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Committee advances bill to separate alcohol and marijuana in minors‑in‑possession data
Summary
SB 132 would split the existing minor‑in‑possession code so juvenile and justice agencies can track alcohol and marijuana separately; proponents from youth court services and local task forces said better data will improve prevention and reporting; sponsor emphasized need for accurate trend data after legalization.
Sen. Tom McIlvrey introduced Senate Bill 132 to separate the statutory coding used when a minor is cited for possession so authorities can distinguish alcohol from marijuana possession for reporting and trend analysis. The sponsor told the committee the bill creates separate sections that mirror an existing section but isolate alcohol and marijuana to make reporting reliable.
Tom Billetein, youth court services bureau chief in the Office of Court Administrator, said the bill would improve the court system's ability to track and report substance‑specific offenses because current offense coding lumps all intoxicating substances together under a single 45 code. "When the offense comes in as a blanket code, it's not reliable for us to report out on the substance itself," Billetein said.
Supporters included local DUI task force leaders and residents who urged better tracking after marijuana legalization. John Marshall, chair of the Sanders County DUI Task Force, said the change would support education and prevention work by providing substance‑specific data.
Committee members asked whether medical exemptions for persons 21 or older exist; the sponsor said he was not aware of an exemption. Questions also covered how juvenile case management systems (JCATS) capture offense data and whether state agencies can use the information to monitor substance trends; Billetein and Department of Public Health and Human Services representatives said the data would be put into the youth court reports the agencies already produce.
The committee later advanced SB 132 in executive action.
