STOP Act

Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act

On December 13, 2016, President Obama signed into law the 21st Century Cures Act, which included a straight reauthorization of the Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act. Now Public Law 114-255, this reauthorized through FY 2022 the provisions of the STOP Act that were included in the original authorizing legislation, including the community coalition enhancement grants, the national adult-oriented media campaign, the Interagency Coordinating Committee to Prevent Underage Drinking (ICCPUD), epidemiological research on excessive and underage drinking, and the annual report to Congress on state underage drinking and enforcement activities.

Justification for the STOP Act Coalition Enhancement Grant Program

The STOP Act community coalition enhancement program authorizes funding for community coalition enhancement grants of up to $50,000 for up to four years which can be awarded to current and past Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grantees to enhance their underage drinking prevention efforts.

Coalition implemented strategies and programs put into place by DFC grantees are community developed, based on community data, and shelf ready. Building on this effective, data driven infrastructure is the quickest and most cost-effective way to invest minimal federal dollars to deal with underage drinking, including binge drinking issues, at the community level while getting maximum results.

Strategies implemented by community coalition enhancement program grantees to prevent and reduce underage drinking include:

  • Conducting community wide education campaigns;
  • Conducting vendor and server training;
  • Conducting compliance checks
  • Mobilizing the community to restrict youth access to alcohol;
  • Strengthening and enforcing underage sales/service laws

 

Provisions of the STOP Act

  • Community-Based Coalition Enhancement Grants
    • Reauthorizes the extremely successful Community Based Coalition Enhancement grants to current and former Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grantees contained in the original STOP Act
  • Interagency Coordinating Committee; Annual Report on State Underage Drinking Prevention and Enforcement Activities
    • Reauthorizes the Interagency Coordinating Committee to Prevent Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) to coordinate the efforts and expertise of various Federal agencies to combat underage drinking
    • Reauthorizes the annual report on state efforts to combat underage drinking
  • National Media Campaign to Prevent Underage Drinking
    • Reauthorizes a highly visible adult-oriented media campaign
  • Research on Underage Drinking
    • Reauthorizes epidemiological studies on excessive drinking and underage alcohol use to provide better data in support of evaluation of community and other efforts to reduce and prevent underage drinking