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What is a Social Host Liability Ordinance (SHO)?
- Refers to laws that hold non-commercial individuals responsible for underage drinking events on property they own, lease, or otherwise control. Laws prohibiting furnishing alcohol to underage persons target the person furnishing the alcohol whereas the social host laws target providing the venue where underage drinking takes place.
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There are three types of SHO:
- State Social Host Criminal Statutes: This type of SHO involves a state statutory violation, enforced by the state through criminal prosecution leading to criminal sanctions. (fines or imprisonment)
- State Social Host Civil Liability Laws : This type of SHO holds social hosts potentially responsible for the injuries to third parties caused by guests whom the hosts had served or had allowed to consume alcohol. This involves private litigation and comes into play only if an injury third party decides to sue the social host.
- Response Costs Recovery Municipal Ordinances: This type of SHO occurs at the level of local government in the form of municipal or county ordinances. These hold the social host, including tenants, landlords, landowners, civilly responsible for the costs of law enforcement, fire or other emergency response services associated with responses to the scene of underage drinking, whether the host or landowner had knowledge of the occurrence of the underage drinking or not.
Oregon Law
ORS 471.410(3): No person who exercises control over private real property may knowingly allow any other person under the age of 21 years who is not a child or minor ward of the person to consume alcoholic liquor on the property, or allow any other person under the age of 21 years who is not a child or minor ward of the person to remain on the property if the person under the age of 21 years consumes alcoholic liquor on the property. The prohibitions of this subsection apply only to a person who is present and in control of the location at the time the consumption occurs. The prohibitions of this subsection do not apply to the owner of rental property, or the agent of an owner of rental property, unless the consumption occurs in the individual unit in which the owner or agent resides.
What's next?
The first public hearing for the SHO will be December 16 at 1:30 in Harris Hall, 125 E. 8th Avenue, Eugene (map/directions).
Information for the SHO hearings:
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