2016 -- H 7737

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LC004731

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - CHILDREN

     Introduced By: Representatives Tanzi, Ackerman, Maldonado, Handy, and Fogarty

     Date Introduced: February 24, 2016

     Referred To: House Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Sections 11-9-13 and 11-9-13.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-9

entitled "Children" are hereby repealed.

     11-9-13. Purchase, sale or delivery of tobacco products to persons under eighteen --

Posting notice of law. -- No person under eighteen (18) years of age shall purchase, nor shall any

person sell, give, or deliver to any person under eighteen (18) years of age, any tobacco in the

form of cigarettes, bidi cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, flavored cigars known as "blunts,"

unflavored "blunts," flavored and unflavored blunt wraps, cigarette rolling papers of any size or

composition, cigarillos and tiparillos, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, electronic nicotine-delivery

systems, or snuff. Any person, firm, or corporation that owns, manages, or operates a place of

business in which tobacco products are sold, including sales through cigarette vending machines,

shall post notice of this law conspicuously in the place of business in letters at least three-eighths

of an inch ( 3/8") high.

     11-9-13.1. Cigarette and tobacco vending machines. -- (a) No cigarettes, nor any other

tobacco product, nor electronic nicotine-delivery system product shall be sold from any device or

vending machine that is in an area not continuously supervised and in direct line of sight of an

authorized person employed by the person, firm, or corporation that owns the business occupying

the premises in which the device or vending machine is located, nor shall any tobacco product,

nor electronic nicotine-delivery system product be sold from any device or vending machine that

is in an area supervised by such an authorized person unless the device or vending machine is

equipped with an electronic locking device that will not allow the device or vending machine to

dispense a pack of cigarettes, or any other tobacco product, or electronic nicotine-delivery system

product unless it is electronically unlocked from a secured position inaccessible to the public and

under the supervision of an authorized person employed by the person, firm, or corporation that

owns the business occupying the premises in which the device or vending machine is located.

"Direct line of sight" means that the vending machine and the purchaser of cigarettes or electronic

nicotine-delivery system product must be visible to the authorized person pressing the unlock

button while the unlock button is being activated. Provided, a locking device shall not be required

in an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic beverages that limits access to persons over the age

of twenty-one (21) years.

     (b) No cigarettes, nor any other tobacco product, nor electronic nicotine-delivery system

product shall be sold from any device or vending machine from which non-tobacco products are

sold.

     (c) No cigarettes shall be sold in packs that contain less than twenty (20) cigarettes.

     (d) Any person, firm, or corporation who or that owns a business occupying the premises

in which a device or vending machine that dispenses cigarettes, or any other tobacco product or

electronic nicotine-delivery system product is located who or that shall violate any of the

provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall for the first offense be subject to a fine

of seventy-five dollars ($75.00), for the second offense, be subject to a fine of one hundred fifty

dollars ($150), and for the third and any subsequent offense, be subject to a fine of five hundred

dollars ($500); provided, that in the event that there are no offenses in three (3) successive years

from the date of the last offense, then the next offense shall be treated as the first offense.

     (e) Any person, firm, or corporation who or that shall violate subsection (c) of this

section shall, for the first offense, be subject to a fine of seventy-five dollars ($75.00), for the

second offense, be subject to a fine of one hundred fifty dollars ($150), and for the third and any

subsequent offense, be subject to a fine of five hundred dollars ($500); provided, that in the event

that there are no offenses in three (3) successive years from the date of the last offense, then the

next offense shall be treated as the first offense.

     (f) One-half ( 1/2) of all the fines collected pursuant to this section shall be transferred to

the municipalities in which the citations originated. One-half ( 1/2) of all the fines collected

pursuant to this section shall be transferred to the general fund.

     (g) Severability. - If any provision of this section or the application of it to any person or

circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this

section, which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the

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provisions of this section are declared to be severable.

