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Dear Co-Sponsors of H.R. 834 and Committee Members,
The undersigned organizations are very concerned with Section 305 of the CLEAN-UP Act (H.R. 834). While we are not taking issue with the rest of the bill (which provides funding for the safe clean up of illegal methamphetamine laboratories), Section 305 will hurt innocent business owners, chill free speech, and undermine privacy rights. If enacted, it would punish innocent people for the crimes of others. We urge you to remove Section 305 from the CLEAN-UP Act.
If enacted, Section 305 would make it a crime – punishable by fines and up to nine years in prison – to “knowingly promote any rave, dance, music, or other entertainment event, that takes place under circumstances where the promoter knows or reasonably ought to know that a controlled substance will be used or distributed.”
Section 305 is overly broad and could be used against almost any business owner. Under the provision, any concert promoter, nightclub owner and arena or stadium owner could be fined and jailed, since a reasonable person would know some people use drugs at musical events. Indeed, any property owner (including hotel owners, cruise ship owners, and casino owners) could be hurt under this provision, since it is reasonable to assume that any entertainment event that draws a large crowd (especially young people) will draw people who will try to use or sell drugs.
Disturbingly, it does not matter under this provision if event promoters and property owners take steps to deter drug offenses. They can be prosecuted even if they have good security and a strict zero-tolerance policy. Nor does it matter if the vast majority of people attending the event are law-abiding citizens that do not do drugs. Section 305 criminalizes entire events and everyone that promotes such events, raising very serious free speech and due process issues. People should not be punished for the crimes of others, nor should the government be frightening law-abiding businesses away from holding legal events like rock, country, or Hip Hop concerts.
We are also concerned that Section 305 will coerce property owners into taking extreme steps to ensure that no one commits a drug offense on their property, further undermining the privacy of Americans. Such steps could include, installing cameras in their bathrooms and thoroughly searching all their patrons. That property owners could do such things and still be prosecuted under Section 305 makes this provision even more objectionable.
Finally, Section 305 is totally unnecessary. The regulation of concerts and other entertainment events has traditionally been the provenance of local governments and a multitude of local, county, and state laws exist to ensure public safety. Additionally, federal legislation passed in 2003 (the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act) already makes property owners more responsible for the drug offenses of their customers.
We strongly urge you to remove Section 305 from the CLEAN-UP Act. This section is too broadly written, is a threat to free speech and privacy, and will undoubtedly harm innocent business owners.
ACLU
American Beverage Licensees
District of Columbia Licensed Beverage Association
Drug Policy Alliance
Electronic Music Defense Fund
International Association of Assembly Managers
Michigan Licensed Beverage Association
Northwest Late Night Coalition
San Francisco Late Night Coalition
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