Topeka — A bill that would require liquor vendors to track the buyers of beer in kegs was introduced in the Kansas House Thursday, having won Senate approval Tuesday.
Freshman Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, was chief sponsor of the "keg registration" proposal. He pushed it through the Senate despite strong objections.
The Senate vote was 28-12. The House has yet to act on the measure.
"I promoted this as a tool to prevent high-risk underage drinking," Barnett said.
The measure would require liquor retailers to record a purchaser's name and address before issuing a keg, making it easier for police to track a keg back to its purchaser and to apprehend adults who provide alcohol to minors.
Barnett and other supporters said the bill would help law enforcement officials who bust beer bashes where underage drinkers are present. They have said that in such cases kegs become "orphans," meaning no one claims responsibility.
But Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka criticized the proposal for undermining cities' and municipalities' right to regulate keg purchases on their own. He noted that the Lawrence City Commission rejected a similar keg registration proposal.
Sen. Sandy Praeger, R-Lawrence, said she supports the legislation because Lawrence wanted registration imposed by the state. If only the city has a registration requirement, people still can get around it by purchasing their beer outside the city.
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