     SECTION 2. Sections 11-9-13.3, 11-9-13.4, 11-9-13.5, 11-9-13.6, 11-9-13.7, 11-9-13.8,

11-9-13.11, and 11-9-13.13 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-9 entitled "Children" are hereby

amended to read as follows:

     11-9-13.3. Legislative intent -- Purpose. – (1) The use of tobacco and nicotine products

by Rhode Island children and youth is a health and substance abuse problem of the utmost

severity. The legislature finds that tobacco product usage by children in Rhode Island is rampant

and increasing with over thirty percent (30%) of high school students smoking. The present law

prohibiting the sale of tobacco to children is being ignored by many retailers. Rhode Island

tobacco retailers illegally sell four million eight hundred thousand (4,800,000) packs, over eleven

million dollars ($11,000,000) in tobacco product sales, to children annually. Tobacco industry

advertising targets children as the replacement smokers for the one thousand one hundred forty-

five (1,145) adults who die daily from tobacco product usage. Approximately seventy percent

(70%) of the Rhode Island high school seniors who are smoking today will be the addicted adult

smokers of tomorrow. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), smoking-related direct medical costs in Rhode Island in 1990 climbed to one hundred

eighty-six million dollars ($186,000,000). This is an ongoing, escalating financial burden borne

by every business, large and small, and every person, smoker and nonsmoker, in Rhode Island.

This is a health and economic drain created by each new generation of children who begin using

tobacco products and become addicted to nicotine. It is the intent of this legislation to preserve

and protect the health of children by: (1) stopping the illegal sale of tobacco to children, and (2)

by severely punishing those who disregard the laws relating to the illegal sale of tobacco products

to children. is a serious health and addiction problem. Cigarette use has greatly declined among

Rhode Island youth, to eight percent (8%), but as the National Youth Tobacco Survey reports, in

2014, the overall use of tobacco among youth rose, exposing dangerous new trends. Clever

marketing by the tobacco industry, encouraging the use of small cigars, hookahs, e-cigarettes, and

flavored vaping products, has put millions of young people at risk of lifelong lethal nicotine

addiction. Every year, five hundred (500) children under the age of eighteen (18) in Rhode Island

become daily smokers. There are sixteen thousand (16,000) children in Rhode Island today who

will ultimately die prematurely from smoking. Current e-cigarette use among middle and high

school students has tripled from 2013 to 2014, according to data published by the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for

Tobacco Products. The 2014 National Youth Tobacco Survey shows that current e-cigarette use

(at least 1 day of use in the past thirty (30) days) among high school students has increased from

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four and one half percent (4.5%) in 2013 to thirteen and four tenths percent (13.4%) in 2014. This

is the first time since the survey started collecting data on e-cigarettes in 2011 that current e-

cigarette use has surpassed use of every other tobacco product, including conventional cigarettes.

Rhode Island's annual health care costs due to smoking are $639,604,224.

     (2) Data shows that ninety to ninety-five percent (90-95%) of adult smokers became daily

users before they turned age twenty-one (21). In March of 2015, the Institute of Medicine, on

behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), released a seminal report detailing the

potential public health benefits of raising the national legal age of tobacco purchase from age

eighteen (18) to age twenty-one (21). In July 2015, the CDC reported that seventy-five percent

(75%) of adults favored raising the smoking age to twenty-one (21) years. Among the astounding

results was a twenty-five percent (25%) drop in youth smoking initiation, a twelve percent (12%)

drop in overall smoking rates, and sixteen thousand (16,000) cases of preterm birth and low birth

weight averted in the first five (5) years of the policy, an impact that would be recognized

immediately. A conservative estimate is that if age twenty-one (21) were adopted throughout the

United States now, it would prevent four million two hundred thousand (4,200,000) years of lives

lost to smoking for those born in the years 2000-2019.

     11-9-13.4. Definitions. -- As used in this chapter:

      (1) "Bidi cigarette" means any product that (i) contains tobacco that is wrapped in

temburni or tender leaf, or that is wrapped in any other material identified by rules of the

Department of Health that is similar in appearance or characteristics to the temburni or tender

leaf, and (ii) does not contain a smoke filtering device.

      (2)(1) "Court" means any appropriate district court of the state of Rhode Island.

      (3)(2) "Dealer" is synonymous with the term "retail tobacco products dealer".

      (4)(3) "Department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals "

means the state of Rhode Island behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals

department, its employees, agents or assigns.

      (5)(4) "Department of taxation" means the state of Rhode Island taxation division, its

employees, agents, or assigns.

      (5) "Electronic nicotine-delivery system" means an electronic device that may be used to

simulate smoking in the delivery of nicotine or other substance to a person inhaling from the

device, and includes, but is not limited to, an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic

cigarillo, electronic pipe, or electronic hookah and any related device and any cartridge or other

component of such device.

