2019 -- S 0462 | |
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LC001432 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019 | |
____________ | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- TOBACCO AND NICOTINE PRODUCTS-- | |
CHILDREN | |
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Introduced By: Senators Coyne, Ruggerio, Lombardo, Sosnowski, and Gallo | |
Date Introduced: February 27, 2019 | |
Referred To: Senate Judiciary | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Sections 11-9-13, 11-9-13.1, 11-9-13.3, 11-9-13.4, 11-9-13.5, 11-9-13.6, |
2 | 11-9-13.7, 11-9-13.8, 11-9-13.10, 11-9-13.11 and 11-9-13.13 of the General Laws in Chapter 11- |
3 | 9 entitled "Children" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
4 | 11-9-13. Purchase, sale or delivery of tobacco products to persons under eighteen -- |
5 | Posting notice of law. Sale or delivery of tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery |
6 | systems to persons under twenty-one -- Posting notice of law. |
7 | No person under eighteen (18) years of age shall purchase, nor shall any person sell, give, |
8 | or deliver to any person under eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years of age, any tobacco product or |
9 | electronic nicotine-delivery system as defined in § 11-9-13.4 in the form of cigarettes, bidi |
10 | cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, flavored cigars known as "blunts," unflavored "blunts," flavored |
11 | and unflavored blunt wraps, cigarette rolling papers of any size or composition, cigarillos and |
12 | tiparillos, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, electronic nicotine-delivery systems, or snuff. Any |
13 | person, firm, or corporation that owns, manages, or operates a place of business in which tobacco |
14 | products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems are sold, including sales through cigarette |
15 | vending machines, shall post notice of this law conspicuously in the place of business in letters at |
16 | least three-eighths of an inch (3/8") high. |
17 | 11-9-13.1. Cigarette and tobacco vending machines. Cigarette, tobacco and |
18 | electronic nicotine-delivery system vending machines. |
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1 | (a) No cigarettes cigarette, nor any other tobacco product, nor electronic nicotine-delivery |
2 | system product shall be sold from any device or vending machine that is in any area of business |
3 | an area not continuously supervised and in direct line of sight of an authorized person employed |
4 | by the person, firm, or corporation that owns the business occupying the premises in which the |
5 | device or vending machine is located, nor shall any tobacco product, nor electronic nicotine- |
6 | delivery system product be sold from any device or vending machine that is in an area supervised |
7 | by such an authorized person unless the device or vending machine is equipped with an electronic |
8 | locking device that will not allow the device or vending machine to dispense a pack of cigarettes, |
9 | or any other tobacco product, or electronic nicotine-delivery system product unless it is |
10 | electronically unlocked from a secured position inaccessible to the public and under the |
11 | supervision of an authorized person employed by the person, firm, or corporation that owns the |
12 | business occupying the premises in which the device or vending machine is located. "Direct line |
13 | of sight" means that the vending machine and the purchaser of cigarettes or electronic nicotine- |
14 | delivery system product must be visible to the authorized person pressing the unlock button while |
15 | the unlock button is being activated. Provided, a locking device shall not be required in an |
16 | establishment licensed to sell alcoholic beverages that limits access to that persons over under the |
17 | age of twenty-one (21) years are allowed to enter at any time. |
18 | (b) No cigarettes cigarette, nor any other tobacco product, nor electronic nicotine- |
19 | delivery system product shall be sold from any device or vending machine from which non- |
20 | tobacco products are sold. |
21 | (c) No cigarettes shall be sold in packs that contain less than twenty (20) cigarettes. |
22 | (d) Any person, firm, or corporation who or that owns a business occupying the premises |
23 | in which a device or vending machine that dispenses cigarettes, or any other tobacco product or |
24 | electronic nicotine-delivery system product is located who or that shall violate any of the |
25 | provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section shall for the first offense be subject to a fine |
26 | of seventy-five dollars ($75.00), for the second offense, be subject to a fine of one hundred fifty |
27 | dollars ($150), and for the third and any subsequent offense, be subject to a fine of five hundred |
28 | dollars ($500); provided, that in the event that there are no offenses in three (3) successive years |
29 | from the date of the last offense, then the next offense shall be treated as the first offense. |
30 | (e) Any person, firm, or corporation who or that shall violate subsection (c) of this |
31 | section shall, for the first offense, be subject to a fine of seventy-five dollars ($75.00), for the |
32 | second offense, be subject to a fine of one hundred fifty dollars ($150), and for the third and any |
