In the near future, it’s likely that you will not be able to find alcoholic energy drinks on the shelves of your local supermarkets. Senate Bill 438, the bill to regulate the sale of alcoholic energy drinks in Montana, has passed its third reading in the House Monday by a 54-45 vote.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Carol Juneau (D), explains that her primary motivation behind this bill is to get alcoholic energy drinks out of the hands of Montana’s youth. It can be extremely difficult to distinguish between alcoholic and non-alcoholic energy drinks when shopping at your local stores, therefore making it easy for these drinks to be purchased and consumed by young people. This bill would not only set a definition for what classifies an energy drink as being “alcoholic,” but it would limit where they could be sold to stores that are licensed to sell liquor.

Senator Juneau (D) explains, “It’s a matter of parents not knowing the difference, law enforcement sometimes being confused, store owners being confused of what drinks kids are buying and being available to buy. Also, alcoholic energy drinks are a safety issue.”

Now that the bill has passed both chambers, it will be on its way to the governor soon for an official signature.