September 4, 2003 Board Room Alcoholic Beverages Division
Members Present in the Chambers:	Shirley Daggett Mary Hunter Scott Doll Dick Stoffer Gayle Collins
Guests Present:	Sheila Douglas, Iowa Wholesale Beer Distributors Jerry Fleagle, Iowa Grocery Industry Association Doni DeNucci, Iowa Hospitality Association Betty Brown, Victim & Restorative Justice, Iowa DOC W. D. "Jeff" Brawner Carolyn Sneller Jeri Hodson Mark Knudsen
Staff Present:	Lynn Walding Jim Kuhlman Judy Seib Linda Cox
Counsel Present:	John Lundquist

Call to Order

Minutes of Previous Meeting

Holiday Show

The division will hold three regional Holiday Shows this year in an effort to make the show more convenient for retailers. The first show will be held at the Quality Inn & Suites Highlander Convention Center in Iowa City on Monday, September 8th. The Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (ABD) will host the second show on Tuesday, September 9th and the final show will be Thursday, September 11th at the Sioux City Convention Center in Sioux City. All shows will be from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Sales and attendance are expected to be about the same as in past years according to Jim Kuhlman. Due to the problem with logistics, set-up and tear-down, displays will be scaled down this year. Suppliers will continue to offer samples, provide tastings and serve hors d'oeuvres.

Coffee with the Administrator II

Last year Lynn Walding invited retailers to join him for Coffee with the Administrator meetings in eight cities. The "Coffees" were nuts and bolts business-planning sessions that impacted several ABD business decisions made throughout the year. Retailers have been invited to attend Coffee with the Administrator II meetings in six cities this year and Mr. Walding anticipates a higher attendance rate this year. The first "Coffee" will be held in Iowa City on Monday, September 8th following the Holiday Show. The "Coffee" will be held from 2:00 to 5:00 PM.

The first item on the Agenda will be a review of operational changes implemented as a result of the 2002 "Coffees" such as the Iowa Liquor Quarterly and mandatory EFT transfers. Based on input from the retailers, the decision was made not to increase the split case fee.

Last year at this time the Program Elimination Commission (PEC) was looking for ways to cut state government by 2% and the ABD warehouse operation was one of the functions being considered for elimination. Many Class E licensees who attended the "Coffees" contacted the members of the PEC urging them not to eliminate the ABD warehousing operation and to keep the state in the wholesale business.

This year Governor Vilsack, by Executive Order, named the ABD as one of six charter agencies. As a charter agency, the ABD can potentially change the liquor mark up, product delivery and other services. The ABD has received a $300,000 grant to implement electronic order entry and electronic licensing.

Other agenda items include: Product Portfolio, Marketing of Alcohol and Delivery Schedules. Federal DOT regulations will change January 4, 2004. Changes include reducing the number of hours a driver can be on the road before taking a break and extending break times from 8 to 10 hours. In addition, the total time drivers can be on the road drops from 15 to 14 hours and all commercial drivers will be required to keep a logbook.

Dram Shop Reform

Lynn Walding gave a recap of the previous Dram Shop Reform Public Hearings. Highlights from the previous hearings included:

1. Ban on all-you-can-drink specials.
2. Rate the risk.
3. Reduce the rates.
4. Include off-premises establishments in the Dram Shop Act.
5. Server training laws and stricter enforcement.
6. Concern about the potential impact of .08.
7. Rewrite § 123.92 to include "give away" or providing alcohol.
8. Effect of new dram rates in reducing premature settlement by dram carriers.
9. Designate BAC for public intoxication.
10. Prohibit single can sales or carryout sales after 9 PM.

Victim Impact Panel

Mr. Walding introduced Betty Brown from the Department of Corrections (DOC).

Ms. Brown began working at Victims Services in 1990. Part of the healing process for victims is to share their story; however, Ms. Brown soon discovered working with victims of violent crimes that nobody wants to hear the stories. About 10 years ago, Ms. Brown started conducting impact panels at the prison institutions so that perpetrators of crime can hear from victims. Although it is hard, the victims need to tell their story. They want people to know what it is like to lose someone to a drunk driver. The purpose, according to Ms. Brown, is not to blame, nor to judge, but to tell the story and keep the memory of their loved one alive.

Jeri
In 1962, Jeri's 21-year-old cousin was driving while intoxicated when he hit a telephone pole. He died two weeks later from the injuries he sustained. Jeri remembered the most horrific part of the ordeal was that the gearshift went through his head. His siblings had to see that hole in his head each time Jeri took them to visit their brother in the hospital. As a result of her son's death, Jeri's aunt turned into a very bitter woman.

Ten years later, a drunk driver struck the brother-in-law of the cousin who was killed. Jeri's husband, a member of the rescue unit, accompanied him to the hospital and was the only family member present when he died.

