Remember in high school how there'd always be that one mom or dad who was so cool because she/he would let kids drink wine coolers while playing Spin The Bottle in the basement?
Now, if officials discover you are that parent, be prepared to pay up to $3,000 in fines.
This week, the Irvine City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance targeting “social hosts,” defined as a “responsible person who makes alcohol available and/or permits the consumption of alcohol by an underage person at a gathering or event held on private property,” according to The Daily Pilot.
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Offenders could be fined up to $750 upon first warning, up to $1,500 for a second warning within a 12-month period and up to $3,000 for further warnings, the newspaper reports. Exemptions include alcohol consumed for religious purposes, or if the host can prove he or she took measures to prevent the underage drinking.
According to Todd Spitzer, a chair of the OC chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, about 8 percent of drunk drivers arrested in the county are under 21.
