Bill targets alcohol containers

A bill amending existing Indiana open container legislation that passed the State Senate in late January will move on for consideration in the House Public Policy Committee this month. \nThe proposed legislation, authored by Senator Thomas Wyss, R - Fort Wayne, would prohibit possession of an open container in a motor vehicle operating along the right-of-way on Indiana public highways. Current law specifies that driving with an open container in the passenger compartment is only legally punishable if the driver's blood alcohol level is at or above the legal limit of .08. The driver in question would face a Class B infraction, punishable by fines capped at $1,000.\n"This bill is a step in the right direction for our state," Wyss said in a statement. "Not only will it provide safer roadways for Hoosier families, but also it will supply more federal funding for improvements of our state highways."\nThe IU Police Department does not keep statistics on the number of cases involving open container infractions, but IUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said the department "deals with it quite frequently, whether with pedestrians or in vehicles."\nFootball tailgating is a particularly sticky area heavily targeted by both IUPD and Bloomington Police Department officers. The Indiana state code defines a "public highway" as "a street, an alley, a road, a highway or a road in Indiana, including privately owned business parking lot and drive that is used by the public or is open to the public."\nMinger said he thinks the proposed legislation wouldn't apply to parked vehicles, however, since they are parked in grassy areas designated for tailgating activities. \nBPD Sgt. Jeff Canada said the force doesn't have the necessary resources to aggressively enforce open container laws. \n"We don't say, 'Okay, we're going to go out and get people with open containers,' but if officers run across someone blatantly possessing an open container right in front of them, they'll obviously take enforcement," he said.\nDean of Students Richard McKaig said students who violate state open container laws and are charged by IUPD officers are referred to the Office of Student Ethics. The University must be granted access to the police report, which is common in instances witnessed by IUPD but less common with BPD or Indiana State Police. \n"The law has a limited impact on the disciplinary system of the University," McKaig said. "Most likely, all cases would be adjudicated through the local criminal justice system."\nA number of state governments are currently reconsidering or have recently amended open container legislation to bring it more in line with federal compliance policies. Indiana's current law, passed in 1994, does not have the specific statutory language to comply with federal open container standards, and the state is thus fiscally penalized by the government, according to Wyss. \nAlcohol education efforts and costs incurred by similar correction programs and enforcement of drunk-driving laws are therefore siphoned off federal funding offered to the state for road and transportation improvements. Only 90 percent of that money is actually transferred into state coffers, as per federal law limiting how many federal dollars can be moved into separate accounts. \nThat translates to a loss of roughly $1.35 million, according to the fiscal impact statement. \nThis isn't Wyss' first effort at changing Indiana's open container provisions. He's been lobbying for change since early 2001, when he claimed he was "appalled" that late Gov. Frank O'Bannon's administration, as well as the Indiana Department of Transportation, allegedly had not initiated efforts to change the law. \n"I was appalled to learn from the Governor's appointees that INDOT (Indiana Department of Transportation) has decided to not even attempt to change the law regarding open alcoholic beverage containers in vehicles," Wyss said in a 2001 statement. "The administration's lack of interest in bringing our law into federal compliance has already cost the state $15 million in highway construction money and will cost us $15 million more next year."\nSimilar legislation authored by Wyss and introduced in the 2002 session also passed the House in 2002 but was not granted a hearing in the House committee, then controlled by a majority of Democrats. \nThe pending legislation could in fact bring in additional revenue to state resources, he says. According to the fiscal impact statement offered by Wyss, between 55 and 70 percent of monies extracted from infraction judgments and court fees would be deposited in the state's General Fund. \nMcKaig said he thinks the legislation will reap positive benefits for the state. \n"I'm not a big believer in having the right to drink to excess or endanger others," McKaig said. "I'd ask students to think about their own friends dying in drunk-driving accidents when they are innocent and the other person was drinking. It's not a question of rights but of what you want the other people in the car coming at you to do. Personally, I wouldn't want them to be drinking."\n-- Contact senior writer Holly Johnson at hljohnso@indiana.edu.