33 | subsequent offense, be subject to a fine of five hundred dollars ($500); provided, that in the event |
34 | that there are no offenses in three (3) successive years from the date of the last offense, then the |
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1 | next offense shall be treated as the first offense. |
2 | (f) One-half (1/2) of all the fines collected pursuant to this section shall be transferred to |
3 | the municipalities in which the citations originated. One-half (1/2) of all the fines collected |
4 | pursuant to this section shall be transferred to the general fund. |
5 | (g) Severability. If any provision of this section or the application of it to any person or |
6 | circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this |
7 | section, which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the |
8 | provisions of this section are declared to be severable. |
9 | 11-9-13.3. Legislative intent -- Purpose. |
10 | (a) The use of tobacco products and electronic nicotine-delivery systems by Rhode Island |
11 | children and youth is a health and substance abuse problem of the utmost severity. The legislature |
12 | finds that tobacco product usage by children in Rhode Island is rampant and increasing with over |
13 | thirty percent (30%) of high school students smoking. The present law prohibiting the sale of |
14 | tobacco to children is being ignored by many retailers. Rhode Island tobacco retailers illegally |
15 | sell four million eight hundred thousand (4,800,000) packs, over eleven million dollars |
16 | ($11,000,000) in tobacco product sales, to children annually. Tobacco industry advertising targets |
17 | children as the replacement smokers for the one thousand one hundred forty-five (1,145) adults |
18 | who die daily from tobacco product usage. Approximately seventy percent (70%) of the Rhode |
19 | Island high school seniors who are smoking today will be the addicted adult smokers of |
20 | tomorrow. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), smoking- |
21 | related direct medical costs in Rhode Island in 1990 climbed to one hundred eighty-six million |
22 | dollars ($186,000,000). This is an ongoing, escalating financial burden borne by every business, |
23 | large and small, and every person, smoker and nonsmoker, in Rhode Island. This is a health and |
24 | economic drain created by each new generation of children who begin using tobacco products and |
25 | become addicted to nicotine. It is the intent of this legislation to preserve and protect the health of |
26 | children by: (1) stopping the illegal sale of tobacco to children, and (2) by severely punishing |
27 | those who disregard the laws relating to the illegal sale of tobacco products to children. serious |
28 | health and addiction problem. Cigarette use has greatly declined among Rhode Island youth, to |
29 | six and one-tenths percent (6.1%) yet even at this low rate, every year, three hundred (300) |
30 | children under the age eighteen (18) in Rhode Island become daily smokers. There are sixteen |
31 | thousand (16,000) children in Rhode Island today who will ultimately die prematurely from |
32 | smoking. Rhode Island's annual health care costs due to smoking are six hundred forty million |
33 | dollars ($640,000). As the national youth tobacco survey reports, in 2018, there was a dramatic |
34 | increase in electronic cigarette use among youth. According to the findings, the number of United |
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1 | States high school students who reported being current e-cigarette users increased seventy-eight |
2 | percent (78%) between 2017 and 2018 to three million fifty thousand (3,050,000) or twenty and |
3 | eight-tenths percent (20.8%), putting millions of young people at risk of lifelong nicotine |
4 | addiction. In Rhode Island, twenty and one-tenths percent (20.1%) of high school students use e- |
5 | cigarettes. |
6 | (b) Data shows that about ninety-five percent (95%) of adult smokers began smoking |
7 | before they turned age twenty-one (21). In March of 2015, the National Academy of Medicine |
8 | (then the Institute of Medicine), on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), released |
9 | a seminal report detailing the potential public health benefits of raising the national legal age of |
10 | tobacco sale from age eighteen (18) to age twenty-one (21). Among the findings was a twenty- |
11 | five percent (25%) drop in the rate of smoking initiation by fifteen (15) to seventeen (17) year |
12 | olds, a twelve percent (12%) drop in overall smoking rates over time, and sixteen thousand |
13 | (16,000) cases of preterm birth and low birth weight averted in the first five (5) years of the |
14 | policy, an impact that would be recognized immediately. A conservative estimate is that if age |
15 | twenty-one (21) were adopted throughout the United States now, it would prevent four million |
16 | two hundred thousand (4,200,000) years of lives lost to smoking for those born in the years 2000- |
17 | 2019. In July, 2015 the CDC reported that seventy-five percent (75%) of adults favored raising |
18 | the tobacco sale age to twenty-one (21) years. |
19 | 11-9-13.4. Definitions. |
20 | As used in this chapter: |
21 | (1) "Bidi cigarette" means any product that (i) contains tobacco that is wrapped in |
22 | temburni or tender leaf, or that is wrapped in any other material identified by rules of the |
23 | Department of Health that is similar in appearance or characteristics to the temburni or tender |
