Downtown bar owners are doing a better job of complying with Iowa's alcohol laws, but underage drinking continues.

That is the feeling of several members of a community group formed to assess the impact of an Iowa City law enacted last Aug. 1 banning those under age 19 from entering bars after 10 p.m. After one year under the new ordinance, members of the nine-person group said, underage drinking continues to be a problem.

There is no consensus in the group on what should be done, although it has discussed legal and enforcement changes, including upping the bar entry age to 21 or implementing keg registration.

"Over 30 states have keg registration," said Jim Clayton, a member of the community group, the Alcohol and Bar Committee. Clayton, co-coordinator of the Stepping Up Project, a coalition against high-risk drinking, said keg registration requires buyers to comply with several mandates before purchasing a keg. Those include listing their name and their intended use of the alcohol.

"They become responsible for the alcohol in that keg," Clayton said.

Nate Green, former University of Iowa Student Government president, said he is not interested in implementing a keg registration law and thinks the new ordinance has had a positive impact on the downtown atmosphere.

According to police data, from last August through June, officers made 1,860 visits to bars and issued 1,967 tickets for possession of alcohol under the legal age. During the same time period beginning in 2002, officers made 1,720 visits to bars and issued 1,747 tickets.

"I can't tell by the PAULA's," said Iowa City Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay, adding that officers can write as many or as few tickets as they like, based on the number of visits to the bar.

Clayton said that according to a College Alcohol Study done by the Harvard School of Public Health, second-hand effects of dangerous drinking at the UI have decreased. According to the study, which polled 465 students last year, fewer people were insulted by someone under the influence, assaulted, woken up, interrupted while studying, or subjected to an unwanted sexual advance.

The study also showed that fewer people missed class because of alcohol consumption or didn't use protection during intercourse. The percentage of people needing medical treatment for alcohol overdose dropped from 1.1 percent to .3 percent.

"But you can't lay the change at the foot of the 19-only ordinance," Clayton said, adding that a shift in atmosphere, including the sale of several bars, can also be credited for the change. "Downtown is changing to a more residential culture. They may demand a different level of service."

Councilor Ross Wilburn, a member of the committee, said the City Council will look at the ordinance in September and consider possible changes. If the council opts not to amend the law, it will continue being enforced as it has been.