     (6) "License" is synonymous with the term "retail tobacco products dealer license" or

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"electronic nicotine-delivery system license."

      (7) "License holder" is synonymous with the term "retail tobacco products dealer" or

"electronic nicotine-delivery system license."

      (8) "Little cigars" means and includes any roll, made wholly or in part of tobacco,

irrespective of size or shape, and irrespective of whether the tobacco is flavored, adulterated, or

mixed with any other ingredient, where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of tobacco

wrapped in leaf tobacco or any substance containing tobacco paper or any other material, except

where such wrapper is wholly or in greater part made of tobacco and such roll weighs over four

and a half (4.5) pounds per thousand (1,000).

     (8)(9) "Person" means any individual person, firm, association, or corporation licensed as

a retail dealer to sell tobacco products within the state.

      (9)(10) "Retail tobacco products dealer" means the holder of a license to sell tobacco

products at retail.

      (10)(11) "Retail tobacco products dealer license" means a license to sell tobacco

products at retail as issued by the department of taxation.

      (11)(12) "Spitting tobacco" also means snuff, powdered tobacco, chewing tobacco,

dipping tobacco, pouch tobacco, or smokeless tobacco.

      (12)(13) "Tobacco product(s)" means any product containing tobacco, including bidi

cigarettes, as defined in subdivision (1) of this section, that can be used for, but whose use is not

limited to, smoking, sniffing, chewing, or spitting of the product. or made from tobacco or

nicotine that is intended for human consumption, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed,

dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means, including, but not limited to

cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, smokeless tobacco, pipe tobacco, snuff, snus and bidi cigarettes.

"Tobacco product" includes any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product, whether or

not sold separately.  "Tobacco product" does not include any product that has been approved by

the United States Food and Drug Administration for sale as a tobacco cessation product or for

other therapeutic purposes where such product is marketed and sold solely for such an approved

purpose.

     (13)(14) "Underage individual" or "underage individuals" means any child person under

the age of eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years of age.

      (14) "Little cigars" means and includes any roll, made wholly or in part of tobacco,

irrespective of size or shape, and irrespective of whether the tobacco is flavored, adulterated, or

mixed with any other ingredient, where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of tobacco

wrapped in leaf tobacco or any substance containing tobacco paper or any other material, except

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where such wrapper is wholly or in greater part made of tobacco and such roll weighs over three

(3) pounds per thousand (1,000).

     (15) "Electronic nicotine-delivery system" means an electronic device that may be used

to simulate smoking in the delivery of nicotine or other substance to a person inhaling from the

device, and includes, but is not limited to, an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic

cigarillo, electronic pipe, or electronic hookah and any related device and any cartridge or other

component of such device.

     11-9-13.5. Responsibility for tobacco or health issues. -- The Rhode Island department

of mental health, retardation and hospitals shall develop, monitor and aggressively enforce health

rules and regulations pertaining to stopping the illegal sale of tobacco products and electronic

nicotine-delivery systems to children underage individuals.

     11-9-13.6. Duties of the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental

disabilities and hospitals. -- The department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities

and hospitals shall:

      (1) Coordinate and promote the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and serve

as the primary liaison from this department to other state or local agencies, departments, or

divisions on issues pertaining to stopping children's underage individual's access to tobacco

products and electronic nicotine-delivery system dealers systems.

      (2) Provide retail tobacco products dealers and electronic nicotine-delivery system

dealers signs concerning the prohibition of sales to children under eighteen (18) underage persons

under twenty-one (21) years of age. The signs, conforming to the requirements of this chapter,

shall be sold at cost. This sign, or an exact duplicate of it made privately, shall be displayed in all

locations where tobacco products and/or electronic nicotine-delivery systems are sold.

      (3) Investigate concurrently with other state and local officials violations of this chapter.

      (4) (i) Utilize unannounced statewide compliance checks of tobacco product sales and/or

electronic nicotine-delivery system sales including retail tobacco and/or electronic nicotine-

delivery system over-the-counter sales, mail-order sales initiated via mail, facsimile, telephone or

internet ordering or other types of electronic communications, and tobacco and/or electronic

nicotine-delivery systems vending machine sales as part of investigating compliance with the

provisions of this chapter. Underage individuals, acting as agents for the department of behavioral

healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals and with the written permission of a parent or

guardian for persons under age 18, may purchase, with impunity from prosecution, tobacco

products and electronic nicotine-delivery system for the purposes of law enforcement or

government research involving monitoring compliance with this chapter, provided that the

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underage individuals are supervised by an adult law enforcement official. Any individual

participating in an unannounced compliance check of over-the-counter or vending machine sales,

must state his or her accurate age if asked by the sales representative of the retail establishment

being checked.

