People under 21 can still go to Louisiana bars. Bill would have let businesses be sued

Published: May 26, 2023

By: Claire Sullivan, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — The mother of LSU student Madison Brooks, who died in January, pleaded with a House committee Thursday to pass a bill to hold bars responsible for serving people under 21.

But, despite her emotional testimony, members of the House Judiciary Committee shot down the bill in a tied 6-6 vote, expressing concerns that insurance rates would spike for bars and that sophisticated fake IDs would leave good-faith bartenders open to legal action.

“I think this is a horrible bill,” said Rep. Alan Seabaugh, R-Shreveport, who was supported by two other Republicans and three Democrats from New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

He said the bill would effectively protect people breaking the law by drinking under 21 by placing the legal responsibility on bar owners, thus making them more vulnerable to lawsuits.

“If you don’t like this, for goodness’ sake, show me what you like, because we’ve got to do something,” Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, the bill’s author, said in response.

Police say Brooks, 19, was raped by two men after leaving Reggie’s Bar in the Tigerland Bar district near LSU. Then, police say, she was left by the side of the road, where she was struck by a vehicle and left with fatal injuries.

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