WASHINGTON — The Maryland House Judiciary Committee gave a favorable vote to a bill that would increase the penalties for parents who allow underage drinking in their homes.
House Bill 409 has been dubbed 鈥淎lex and Calvin鈥檚 Law鈥� by supporters. It was named for Alex Murk and Calvin Li, in a crash after leaving a home where underage drinking was allowed by a parent. That parent was cited and fined — the extent of the penalty under current law.
The bill calls for doubling the current fine of $2,500 for the first offense and adds possible jail time: one year for the first offense, two years for a second offense.
Kurt Erikson, with the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, which has championed the law, says the bill has been amended by the committee, to remove jail time for 鈥渇urnishing鈥� alcohol. That鈥檚 the crime of providing or supplying the alcohol. The possible jail time penalty would still exist for anyone who allowed their home to be used as a site for an underage drinking party.
The Senate version of the bill has already been unanimously passed.