      (ii) In fulfilling the requirement of unannounced statewide compliance checks, the

department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals shall maintain

complete records of the unannounced compliance checks, detailing, at least, the date of the

compliance check; the name and address of the retail establishment checked or the mail order

company; the results of the compliance check (sale/no sale); whether the sale was made as an

over-the-counter sale, a mail-order purchase or a tobacco and/or or electronic nicotine-delivery

systems vending machine sale; and if a citation was issued for any violation found. The records

shall be subject to public disclosure. Further, the department of behavioral healthcare,

developmental disabilities and hospitals shall report to the owner of each retail establishment

checked or mail-order company the results of any compliance check (sale/no sale) whether the

sale was made as an over-the-counter sale, a mail-order purchase, or a tobacco and/or electronic

nicotine-delivery systems vending machine sale, and if a citation was issued for any violation

found.

      (5) Seek enforcement, concurrently with other state and local officials, of the penalties as

detailed in this chapter.

      (6) Develop and disseminate community health education information and materials

relating to this chapter.

     11-9-13.7. Signs concerning sales to individuals under age eighteen (18). -- Signs

concerning sales to individuals under twenty-one (21). -- Signs provided by the department of

behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals, or an exact duplicate of it made

privately, shall:

     (1) Contain in red bold lettering a minimum of three-eighths ( 3/8") inch high on a white

background the following wording in both English and Spanish:

     THE SALE OF CIGARETTES, TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND ELECTRONIC

NICOTINE-DELIVERY SYSTEM PRODUCTS TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 (21)

IS AGAINST RHODE ISLAND LAW (§ 11-9-13.8(1) Chapter 9 of Title 11, Rhode Island

Statutes) PHOTO ID FOR PROOF OF AGE IS REQUIRED FOR PURCHASE.

      (2) Contain the phone number at the department of behavioral healthcare,

developmental disabilities and hospitals, where violations of §§ 11-9-13.2 -- 11-9-13.19 can be

reported, in addition to any other information required by the department of behavioral

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healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals.

     (3) Be displayed prominently for public view, wherever tobacco products are sold at each

cash register, each tobacco product and/or electronic nicotine-delivery systems vending machine,

or any other place from which tobacco products are sold. The signs shall be electronically

available in both English and Spanish online at the department of behavioral healthcare,

developmental disabilities and hospitals' website.

     11-9-13.8. Prohibitions applicable to license holders and their employees and agents.

– Minimum sales amounts for tobacco products. -- A person holding a license issued under

chapter 20 of title 44 and/or § 23-1-56, or an employee or agent of that person, is prohibited from

selling, distributing, or delivering a tobacco and/or electronic nicotine-delivery system product:

      (1) To any individual who is under eighteen (18) years of age No cigarettes shall be sold

in packs that contain less than twenty (20) cigarettes; or

      (2) In No tobacco products shall be sold in any form other than an original, factory-

wrapped package; or and

      (3) As No cigarettes shall be sold as a single-cigarette sale (§ 44-20-31) or as a sale of

cigarettes by the individual piece known as "loosies."

     11-9-13.11. Prohibition on the sale or distribution of tobacco products through the

mail conveyance of tobacco products through the mail to children under eighteen (18) --

Proof of age of purchaser required -- General rule. -- Prohibition on the sale or distribution

of tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery system products through the mail

conveyance of tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery system products through the

mail to persons under twenty-one (21) -- Proof of age of purchaser required -- General rule.

-- (a) The distribution, or sale or conveyance of tobacco products to children under the age of

eighteen (18) or electronic nicotine-delivery system products by the seller of the products to

persons under the age of twenty-one (21) via the United States Postal Service, or by any other

public or private postal or package delivery service, shall be prohibited.

