MADISON -- No one under 18 could drink in a bar even with their parents' consent under a bill that passed the Wisconsin Assembly today.
Under current law, children of any age can drink in a Wisconsin bar if they're with their parents and the adult gives consent and the bartender is willing to serve them.
But that would change under the bill passed the Assembly on a bipartisan 56-41 vote today.
That proposal would set the minimum age someone could drink in a bar with consent at 18. The current legal drinking age is 21.
The measure must clear the Senate before going to Gov. Jim Doyle.
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The Tavern League of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Medical Society are among the supporters, but a national youth rights group opposes it saying whether children drink in bars is a family matter.
