1. U.S. Senate Bill Would Fund State Anti-Binge Drinking Campaigns

2. TN Attorney General Says College Officials Subject To Criminal Penalties For Failing To Refer Felonies To Police

3. Campus Crime In The News

Washington, DC-A bill, the Communities Combating College Drinking and Drug Use Act (S. 406), introduced in February by Senators Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) seeks to combat the issue of underage drinking and drug use on college campuses and universities. The bill would award $50 million in grants for states to work together in creating statewide coalitions among colleges and universities and surrounding communities.

"Currently, over half the states, including my home state of Ohio, have coalitions which deal with the culture of alcohol and drug abuse in our nation's college communities," said DeWine. "They work with the surrounding community including local residents, bar, restaurant and shop owners, and law enforcement officials, toward a common goal of changing the college culture of substance abuse."

The bill would support projects, such as providing alcohol-free events, support groups, and information to students to reinforce that alcohol and drug-use is not the only way to have fun. In the past, coalitions have worked to establish regulations both on and off campus, such as registration of kegs.

"It is up to us to change the drinking culture which has been perpetuated by years of complacency," said DeWine. "We must protect the health and education of our young people by changing this culture of abuse – and that is what my bill will do."

Nashville, TN-College and university officials that fail to refer information about campus felonies, and certain serious misdemeanors to an "appropriate law enforcement officer" are themselves subject to criminal prosecution according to a Tennessee Attorney General's opinion issued last week. The opinion makes it clear that a 1999 amendment to the Tennessee College and University Security Information Act requiring this notification is subject to the same penalties for violating the law that the original provisions are, 30 days in jail and a $50 fine.

Opinion No. 03-031 also clarifies that the "probable cause" standard which must be met before the referral to law enforcement becomes mandatory is an "objective" one. "The statutory duty to report is triggered whenever an official covered by the Act possesses information that a reasonable person would believe amounts to probable cause," wrote Attorney General Paul G. Summers.