      (b) Any person selling or distributing tobacco products in the form of cigars, pipe

tobacco, chewing tobacco, or snuff or electronic nicotine-delivery system products directly to a

consumer via the United States Postal Service, or by any other public or private postal or package

delivery service, including orders placed by mail, telephone, facsimile, or internet, shall: (1)

before distributing or selling the tobacco product or electronic nicotine-delivery system product

through any of these means, receive both a copy of a valid form of government identification

showing date of birth to verify the purchaser is age eighteen (18) years the age of twenty-one (21)

or over and an attestation from the purchaser certifying that the information on the government

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identification truly and correctly identifies the purchaser and the purchaser's current address, and

(2) deliver the tobacco product or electronic nicotine-delivery system product to the address of

the purchaser given on the valid form of government identification and by a postal or package

delivery service method that either limits delivery to that purchaser and requires the purchaser to

sign personally to receive the delivery or requires a signature of an adult a person the age of

twenty-one (21) or over at the purchaser's address to deliver the package.

      (c) The attorney general shall bring an action for any violation of this chapter. Any

distribution, or sale or conveyance of a tobacco product or electronic nicotine-delivery system

product to a child person under eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years of age via the United States

Postal Service, or by any other public or private postal or package delivery service, shall be

subject to an action against the distributor, or seller or conveyor by the attorney general of the

state of Rhode Island. A minimum fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall be assessed against

any distributor, or seller or conveyor convicted of distributing, or selling or conveying tobacco

products or electronic nicotine-delivery system products via the United States postal service, or

by any other public or private postal or package delivery service, for each delivery, or sale or

conveyance of a tobacco product or an electronic nicotine-delivery system product to a child

person under eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years of age.

      (d) For the purpose of this section, "distribution," "distributing," "selling" and "sale" do

not include the acts of the United States Postal Service or other common carrier when engaged in

the business of transporting and delivering packages for others or the acts of a person, whether

compensated or not, who transports or delivers a package for another person without any reason

to know of the package's contents.

      (e) Any delivery sale of cigarettes shall be made pursuant to the provisions of chapter

20.1 of title 44. The provisions of this section shall apply to each tobacco product listed in

subsection (b) herein as defined in §11-9-13.4, but shall not apply to any delivery sale of

cigarettes.

     11-9-13.13. Nature and size of penalties. -- (a) Any person or individual license holder

who violates a requirement of § 11-9-13.6(2) §§11-9-13.6 and 11-9-13.7, display of specific

signage, shall be subject to a fine in court of not less than thirty-five dollars ($35.00), nor more

than five hundred dollars ($500), per civil violation.

     (b) Any person who violates the prohibition in §§11-9-13.7.1 and 11-9-13.7.2 shall be

subject to:

     (1) A fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first violation within any thirty-six

(36) month period;

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     (2) A fine of five hundred dollars ($500) for the second violation within any thirty-six

(36) month period;

     (3) A fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the third violation within any thirty-six

(36) month period;

     (4) A fine of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for the fourth violation and each

subsequent violation.

     (b)(c) The license holder is responsible for all violations of this section that occur at the

location for which the license is issued. Any license holder that violates the prohibition of § 11-9-

13.8(1) and/or (2) §11-9-13.8 shall be subject to civil fines as follows:

      (1) A fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first violation within any thirty-six-

month (36) period;

      (2) A fine of five hundred dollars ($500) for the second violation within any thirty-six-

month (36) period;

      (3) A fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) and a fourteen-day (14) suspension of the

license to sell tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems for the third violation

within any thirty-six-month (36) period;

      (4) A fine of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) and a ninety-day (90)

suspension of the license to sell tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems for each

violation in excess of three (3).

      (c)(d) Any person that violates a the prohibition of § 11-9-13.8(3), sale of single

cigarettes; § 11-9-13.8(2), regarding factory-wrapped packs; shall be subject to a penalty of five

hundred dollars ($500) two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for each violation.

      (d)(e) The department of taxation and/or the department of health shall not issue a

license to any individual, business, firm, association, or corporation the license of which has been

revoked or suspended, to any corporation an officer of which has had his or her license revoked

or suspended, or to any individual who is, or has been, an officer of a corporation the license of

which has been revoked or suspended so long as such revocations or suspensions are in effect.

      (e) The court shall suspend the imposition of a license suspension of the license secured

from the Rhode Island tax administrator for violation of subdivisions (b)(3) and (b)(4) of this

section if the court finds that the license holder has taken measures to prevent the sale of tobacco

and/or electronic nicotine-delivery systems to minors and the license holder can demonstrate to

the court that those measures have been taken and that employees have received training.

