Table 1.

Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 (MLDA-21) Law Components: Descriptions and Scoring Changes

MLDA-21 LAW COMPONENTS	Description and Comment on Scoring
CORE LAWS THAT APPLY TO YOUTH:
1.Possession 2.Purchase	Illegal for youth under age 21 to possess alcohol. Scoring change. Illegal for youth under age 21 to purchase or attempt to purchase alcohol. Possession and purchase were treated together as the laws that met federal standards by 1988
EXPANDED LAWS THAT APPLY TO YOUTH:
3.Consumption 4.Internal Possession 5.Use and Lose	Illegal for youth under age 21 to consume alcohol. Scoring change. Evidence of possession and consumption via a BAC test. New law. Alcohol citation for youth under age 21 results in drivers' license suspension
6. Use of Fake Identification	FID minor – illegal for youth under age 21 to use a fake identification to purchase alcohol
APPLY TO YOUTH DRIVING:
7. Zero Tolerance	ZT – illegal for a driver under age 21 to have any alcohol in their system when driving
8. Graduated Driver Licensing with Night Restrictions	GDL – youth with intermediate or provisional license prohibited from driving without an adult in the vehicle past a certain hour at night
APPLY TO PROVIDERS:
9.Furnishing or Selling	Illegal to furnish or sell alcohol to a youth under age 21. Scoring change.
10.Age of On-Premise Servers	Minimum age set for selling/serving alcohol. Scoring change.
11.Age of On-Premise Bartenders	Minimum age for bartenders. New law
12.Age of Off-Premise Sellers	Minimum age set for selling/serving alcohol. Scoring change.
13.Keg Registration	Identification number for beer keg and purchaser required
14.Responsible Beverage Service Training	RBS – responsible beverage training mandatory or voluntary. Scoring change.
15.Retailer Support Provisions for Fake Identification	FID Retailer – provisions to assist retailers in avoiding sales to youth under age 21
16.Social Host Prohibition	SHP – prohibits social hosting of underage 21 drinking parties. Scoring change.
17.Dram Shop Liability	Action against commercial provider of alcohol. New law
18.Social Host Civil Liability	Action against non-commercial (private) provider of alcohol. New law
APPLY TO MANUFACTURERS OR SUPPLIERS OF FAKE IDENTIFICATION:
19. Transfer/Production of Fake Identification	FID Supplier – prohibits manufacturing and/or supplying fake identification to youth for the purposes of buying alcohol
APPLY TO STATES CONCERNING CONTROL OF ALCOHOL DISTRIBUTION:
20. State Control of Alcohol Sales	State Control – a state-run retail distribution system of one or more of the alcohol beverage types