In 1986, Jeri and her sister received calls from their niece. The doctor for the niece's son wanted to talk with her. Since her parents were out of town, the niece wanted her aunts to go with her to the doctor's office. At the doctor's office they learned that her child's cancer had returned and the child did not have long to live. On the way home from the doctor's office Geri and her sister, Judy, talked about how they would get through this - together. A few hours later, Jeri received a call from her son telling Jeri that she and her husband were needed at home immediately. When they arrived, they learned that Judy and her daughter Cindy had been involved in a fatal car accident with a drunken driver. Both Judy and Cindy were pronounced dead at the scene. Judy had 4 children. The last image Judy's 12-year-old son had of his mother was of her hanging out the car door dead. That son has never been able to have a successful relationship due to the accident.

The man who killed Jeri's sister and niece was smoking marijuana and had been drinking at Seniomsed. At the time of the accident, he was angry at some gas station who wouldn't sell him any more beer. The man pled not guilty, was tried before a judge and found guilty. He appealed the verdict allowing him another year of freedom. The man eventually spent three years in prison. Each time he came up for parole, Jeri went before the Parole Board. Following his parole, the man was arrested for beating his wife and trying to kill her. Jeri attended 7 parole revocation hearings before the man was finally put away.

Following her sister and niece's deaths, Jeri wanted to help other victims. She joined Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), took 10 years of training at MADD, got her college degree and became a victim advocate for the state of Iowa for 10 years.

Jeri and her husband still had one child, Jim, living at home when they started to get their lives back on track. On February 15th, they were leaving town for a weekend "get-away" when they saw their son's car in the ditch. The intoxicated driver was traveling in excess of 95 miles an hour when he ran the stop sign and hit Jim broadside. The force of the accident pushed Jim, in his seat, to the back of the car ripping the main aorta of his heart and killing him instantly. A rookie policeman on the scene had to tell Jeri and her husband that their son was dead. The policeman allowed Jeri to get in the car and hold her son with her husband on the other side. As they were leaving the area, Jeri retrieved her son's shoe from the field and took it home with her. Her husband slept with that shoe for months. The bloody clothes of Jeri and her husband hung in the closet for over two years because her husband would not let her dispose of them. Her husband, depressed and unable to function, sat on the couch while their three businesses went under. They lost everything.

A jury acquitted the driver who killed her son because "he didn't mean to do it." Due to Jeri's involvement in MADD, the bench ordered that no one in her family could show any emotion in the courtroom or they would be removed and not allowed to return. Following the verdict, Jeri's daughter encountered the man outside and called him a murderer. The man responded by striking the daughter so hard that it cut her lip. The man had witnesses state that he was "afraid she was going to kill me;" consequently, no charges were filed and nothing happened to the man for striking Jeri's daughter. At that point, Jeri suffered a mental breakdown and was taken to Lutheran Hospital for treatment.

Two years ago, Jeri and her husband were returning from a family dinner at her son's home in Berwick. They were following her father-in-law home when a drunk driver ran a stop sign and hit her father-in-law's truck. The first officer and the two witnesses on the scene were the same individuals who were on the scene when Jeri's son was killed. The accidents occurred about a half-mile apart on East 29th Street. Although her father-in-law survived his accident, he is no longer able to move one arm and requires assistance. He also suffers guilt that he survived the accident and his grandson died in a similar accident. The man who hit her father-in-law had a Breathalyzer in his vehicle. He pled guilty, is on probation, and is still paying his restitution. When the driver accepted responsibility for his actions, it gave the family some sense of justice and closure.

Jeri pointed out that in addition to the mental anguish of losing loved ones, 50% of parents who lose children develop cancer within five years. Her husband developed cancer within three years. With no insurance coverage, her husband had his surgery at the Veteran's Hospital where they mistakenly gave him the wrong medication causing him to go deaf.

Jeff
Jeff's son Tracy was 31 years and 11 days old when a drunken driver took his life. Tracy grew up in the town of Mingo where there wasn't much for young people to do; however, a local tavern allowed the young people to play pool in the establishment. Tracy enjoyed the game and continued to play pool at the local tavern in Colfax when his family moved there during his high school years.

Tracy was a likeable young man who enjoyed people and liked doing things for others. After playing pool, Tracy often stopped by an elderly woman's home to visit with her prior to going to his own home. When Tracy got his own car, he and his girlfriend would take the elderly woman out for a drive and dinner. The bartender at the tavern where Tracy played pool often asked him to drive people home that were too drunk to drive and Tracy obliged.

On October 28th, Tracy and his bride of one year were taking care of Tracy's nephews when Tracy received a call from the bar asking him to drive a man, who was too drunk to drive, to Newton. Tracy gave the man a ride and was returning to his own home when he was involved in a nearly head-on collision with a drunken driver. Tracy was killed instantly. The 19-year-old drunken driver was thrown from his car. The drunk driver's car caught fire and the fire spread to Tracy's car. Fortunately, a man who lived close by was able to hook onto Tracy's car and pull it away from the other burning car.