     (f) No person shall sell tobacco products and/or electronic nicotine-delivery system

products at retail without first being trained in the legal sale of tobacco and/or electronic nicotine-

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delivery system products. Training shall teach employees what constitutes a tobacco and/or

electronic nicotine-delivery system product; legal age of purchase; acceptable identification; how

to refuse a direct sale to a minor an underage individual or secondary sale to an adult person age

twenty-one (21) or over; and all applicable laws on tobacco sales and distribution. Dealers shall

maintain records indicating that the provisions of this section were reviewed with all employees

who conduct, or will conduct, tobacco and/or electronic nicotine-delivery systems sales. Each

employee who sells or will sell tobacco and/or electronic nicotine-delivery system products shall

sign an acknowledgement form attesting that the provisions of this section were reviewed with

him or her. Each form shall be maintained by the retailer for as long as the employee is so

employed and for no less than one year after termination of employment. The measures to prevent

the sale of tobacco and/or electronic nicotine-delivery systems to minors shall be defined by the

department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals in rules and

regulations.

     SECTION 3. Sections 44-20.1-1, 44-20.1-3 and 44-20.1-5 of the General Laws in

Chapter 44-20.1 entitled "Delivery Sales of Cigarettes" are hereby amended to read as follows:

     44-20.1-1. Definitions. -- For purposes of this chapter:

      (1) "Administrator" means the tax administrator.

      (2) "Adult" means a person who is at least the legal minimum purchase age.

      (3) "Consumer" means an individual who is not licensed as a wholesaler or retailer

pursuant to the provisions of § 44-20-2.

      (4) "Delivery sale" means any sale of cigarettes to a consumer in the state where either:

      (i) The purchaser submits the order for such sale by means of a telephonic or other

method of voice transmission, the mail or any other delivery service, or the Internet or other

online service; or

      (ii) The cigarettes are delivered by use of the mails or other delivery service. A sale of

cigarettes shall be a delivery sale regardless of whether the seller is located within or without the

state. A sale of cigarettes not for personal consumption to a person who is a wholesale dealer or a

retail dealer shall not be a delivery sale.

      (5) "Delivery service" means any person who is engaged in the commercial delivery of

letters, packages, or other containers.

      (6) "Legal minimum purchase age" means the minimum age at which an individual may

legally purchase cigarettes in the state, the age of twenty-one (21) years.

      (7) "Mail" or "mailing" means the shipment of cigarettes through the United States

Postal Service.

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      (8) "Person" means the same as that term is defined in § 44-20-1.

      (9) "Shipping container" means bills of lading, airbills, or any other documents used to

evidence the undertaking by a delivery service to deliver letters, packages, or other containers.

     44-20.1-3. Age Verification requirements. -- (a) No person shall mail, ship, or

otherwise deliver cigarettes in connection with a delivery sale unless such person prior to the first

delivery sale to such consumer:

      (1) Obtains from the prospective consumer a certification that includes:

      (i) A reliable confirmation that the consumer is at least the legal minimum purchase age;

and

      (ii) A statement signed by the prospective consumer in writing that certifies the

prospective consumer's address and that the consumer is at least eighteen (18) twenty-one (21)

years of age. Such statement shall also confirm:

      (A) That the prospective consumer understands that signing another person's name to

such certification is illegal;

      (B) That the sale of cigarettes to individuals under the legal minimum purchase age is

illegal;

      (C) That the purchase of cigarettes by individuals under the legal minimum purchase age

is illegal under the laws of the state; and

      (D) That the prospective consumer wants to receive mailings from a tobacco company;

      (2) Makes a good faith effort to verify the information contained in the certification

provided by the prospective consumer pursuant to subsection (1) against a commercially available

database, or obtains a photocopy or other image of the valid, government-issued identification

stating the date of birth or age of the individual placing the order;

      (3) Provides to the prospective consumer, via e-mail or other means, a notice that meets

the requirements of § 44-20.1-4; and

      (4) In the case of an order for cigarettes pursuant to an advertisement on the Internet,

receives payment for the delivery sale from the prospective consumer by a credit or debit card

that has been issued in such consumer's name or by check.

      (b) Persons accepting purchase orders for delivery sales may request that the prospective

consumers provide their e-mail addresses.

