SBX2 7: Tobacco products: minimum legal age.

Existing law, the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act, establishes various requirements for distributors and retailers relating to tobacco sales to minors. Existing law prohibits the furnishing of tobacco products to, and the purchase of tobacco products by, a person under 18 years of age. Under existing law, a person is prohibited from making various promotional or advertising offers of smokeless tobacco products without taking actions to ensure that the product is not available to persons under 18 years of age. Existing law also requires the State Department of Public Health to conduct random, onsite sting inspections of tobacco product retailers with the assistance of persons under 18 years of age.

Existing law, the STAKE Act, authorizes an enforcing agency to assess civil penalties against any person, firm, or corporation that sells, gives, or in any way furnishes to another person who is under 18 years of age, any tobacco, cigarette, cigarette papers, any other instrument or paraphernalia that is designed for the smoking or ingestion of tobacco, products prepared from tobacco, or any controlled substance, according to a specified schedule. Existing law also makes every person, firm, or corporation that knowingly or under circumstances in which it has knowledge, or should otherwise have grounds for knowledge, sells, gives, or in any way furnishes to another person who is under 18 years of age any tobacco, cigarette, cigarette papers, blunts wraps, or any other preparation of tobacco, or any other instrument or paraphernalia that is designed for the smoking or ingestion of tobacco, products prepared from tobacco, or any controlled substance, subject to either a criminal action for a misdemeanor or to a civil action brought by a city attorney, a county counsel, or a district attorney, punishable by a fine, as specified.

This bill would extend the applicability of those provisions to persons under 21 years of age. The bill would authorize the State Department of Public Health to conduct random, onsite sting inspections of tobacco product retailers with the assistance of persons under 21 years of age.

The bill would also provide that the STAKE Act does not invalidate existing local government ordinances or prohibit the adoption of local government ordinances requiring a more restrictive legal age to purchase or possess tobacco products.

This bill would make the civil and criminal penalties described above inapplicable if the person being furnished the product is active duty military personnel who is 18 years of age or older, as confirmed by a military identification card.

Existing law makes it a crime, punishable by a fine of $75 or 30 hours of community service work, for a person under 18 years of age to purchase, receive, or possess certain tobacco products. Existing law requires 25% of certain fines to be paid to the city or county for the administration and cost of that community service work component. Existing law immunizes a person under 18 years of age from prosecution for those actions when they were taken while participating in specified enforcement activities.

This bill would delete those provisions.

This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 22958 of the Business and Professions Code and Section 308 of the Penal Code proposed by SB 5 and AB 6 of the 201516 2nd Extraordinary Session of the Legislature. Those other bills would include an electronic device that delivers nicotine or other vaporized liquids in the definition of a tobacco product. If this bill and those bills are enacted, as specified, and this bill is enacted last, then this bill would prohibit selling, advertising, or furnishing an electronic device that delivers nicotine or other vaporized liquids, as specified, to persons under 21 years of age.

By expanding the scope of existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.