24 | leaf, and (ii) does not contain a smoke filtering device. |
25 | (2)(1) "Court" means any appropriate district court of the state of Rhode Island. |
26 | (3)(2) "Dealer" is synonymous with the term "retail tobacco products dealer" or |
27 | electronic nicotine-delivery system dealer. |
28 | (4)(3) "Department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals " |
29 | means the state of Rhode Island behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals |
30 | department, its employees, agents or assigns. |
31 | (5)(4) "Department of taxation" means the state of Rhode Island taxation division, its |
32 | employees, agents, or assigns. |
33 | (5) "Electronic nicotine-delivery system" means any device that can be used to deliver |
34 | aerosolized or vaporized nicotine to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not |
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1 | limited to, an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, vape pen or e-hookah. Electronic nicotine-delivery |
2 | systems include any component, part, or accessory of such a device, whether or not sold |
3 | separately, and includes any substance intended to be aerosolized or vaporized during the use of |
4 | the device. Electronic nicotine-delivery systems do not include drugs, devices, or combination |
5 | products authorized for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as those |
6 | terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. |
7 | (6) "License" is synonymous with the term "retail tobacco products dealer license" or |
8 | "electronic nicotine-delivery system license." |
9 | (7) "License holder" is synonymous with the term "retail tobacco products dealer" or |
10 | "electronic nicotine-delivery system license." |
11 | (8) "Little cigars" means and includes any roll, made wholly or in part of tobacco, |
12 | irrespective of size or shape, and irrespective of whether the tobacco is flavored, adulterated, or |
13 | mixed with any other ingredient, where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of tobacco |
14 | wrapped in leaf tobacco or any substance containing tobacco paper or any other material, except |
15 | where such wrapper is wholly or in greater part made of tobacco and such roll weighs over four |
16 | and one-half (4.5) pounds per thousand (1,000). |
17 | (8)(9) "Person" means any individual person, firm, association, or corporation licensed as |
18 | a retail dealer to sell tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems within the state. |
19 | (9)(10) "Retail tobacco products dealer" means the holder of a license to sell tobacco |
20 | products at retail. |
21 | (10)(11) "Retail tobacco products dealer license" means a license to sell tobacco products |
22 | at retail as issued by the department of taxation. |
23 | (11)(12) "Spitting tobacco" also means snuff, powdered tobacco, chewing tobacco, |
24 | dipping tobacco, pouch tobacco, or smokeless tobacco. |
25 | (12)(13) "Tobacco product(s)" means any product containing tobacco, including bidi |
26 | cigarettes, as defined in subdivision (1) of this section, that can be used for, but whose use is not |
27 | limited to, smoking, sniffing, chewing, or spitting of the product. that is made from or derived |
28 | from tobacco, or that contains nicotine, that is intended for human consumption or is likely to be |
29 | consumed, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, or ingested by any |
30 | other means, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe |
31 | tobacco, snuff, snus and bidi cigarettes. |
32 | "Tobacco product" also means electronic nicotine-delivery systems and includes any |
33 | component, part, or accessory used in the consumption of a tobacco product, such as filters, |
34 | rolling papers, pipes, and liquids used in electronic nicotine-delivery systems, whether or not they |
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1 | contain nicotine. "Tobacco product" does not include drugs, devices, or combination products |
2 | authorized for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as those terms are |
3 | defined in the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. |
4 | (13)(14) "Underage individual" or "underage individuals" means any child person under |
5 | the age of eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years of age. |
6 | (14) "Little cigars" means and includes any roll, made wholly or in part of tobacco, |
7 | irrespective of size or shape, and irrespective of whether the tobacco is flavored, adulterated, or |
8 | mixed with any other ingredient, where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of tobacco |
9 | wrapped in leaf tobacco or any substance containing tobacco paper or any other material, except |
10 | where such wrapper is wholly or in greater part made of tobacco and such roll weighs over three |
11 | (3) pounds per thousand (1,000). |
12 | (15) "Electronic nicotine-delivery system" means an electronic device that may be used |
13 | to simulate smoking in the delivery of nicotine or other substance to a person inhaling from the |
14 | device, and includes, but is not limited to, an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic |
15 | cigarillo, electronic pipe, or electronic hookah and any related device and any cartridge or other |
16 | component of such device. |
17 | (15) "Electronic nicotine-delivery system license" means a license to sell electronic |
