City Council members in Utah County's largest city are poised today to pass an ordinance requiring clerks to get a county-issued permit before they can sell beer.
There were 575 youths arrested in Utah County last year for drinking alcohol. Provo Councilman Dave Knecht says the tougher law will help keep alcohol out of their hands .
"If you get caught selling to a minor, there are consequences," Knecht said Monday. "Either you lose your job or you get reassigned, because you can't perform the function of selling beer anymore."
Provo is one of 18 Utah County cities that have, or are expected to adopt, the Eliminate Alcohol Sales to Youth (EASY) program launched in 1996 in Torrance, Calif. Orem also is expected to sign on later this month. Cedar City, Springville, Brigham City and Layton employ similar permit systems.
In cities that adopt the program, clerks have 90 days to take the free 1 1/2 -hour class and pass the exam to get the permit, which they must wear at work.
EASY is hard on clerks who sell to underage buyers. Clerks caught selling alcohol illegally lose their beer-handlers permits for a year. A third offense results in the clerk going without a beer badge for three years.
That is in addition to the fines clerks already face. Selling alcohol to a minor is a class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail.
"The EASY ordinance will reduce the number of arrests for underage consumption of alcohol by 50 percent or more," predicted Richard Nance, director of Utah County's Division of Substance Abuse.
After tapping into EASY in 1996, for example, Cedar City cut its arrests for underage drinking by 62 percent. Springville saw its arrests for underage consumption plummet 52 percent when it started a similar program several years ago.
"Now it's unusual to find someone who sells [beer] to a minor," Springville police Lt. David Caron said. "It used to be unusual to find one who wouldn't."
Utah County is funding the program for the beer badges and enforcement with $305,000 in state funding.
