APIS Announces Update of Alcohol Policy Information

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May 9, 2008

The Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS), a project of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, announces its latest update of state-by-state alcohol policies. The update, which covers all 36 of the APIS “policy topics” from January 2006 to January 2007, is now available on the APIS Web site. APIS is an online resource that provides detailed information on selected alcohol-related policies across the United States.

The update highlights more than 40 changes in state alcohol policy statutes and regulations. Among the most prominent of these changes:

  • Connecticut, Oklahoma, and Rhode Island have adopted laws to impose criminal liability on those who host underage drinking parties.
  • North Carolina and Wyoming have adopted keg registration laws.
  • Seven changes were made to taxes of beer, wine, distilled spirits, and flavored alcohol beverages. Among the most significant: Mississippi has repealed its 1 percent sales tax on beer, wine, and distilled spirits, and Maryland has repealed its county-specific volume tax on beer while retaining a statewide tax of $0.09 per gallon on beer.
  • Colorado, Connecticut, and Nevada have adopted provisions that specifically prohibit insurers from denying payment for insurance benefits for losses due to intoxication of the insured.
  • Alaska has adopted a reporting requirements provision mandating that pregnant women who consume alcohol be reported to child welfare services. In contrast, South Dakota has added a provision to its reporting requirements laws to permit discretionary referral of women who consume alcohol during pregnancy to assessment or treatment services.

Many of the changes are consistent with the goal of reducing underage drinking and its consequences, as well as alcohol-related death and injury in the general population.

[This project has been funded in whole or in part with federal funds from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. HHSN267200800007C.]

For more details on these policy developments and to review other changes in alcohol policy across the country, visit the APIS Web site.