The Iowa Senate passed the keg registration bill Monday with little debate and a 49-0 vote. Now that the bill has passed both the House and Senate, it goes to the governor’s office to be signed.

This bill will require the registration of kegs by use of stickers purchased by vendors. Sellers are required to keep a record of all stickers and the people who purchased each keg by their name, address and driver’s license number or other form of identification.

According to the bill, House File 650, stickers must have printed a statement saying, “It is unlawful to sell, give or otherwise supply any alcoholic beverage, wine or beer to any person under legal age.”

Sen. Mark Zieman, R-Postville, said it took about three minutes to pass the bill. However, he said he does not think the bill will do much good in lowering underage drinking.

“I have some real reservations about it,” Zieman said. “You [have] got to understand it’s illegal for someone under 21 to have [alcohol] anyhow. You [have] got to understand, putting more laws in the books isn’t going to do anything.”

Zieman said if underage drinkers cannot get kegs, they will buy other forms of alcohol, such as canned beer or wine.

“It probably will not have a large impact, but it may have a moderate impact on binge drinking,” said Sen. David Hartsuch, R-Bettendorf.

He thinks the bill will probably not make a big difference, but is a good measure.

None of the other senators had very strong support for the bill, Hartsuch said, and most of the ones he talked to felt the same way he did. He said he didn’t know if it would have any impact on underage drinking.

George Belitsos, CEO of Youth and Shelter Services, said YSS has worked for four years to get this bill passed statewide. The overall purpose of YSS is to help young people make wise decisions, and this bill will definitely help, he said.

“It will keep adults accountable who are illegally providing alcohol to underage drinkers and it will keep our kids safer by having less access to underage drinking,” Belitsos said.

Belitsos said the bill will not affect business and that it probably will not encourage any shifts in types of drinks purchased. He said the bill has passed in 30 other states and there has not been a big change to buying cans or movement to other kinds of alcohol.

Rich Parizek, the store manager of The Keg Shop, 218 Welch Ave., does not believe the bill will affect business because similar restrictions have already been in effect in Story County since April 1, 2006.

Before that, Parizek said the sale of kegs had started to decrease anyway. Parizek said the people in Ames are already used to it and some do not even remember the way they did it before.

Belitsos said Gov. Chet Culver has been a supporter of this bill and he expects Culver to sign the bill early next week.

“The governor is a strong supporter of the bill; he will sign it when he gets it, and we do not yet know when he will get it,” said Courtney Greene, Culver’s press secretary.