in Florida and in all other
6 states, and
7 WHEREAS, the United States has been unable to
8 adequately address this national problem and it is painfully
9 obvious that much more needs to be done, and
10 WHEREAS, in the interest of bringing to an end the
11 needless suffering of so many Florida residents and citizens
12 throughout the United States who have fallen victim to this
13 national dilemma, it is imperative that Floridians do
14 everything in their power to get drunk drivers off the
15 highways and to find a solution to the problem of underage
16 drinking, and
17 WHEREAS, to this end, the Congress of the United States
18 should undertake congressional hearings for the purpose of
19 addressing the life-threatening problem of underage drinking
20 and drunk driving with the goal of arriving at a comprehensive
21 solution to this national problem, and
22 WHEREAS, the congressional hearings should have the
23 following objectives:
24 1. Documentation of the actual magnitude, nature, and
25 urgency of the underage drinking and alcohol-impaired driving
26 problem in the United States.
27 2. Determination of the reasons for the
28 ineffectiveness of current laws and programs.
29 3. Identification of the variations in current laws
30 and programs within the various states and within communities.
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Florida House of Representatives - 1999 HM 1833
568-157A-99
1 4. Evaluation of a proposed concept by the Campaign
2 for Alcohol-Free Kids that proposes the establishment of a
3 Uniform National Code of Underage Drinking and Drunk Driving
4 Control that will determine standards for a comprehensive,
5 total-systems approach designed to assist all states and
6 communities in bringing this problem under permanent control.
7 5. The convening of the top experts in the United
8 States in the areas of underage drinking and drunk driving for
9 the purpose of proposing and evaluating all possible solutions
10 to this problem.
11 6. Development of comprehensive solutions and
12 recommendations for evaluation by state legislatures.
13 WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Florida urges
14 the undertaking of such hearings at the earliest possible
15 date, NOW, THEREFORE,
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17 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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19 That the Congress of the United States is requested to
20 conduct hearings on the problem of underage drinking and drunk
21 driving with the objectives set forth in this memorial.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
23 sent to the President of the United States, the President of
24 the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States
25 House of Representatives, and to each member of the Florida
26 delegation to the United States Congress.
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