The bill that would essentially lower the drinking age in Louisiana was short-lived as it was shot down earlier this month.

The bill, called the Louisiana Responsible Adult Consumption Act, was introduced by State Sen. Eric LaFleur.

It would have allowed 19 and 20 year olds to drink legally – but with a twist. They would have been required to complete a certification program that would teach them about the dangerous effects of alcohol.

Once passing the course, they would have received an alcohol consumption certificate to show when purchasing beer, wine or liquor.

Federal law states that adults have to be 21 years old to consume alcohol.

If passed, the bill could have affected Loyola’s campus policy on alcohol – which complies with federal law, for underage students. However, sociology junior Celeste Lavelle, 20, thinks the bill was unnecessary in the first place.

“In New Orleans, if it’s not heavily guarded, it won’t matter because it’s so readily accessible to kids when they’re around there families or at family functions where alcohol is present,” she said.

In an area where some minors rely on fake ID’s and others to provide them with alcohol, she thinks the bill wouldn’t have made a difference at all.“I think the big point here is that, every one drinks whether you’re 14 or 22,” she said.

LaFleur announced that the state would “not proceed any further with the bill,” following disapproval from Gov. John Bel Edwards’s administration.

The bill faced criticism from the administration because of the cost of the possible alcohol certification that would take millions of federal aid dollars from other projects.