     44-20.1-5. Shipping requirements. -- (a) Each person who mails, ships, or otherwise

delivers cigarettes in connection with a delivery sale:

      (1) Shall include as part of the bill of lading or other shipping documents a clear and

conspicuous statement providing as follows: "Cigarettes: Rhode Island law prohibits shipping to

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individuals under 18 21, and requires the payment of all applicable taxes":

      (2) Shall use a method of mailing, shipping or delivery that obligates the delivery service

to require: (i) the consumer placing the purchase order for the delivery sale or another adult of

legal minimum purchase age residing at the consumer's address, to sign to accept delivery of the

shipping container; and (ii) proof, in the form of a valid, government-issued identification bearing

a photograph of the individual who signs to accept delivery of the shipping container,

demonstrating that he/she either the addressee or another adult of legal minimum purchase age

residing at the consumer's address. However, proof of the legal minimum purchase age shall be

required only if such individual appears to be under twenty-seven (27) thirty (30) years of age;

and

      (3) Shall provide to the delivery service retained for such delivery sale evidence of full

compliance with § 44-20.1-7.

      (b) If the person accepting a purchase order for a delivery sale delivers the cigarettes

without using a delivery service, such person shall comply with all requirements of this chapter

applicable to a delivery service and shall be in violation of the provisions of this chapter if he/she

fails to comply with any such requirement.

     SECTION 4. Chapter 11-9 of the General Laws entitled "Children" is hereby amended by

adding thereto the following sections:

     11-9-13.7.1.  Purchase, sale or delivery of tobacco products or electronic nicotine-

delivery system products to persons under twenty-one (21)years of age.-- (1) No person under

twenty-one (21) years of age shall purchase tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery

system products.

     (2) No person shall sell, give, or deliver to any person under twenty-one (21) years of

age, any tobacco product or electronic nicotine-delivery system product.

     11-9-13.7.2. Purchase, sale or delivery of electronic nicotine-delivery system

products to persons under twenty-one (21) years of age, by license holders and their

employees and agents. -- A person holding a license issued under chapter 20 of title 44 and/or

§23-1-56, or an employee or agent of that person, is prohibited from selling, distributing, or

delivering a tobacco and/or electronic nicotine-delivery system product to any individual who is

under twenty-one (21) years of age.

     11-9-13.10.1. Tobacco product and electronic nicotine-delivery system product

vending machines. --  (a) No tobacco products, nor electronic nicotine-delivery system products

shall be sold from any device or vending machine that is in an area not continuously supervised

and in direct line of sight of an authorized person employed by the person, firm, or corporation

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that owns the business occupying the premises in which the device or vending machine is located,

nor shall any tobacco product, nor electronic nicotine-delivery system product be sold from any

device or vending machine that is in an area supervised by such an authorized person unless the

device or vending machine is equipped with an electronic locking device that will not allow the

device or vending machine to dispense a pack of cigarettes, or any other tobacco product, or

electronic nicotine-delivery system product unless it is electronically unlocked from a secured

position inaccessible to the public and under the supervision of an authorized person employed by

the person, firm, or corporation that owns the business occupying the premises in which the

device or vending machine is located. As used in this section, "direct line of sight" means that the

vending machine and the purchaser of tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery system

product must be visible to the authorized person pressing the unlock button while the unlock

button is being activated. Provided, a locking device shall not be required in an establishment

licensed to sell alcoholic beverages that limits access to persons over the age of twenty-one (21)

years of age.

     (b) No tobacco product, nor electronic nicotine-delivery system product shall be sold

from any device or vending machine from which non-tobacco products are sold.

     (c) Any person, firm, or corporation that owns a business occupying the premises in

which a device or vending machine that dispenses tobacco products or electronic nicotine-

delivery system products is located that shall violate any of the provisions of subsections (a) and

(b) of this section shall for the first offense be subject to a fine of seventy-five dollars ($75.00),

for the second offense, be subject to a fine of one hundred fifty dollars ($150), and for the third

and any subsequent offense, be subject to a fine of five hundred dollars ($500); provided, that in

the event that there are no offenses in three (3) successive years from the date of the last offense,

then the next offense shall be treated as the first offense.

     SECTION 5. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2017.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - CHILDREN

***

     This act would raise the legal minimum age to purchase tobacco products and nicotine-

delivery systems from eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21).

     This act would take effect on January 1, 2017.

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