A new bill introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives could increase fines for underage possession of alcohol or for supplying it to minors.

The bill, HF2253, was introduced Feb. 16 by Rep. Doug Struyk, D-Council Bluffs. It would change underage possession and supplying to minors from a simple misdemeanor to a serious misdemeanor.

If the bill does not move out of subcommittee and committee by March 5, it will die.

A serious misdemeanor is a charge issued for more serious crimes such as operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or serious assault, said ISU Police Sgt. Liz Gries.

Currently, the fine for underage drinking is $100. The bill proposes an increase of the fine to a maximum of $1,250 and one year in prison.

“It makes the bill more realistic by making it a serious misdemeanor,” Struyk said. “Those fines are the maximums; they are imposed on a case-by-case basis.”

At first, the bill was mistakenly submitted with an amendment to change underage drinking from a simple misdemeanor to an aggravated misdemeanor, with fines up to $5,000 and two years in prison. Struyk said that was a clerical error.

He said he introduced the bill because it was important to show a message to young people that it is not appropriate to drink until they are of legal age, and that it is not appropriate for college students, legal or not, to supply alcohol to younger people.

“I’ve had two fatalities related to teen drinking in my district recently,” Struyk said. “However, I realize that it takes two people to do a wrong.”

ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said he has not had a chance to read the new bill but he feels ISU Police already aggressively enforce the drinking laws at events like home football games and Veishea.

“We see a smaller number of OWIs and other behavior problems as we address the drinking earlier in the day,” he said.

“I remain unconvinced that hugely inflated jail time or fines is an appropriate action for first-time offenders.”

Deisinger said he feels the underage drinking problem is “not going to be dealt with solely from a law enforcement perspective.” He said to change the laws more severely would “further push the behaviors behind closed doors.”

Rep. Jane Greimann, D-Ames, said she doesn’t know how far the bill will go, but people are right to be concerned about underage drinking.

“I applaud the efforts for teens and college students helping slow down underage drinking with peer counseling,” Greimann said.

“Usually bills like this don’t get too far, but we are making a point about [underage] drinking.”