Daily Nebraskan

The Association of Students of the University of Nebraska will present four bills by President Joel Schafer.

One bill will ask to send the Government Liaison Committee to lobby against LB114, a bill that would change how MIPs are given and punished.

The Government Liaison Committee is the lobbying arm of student government.

The legislation GLC would lobby against is proposed by Sen. Mark Quandahl of Omaha.

Two factors need to be present to be charged with minor in possession of alcohol, Quandahl said.

The first is that someone under 21 has to be within the proximity of alcohol, Quandahl said. What qualifies as proximity will be at the discretion of the police, he said.

The second factor is that a person would have to exhibit signs of consumption of alcohol, he said.

Signs of consumption would be determined by police either through observations or through testing, he said.

"The bill provides for a presumption of consumption," he said.

Tim Keefe, staff attorney for Student Legal Services, said that presumption of consumption is illegal.

"It's unconstitutional because people are innocent until proven guilty," he said.

An example of the presumption of consumption is if a person drank in his or her own home (which is legal), then went to a party where beer was served, and didn't drink - he or she could still get an MIP, Keefe said.

LB114 also proposes changes in the sentencing of alcohol violators.

Under the bill, if people get an MIP, their drivers' licenses could be suspended for three months.

Quandahl said that he hopes that the suspension will teach underage drinkers a valuable lesson.

"A driver's license is a license, it's not a right," he said. "The suspension will potentially have underage drinkers wake-up to the servility of what they're doing."

Another bill senators will consider tonight would send GLC lobbyists to battle two bills that would re-organize the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

The lobbyist also would fight to ensure the ASUN president will continue to have a seat on the Board of Regents.

A third bill would have the GLC lobbyists persuade the Legislature to pass Gov. Mike Johanns' budget recommendation for the university. Johanns recommended an increase in funding for the university - the largest in a decade.

The fourth bill will ask ASUN to endorse a class ring design. The Nebraska Alumni Association is planning on having only one design available for class rings.

The meeting is at 6:30 p.m. in the Nebraska Union. Students can voice their opinions during the meeting's open forum.

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