During the nine months it took Jeff to get the county attorney in Newton to file charges, the drunken driver continued to drink and drive. When the case finally went to court, the county attorney and highway patrolman tried to get the family to agree to accept a plea bargain. When Jeff refused, he was told he had no choice in the matter. A plea bargain that was accepted required the court to bring the defendant back in 90 days and reconsider. The Winterset judge brought the defendant back in 56 days, found him guilty and sentenced him to 10 years. Jeff and his family wrote letters to the man during his incarceration but received no response. At the final parole board hearing, when prompted, the man mumbled an apology for what he did. The man served two years, 4 months and 4 days of his sentence. Jeff commented he never saw the man's parents present at any of the court proceedings or parole hearings. Despite his loss, Jeff felt sorry for the young man.

Jeff stated that God, MADD and friends helped his family get through the tragedy; however, there is never a day goes by that he doesn't think and talk about his son. The death of a loved one creates a rippling effect that never stops according to Jeff. Three months after Tracy's death, his mother-in-law died very suddenly. Two years later Jeff had a massive heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery. His mother died the same day that the drunken driver killed Jeri's son.

Carolyn
Carolyn and her husband were proud of their 19-year-old son Ryan. He was an athlete, worked two jobs and was a good kid who got excellent grades. He was the first Sneller to go to college. Carolyn and her husband knew Ryan was going to be great. And he would have been.

That fall weekend 10 years ago, Ryan returned to Casey for the weekend to see his friends and to celebrate his 19th birthday with family; however, his family never got to see him. Ryan called home and told his mother that he planned to see his girlfriend on Friday and to help a friend move on Saturday before he came home. The move fell through and Ryan ended up in a bar with a friend. Although Ryan did drink occasionally, he typically would not have been in a bar according to Carolyn. He was the kid who always took the keys away from others and didn't let them drive drunk.

At 11:00 PM, Saturday, October 16th Carolyn received a call from her father telling her that Ryan had been in a terrible accident but he didn't know the details. The police arrived within an hour and told the family that Ryan had been drinking in a bar in Anita, left the bar and had "a possible stop sign violation" that resulted in a high-speed police chase through three counties. During the chase, Ryan's car went airborne, flipped over the railroad tracks and burned. Ryan was ejected from the car and was found dead on the railroad track.

Carolyn acknowledged that Ryan made some poor decisions by drinking and driving and he paid the price with his life; however, others were also at fault. Ryan was drinking in a bar that was known to serve minors. His billfold contained his original driver's license that had not been altered. A friend of Ryan's who saw him at the bar, stated that Ryan was visibly intoxicated. Ryan staggered over to his friend and told her with slurred speech, "I'm drunk. I don't know how I'm going to get home, but I have to go now. I know it's going to take me a long time to get there because I've got to drive real slow."

Following the funeral, the family contacted several attorneys. The family was seeking justice for Ryan, not money. Although no attorney wanted to take the case, one attorney strongly suggested that the family seek counseling because 50% of marriages fail after the death of a child.

Carolyn was crazy with grief and unable to function. Her marriage was nearly destroyed and her family was neglected while Carolyn struggled to get through each day. She felt alone and was suicidal.

Although Carolyn contacted MADD shortly after the accident, the initial call was not successful. Carolyn felt she didn't deserve to talk to MADD because her son was drinking and driving. Three years later Carolyn made a second phone call to MADD and was put in touch with Jeri who listened when others didn't want to. Carolyn believes that her family is going to make it now and that they will stay together.

Mr. Walding commented that he and Ms. Seib were familiar with the case. The bar was Bucko's in Anita. Mr. Walding stated that the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division (ABD) decided on a 120-day suspension; however, on appeal, the District Court said 60 days was sufficient. Upon further appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that the ABD had discretion. The ABD ordered a 120-day suspension because the bar was serving an intoxicated person who was a minor. When asked what her son's blood alcohol content registered, Carolyn replied that he was extremely intoxicated with a .186 BAC.

Mark
Ten years ago, a drunken driver struck down Mark's 30-year-old nephew while he was finishing curbs. His nephew suffered brain damage and was hospitalized in the intensive care unit for about four months. The doctor told the family that Mark's nephew would be unable to return to his job as a cement finisher because of the brain damage. Although his nephew did return to his job, he has to carry pads of paper with notes on them to remind him what to do. The drunken driver who hit Mark's nephew had been arrested several times and was driving with a revoked license. Within two weeks of the accident, the man was back on the streets driving.

