Beginning Nov. 1, keg buyers will have to fill out an identification tag with their name, address, phone number and driver license or other state I.D. number.

A tag with the purchaser’s information then will be attached to the keg itself, only to be removed when the container is returned empty to the store.

Lawmakers hope the law will increase accountability in serving alcohol to minors at open parties — an issue underscored for the MSU community last January when three Holt teenagers were killed in a alcohol-induced car crash returning from a party near campus.

In addition to punishing those who distribute alcohol to minors, the law also will help identify people illegally selling alcohol without a license, said State Rep. Mark Meadows, D-East Lansing.

“One of the problems (currently) for prosecuting a blind pig is the source of the alcohol,” Meadows said. “It was hard to I.D. without this keg-tagging legislation.”

Removing the tag or using fake information for the purchase could carry severe consequences, including a maximum of three months behind bars and fine of $500.

If a keg is returned to the seller without a tag, the $30 deposit will be lost. Store owners also can be fined $50 for neglecting to distribute tags properly.

But some owners said the law could bring with it negative side effects on their sales.

“It will definitely be a hurdle in trying to sell kegs,” said Rich McCarius, owner of Tom’s Party Store Inc., 2778 E. Grand River Ave.

McCarius said he expects the law — which takes effect in the middle of football season — won’t be effective and will simply drive customers to buy the equivalent amount of beer in different packaging, such as 30-packs of cans.

“The message that politicians are sending is this generation of drinkers are bad kids, and we need to control them,” McCarius said.

Meadows said he doesn’t think the law will reduce keg sales, only curb existing illegal activity.

“I don’t think it’s going to reduce keg sales significantly, except for people who weren’t purchasing kegs for the right reasons,” Meadows said.

Under the new law, retailers will be required to keep keg sale records for one year and can be inspected randomly once the law goes into effect, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission said in a statement released last week.

David Carlisle, a James Madison College freshman, said he doesn’t think the new law will result in changes in party culture at MSU.

“I don’t think it will increase accountability,” Carlisle said.

“If people are motivated, they will do what they want.”