Bill Prompted by Death of Cumming Teenager Submitted to State House

Michael Gatto. Credit: Georgia Southern University

A representative from Cumming introduced a bill to the Georgia House of Representatives last week which would alter the state’s alcohol sales landscape after a Cumming teen was beaten to death outside a bar last year.

H.B 152, which has earned the moniker “Michael’s Law,” seeks to establish mandatory self-reporting of any violations of the state laws pertaining to the sale or manufacture of alcohol committed by any, “[alcohol] licensee, an employee of a licensee, the place of business of any licensee, or any person holding a financial interest in the license of the licensee.”

The Michael in “Michael’s Law” is Michael Gatto, a graduate of Cumming’s South Forsyth High School, who was beaten to death outside a bar in Statesboro by an off-duty and underage bouncer on Aug. 28 of last year. His alleged assailant, Grant James Spencer, was charged with felony murder on Sept. 2 following his initial arrest for aggravated assault.

Gatto’s parents discovered after his death that the owner of the bar did not carry liquor liability insurance, meaning that they could not hope to recoup the costs of their son’s hospitalization and funeral through that channel.

An earlier draft of Michael’s Law, co-authored by Rep. Geoff Duncan (R-Cumming) and Rep. Mike Dudgeon (R-Johns Creek) would have required all bar owners in the state to acquire liquor liability insurance, but there was enough pushback on the issue from those who said the requirement was an unnecessary financial burden that the requirement did not make it into the draft presented to the House of Representatives on Jan. 28.

The other co-sponsors of the bill are Rep. Jan Tankersley (R-Brooklet), Rep. Chuck Martin (R-Alpharetta), Rep. Spencer Frye (D-Athens), and Rep. Chuck Williams (R-Watkinsville)

The act would require any such stakeholder who receives disciplinary action for violations of the alcoholic beverages code, such as a citation for selling alcohol to minors, to self-report the disciplinary action to the Georgia Department of Revenue within 15 days.

A violation of the alcohol code would cost the offending licensee $750 under the proposed act; a second violation from the same licensee would be grounds for losing one’s license to sell alcohol.

Michael’s Law would also forbid anyone who is not old enough to drink alcohol to serve alcohol or work as a bouncer at a business where alcoholic beverages are sold, but there are some exceptions to the act as proposed; those older than 18 who work at convenience stores, grocers, or breweries could sell alcohol to patrons who will be drinking off-site, and members of the armed forces who are under 21 could still work as bouncers.

H.B. 152 received a second reading before the House of Representatives on Monday; the bill is currently in the House Regulated Industries Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Howard Maxwell (R-Dallas). The committee can either recommend the bill to pass, recommend the bill not to pass, or recommend the bill to pass with amendments.

If the bill passes committee, it will receive a third reading on the House floor, where it will be debated and amended by representatives until a vote is called to submit the bill to the Senate. If a majority of the House votes in favor of the submission, the bill will go to the Senate, and then onto the desk of Gov. Nathan Deal to sign or veto.

Should Deal sign Michael’s Law into law, it would not become effective until July 1, 2016, according to the Georgia General Assembly’s website.

Read Michael’s Law in its entirety below:

HB152