Mark made the following points:

1. He wants legislators to clean up their own acts.
2. He objects to a business by East High School that has a drive-in window where patrons can buy one bottle of cold beer for immediate consumption.
3. He advocates stiffer penalties for drinking and driving similar to Scandinavian laws.
4. He wants the Legislature and the ABD Commission to get very serious about drinking and driving and serving to minors violations.

Discussion

Commissioner Stoffer asked the panelists for their input. Jeri responded that she would like the bartenders and servers to pay more attention and be more responsible for patrons who have imbibed too much. She advocates more educational training for bartenders and servers to recognize when an individual has had too much to drink.

Mr. Walding asked how the Commission could help reduce the number of claims, incidences of drunk driving and other crimes that flow from the over-serving of patrons. Jeri responded that following the deaths of her sister and niece, her efforts with the City Council resulted in Seniomsed issuing drink tickets rather than all-you-could-drink as fast as you could.

Mr. Walding distributed copies of the High-Risk Drinking on College Campuses White Paper. He pointed out that passage of .08 was Recommendation Number 6. Jeri commented she worked very hard to get .08 passed and was happy the Legislature finally passed the law. In her work with MADD, Jeri saw many people avoid prosecution for drunken driving because they were not considered legally intoxicated at .09.

Commissioner Collins reiterated her stand that enforcement is the issue. She stated all-you-can-drink specials do not mean all-you-can-drink until you're drunk. Commissioner Collins stated there are bartenders and servers who don't care and will serve kids and adults when they are visibly drunk. She advocates more stringent consequences for over-serving patrons.

Carolyn stated that the bar owner where her son was drinking had publicly stated that the fine was minimal for serving underage patrons and he could make more from the sale of the drinks than the fine would cost.

Like Jeri, Carolyn desires more education for bartenders and servers to recognize when a person has had too much to drink.

Jeff favored mandatory training for bartenders. Mr. Walding stated there are states that do have mandatory server training; however, his personal view is that mandatory training forces people to attend for the wrong reasons. He explained the free TIPS training program that was recently offered in Iowa City. Brandeis University will study the Iowa City results over the next year to see what impact the training has on the initial behavior. In the meantime, the ABD will look at the impact in states that require mandatory training.

Mark lobbied for dram shop to be applied to convenience stores and to stores who sell cold beer. He also suggested banning the sale of cold beer. Jeff agreed that the sale of cold alcoholic beverages should be banned. Jeff commented that he has been in Quik Trips and seen a person come in and buy a single bottle and open it before the person left the store. Commissioner Doll remarked that the clerk should call the police and turn the person in because that is a violation of the open container law.

Ms. Brown commented the issue is drinking and driving. People tend to think "this is not going to happen to me" but it does happen to a lot of people. The beginning, according to Ms. Brown, is "not one person should drink and drive, and not one person should let anyone drink and drive." She remarked it is ridiculous that there are people in our prisons who have committed their sixth OWI. Ms. Brown suggested that bar owners should have to listen to a victim impact panel as part of their bar owners training.

Mr. Walding stated that there is no centralized depository of information about dram shop claims. The information is proprietary to the insurance companies. It has been a source of frustration for Mr. Walding that he cannot learn how much insurance companies have paid out or how many claims have been made. Jeri suggested the Commission include a recommendation in the White Paper to the legislature to pass a bill mandating the insurance companies provide the information to the ABD.

Mark stated that in the Scandinavian countries a person goes to jail for the first offense and fines levied are close to a month's wages. The person goes to prison for a third offense. Mark also commented that the Scandinavians drink and they party; however, they do not drink and drive. They have a car waiting to take them home.

Commissioner Collins agreed with Mark's assessment. During her travels, Commissioner Collins has observed that Europeans use mass transportation or walk; they do not drive their cars when they've been drinking. The drawback in Iowa, according to Commissioner Collins, is that cab associations are overloaded at 2 AM; however, they struggle for business the rest of the day.

Judy Seib is currently writing a draft White Paper on Dram Shop Reform. The paper will be done in the same format as the White Paper on High-Risk Drinking on College Campuses.

Commissioner Hunter offered the following 5 recommendations for consideration:

1. Convenience stores, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. should not be included in the dram shop.
2. Single serve containers should be removed from the above, including quarts.
3. Dram shop premiums should not be based on bar sales. The inventory would be more traceable, provable and reliable.
4. A "fund" that the legislators can tap into for budget shortfalls should not be implemented.
5. Fines for underage buying should be equal to the fine the retailer pays. People must be accountable, not just the establishment.

Commissioner Stoffer recommended banning all-you-can-drink specials.

Commissioner Daggett recommended stiffer penalties for both the underage purchaser and the person selling the drink.

Commissioner Doll recommended that the retailers be strongly encouraged, not mandated, to be associated with the nationally known TIPS program. The program is a wonderful tool for both on and off-premises licensees. He pointed out that his business actually trains licensees for free if they buy the $15.00 booklet.

Adjournment