Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 15–Senators Wiener, Rawson, Cegavske, Neal, Mathews, Nolan and Washington

 

March 7, 2003

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Referred to Committee on Human Resources and Facilities

 

SUMMARY—Encourages Department of Human Resources to study problem of alcohol and drug abuse by teenagers and young adults while driving motor vehicles. (BDR R‑4)

 

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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

 

Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Encouraging the Department of Human Resources to study the problem of alcohol and drug abuse by teenagers and young adults while driving motor vehicles.

 

1-1  Whereas, For many years the Nevada Legislature has

1-2  identified underage drinking and drug use as a critical public health

1-3  problem and is dedicated to mobilizing and coordinating efforts and

1-4  action to prevent it; and

1-5  Whereas, Research indicates that the earlier children begin

1-6  drinking, the more likely they are to have alcohol-related

1-7  dependency problems, including for example, those children who

1-8  drink before the age of 15 years are four times more likely to

1-9  develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at the

1-10  age of 21 years; and

1-11      Whereas, The Nevada Legislature realizes that the entire

1-12  community, including the Department of Human Resources, other

1-13  state and local agencies, parents, teachers and other school staff and

1-14  community groups must present a clear, consistent “NO USE”

1-15  message to those under the age of 21 years; and

1-16      Whereas, Teenagers and young adults with ready access to a

1-17  motor vehicle have become increasingly mobile, thereby adding a

1-18  new fluid dynamic to the manner in which they use alcohol and

1-19  illegal drugs; and

2-1  Whereas, When responding to the Youth Risk Behavior

2-2  Survey conducted in 2001 under the auspices of the Centers for

2-3  Disease Control and Prevention, 30 percent of Nevada’s high school

2-4  students reported that they had ridden with a drinking driver during

2-5  the past month and 17.5 percent reported that they rarely or never

2-6  used safety belts; and

2-7  Whereas, In 2000, a total of 2,339 teenagers, from 15 to 20

2-8  years of age, were killed in alcohol-related traffic accidents in the

2-9  United States and that figure rose to 2,453 teen fatalities in 2001;

2-10  and

2-11      Whereas, Of the 1,586 juvenile arrests for liquor violations

2-12  reported by Nevada’s local law enforcement agencies, 73 involved

2-13  driving under the influence of alcohol; and

2-14      Whereas, Research continues to show that young drivers are

2-15  more often involved in alcohol-related accidents than any other age

2-16  group, with the peak for fatal crashes occurring at 21 years of age;

2-17  and

2-18      Whereas, In 2000, the ages with the next highest number of

2-19  fatalities in alcohol-related accidents were 19, 22, 20 and 23,

2-20  respectively; and

2-21      Whereas, The highest prevalence of both binge and heavy

2-22  drinking in 2000 was among young adults, 18 to 25 years of age,

2-23  with the peak rate occurring at 21 years of age; and

2-24      Whereas, In 2001, the National Transportation Safety Board

2-25  reported that, at 53 percent, young adults from 21 to 24 years of age

2-26  have the highest percentage of alcohol-related driver deaths of any

2-27  age group in this country; and

2-28      Whereas, The 2001 report of the National Center on Substance

2-29  Abuse and Addiction (CASA), in New York City, entitled

2-30  “Shoveling Up: Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets,”

2-31  states that only 1 percent of the $473 million total that Nevada

2-32  spends annually on substance abuse programs is used for prevention

2-33  and treatment, while the remaining 99 percent is used for cleaning

2-34  up the wreckage caused by substance abuse and addiction; now,

2-35  therefore, be it

2-36      Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the

2-37  Assembly Concurring, That the Nevada Legislature hereby

2-38  encourages the Department of Human Resources in cooperation

2-39  with the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public

2-40  Safety and the Department of Education to study the problem of

2-41  alcohol and drug use by those under the age of 21 years and alcohol

2-42  and drug abuse by those young adults who are between 21 and 25

2-43  years of age, while driving a motor vehicle. The study should

2-44  include, without limitation:

3-1  1.  A compilation of any available statistics relating to this

3-2  problem;

3-3  2.  A determination of the causes of this behavior;

3-4  3.  An assessment of the effectiveness of available public and

3-5  private programs and existing policies for the prevention of this

3-6  behavior;

3-7  4.  An evaluation of the techniques, programs, and practices

3-8  that are most successful in preventing this behavior;

3-9  5.  Identification of the gaps in services and public knowledge

3-10  relating to the causes, prevalence, and incidence of this behavior;

3-11  and

3-12      6.  An appraisal of the adequacy of current interagency

3-13  collaboration, including, without limitation, data sharing, program

3-14  development, and cross-training, in meeting the challenges of this

3-15  problem; and be it further

3-16      Resolved, That the Department of Human Resources is

3-17  encouraged to request assistance in obtaining information for this

3-18  study from substance abuse counselors, judges who hear cases

3-19  concerning alcohol and drug abuse by teenagers and young adults,

3-20  insurance companies and motor clubs, KIDS COUNT, and other

3-21  groups that work to prevent drinking and driving such as Students

3-22  Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), STOP DUI, Mothers

3-23  Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and the Northern Nevada DUI

3-24  Task Force; and be it further

3-25      Resolved, That the Department of Human Resources is

3-26  authorized to accept any gifts, grants and donations to carry out this

3-27  study; and be it further

3-28      Resolved, That, if such a study is conducted, the Department

3-29  of Human Resources report to the 73rd Session of the Nevada

3-30  Legislature with a recommended plan of action for modifying

3-31  existing policies and programs that would more comprehensively

3-32  work to prevent drinking and drug use by those under the age of 21

3-33  years by incorporating new research and science-based programs

3-34  and new technology that do not send mixed messages or condone

3-35  underage drinking, and which include methods of addressing

3-36  alcohol and drug abuse by young adults between 21 and 25 years of

3-37  age in motor vehicles into the scope of this state’s strategies for the

3-38  prevention of alcohol and drug abuse; and be it further

3-39      Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and

3-40  transmit a copy of this resolution to the Department of Education for

3-41  dissemination to counselors at junior high and middle schools, high

3-42  schools and charter schools, to the Board of Regents for

3-43  dissemination to counselors at the institutions within the University

3-44  and Community College System of Nevada, to the Nevada Parent-

3-45  Teacher Association for dissemination to the local chapters if the

4-1  Association in public and private elementary and secondary schools,

4-2  including charter schools, to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities

4-3  Association for dissemination to athletic coaches in this state, to the

4-4  Retail Association of Nevada for dissemination to businesses that

4-5  sell alcohol to persons over-the-counter, and to entities that provide

4-6  training to bartenders and others persons who sell or deliver alcohol

4-7  by the drink, such as the Bartenders Union Local 165 and

4-8  TAM/Nevada, Techniques of Alcohol Management.

 

4-9  H