18 | nicotine-delivery systems at retail as issued by the department of health. |
19 | (16) "Electronic nicotine-delivery system dealer" means the holder of a license to sell |
20 | electronic nicotine-delivery systems at retail. |
21 | 11-9-13.5. Responsibility for tobacco or health issues. |
22 | The Rhode Island department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and |
23 | hospitals shall develop, monitor and aggressively enforce health rules and regulations pertaining |
24 | to stopping the illegal sale of tobacco products and electronic nicotine-delivery systems to |
25 | children underage individuals. |
26 | 11-9-13.6. Duties of the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental |
27 | disabilities and hospitals. |
28 | The department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals shall: |
29 | (1) Coordinate and promote the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and serve as |
30 | the primary liaison from this department to other state or local agencies, departments, or divisions |
31 | on issues pertaining to stopping children's underage individuals' access to tobacco products and |
32 | electronic nicotine-delivery system dealers systems. |
33 | (2) Provide retail tobacco products dealers and electronic nicotine-delivery system |
34 | dealers signs concerning the prohibition of sales to children under eighteen (18) persons under |
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1 | twenty-one (21) years of age. The signs, conforming to the requirements of this chapter, shall be |
2 | sold at cost. This sign, or an exact duplicate of it made privately, shall be displayed in all |
3 | locations where tobacco products and/or electronic nicotine-delivery systems are sold. |
4 | (3) Investigate concurrently with other state and local officials violations of this chapter. |
5 | (4)(i) Utilize unannounced statewide compliance checks of tobacco product sales and/or |
6 | electronic nicotine-delivery system sales including retail tobacco and/or electronic nicotine- |
7 | delivery system over-the-counter sales, mail-order sales initiated via mail, facsimile, telephone or |
8 | internet ordering or other types of electronic communications, and tobacco and/or electronic |
9 | nicotine-delivery systems vending machine sales as part of investigating compliance with the |
10 | provisions of this chapter. Underage individuals, acting as agents for the department of behavioral |
11 | healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals and with the written permission of a parent or |
12 | guardian for persons under age eighteen (18) years, may purchase, with impunity from |
13 | prosecution, tobacco products and electronic nicotine-delivery system for the purposes of law |
14 | enforcement or government research involving monitoring compliance with this chapter, |
15 | provided that the underage individuals are supervised by an adult law enforcement official. Any |
16 | individual participating in an unannounced compliance check of over-the-counter or vending |
17 | machine sales, must state his or her accurate age if asked by the sales representative of the retail |
18 | establishment being checked. |
19 | (ii) In fulfilling the requirement of unannounced statewide compliance checks, the |
20 | department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals shall maintain |
21 | complete records of the unannounced compliance checks, detailing, at least, the date of the |
22 | compliance check; the name and address of the retail establishment checked or the mail order |
23 | company; the results of the compliance check (sale/no sale); whether the sale was made as an |
24 | over-the-counter sale, a mail-order purchase or a tobacco and/or or electronic nicotine-delivery |
25 | systems vending machine sale; and if a citation was issued for any violation found. The records |
26 | shall be subject to public disclosure. Further, the department of behavioral healthcare, |
27 | developmental disabilities and hospitals shall report to the owner of each retail establishment |
28 | checked or mail-order company the results of any compliance check (sale/no sale) whether the |
29 | sale was made as an over-the-counter sale, a mail-order purchase, or a tobacco and/or electronic |
30 | nicotine-delivery systems vending machine sale, and if a citation was issued for any violation |
31 | found. |
32 | (5) Seek enforcement, concurrently with other state and local officials, of the penalties as |
33 | detailed in this chapter. |
34 | (6) Develop and disseminate community health education information and materials |
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1 | relating to this chapter. |
2 | 11-9-13.7. Signs concerning sales to individuals under age eighteen (18). Signs |
3 | concerning sales to individuals under age twenty-one (21). |
4 | Signs provided by the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities |
5 | and hospitals, or an exact duplicate of it made privately, shall: |
6 | (1) Contain in red bold lettering a minimum of three-eighths (3/8") inch high on a white |
7 | background the following wording in both English and Spanish: |
8 | THE SALE OF CIGARETTES, |
9 | TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND ELECTRONIC NICOTINE-DELIVERY SYSTEM |
10 | PRODUCTS SYSTEMS |
11 | TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 21 |
12 | IS AGAINST RHODE ISLAND LAW |
13 | (§ 11-9-13.8(1), Rhode Island Statutes chapter 9 of title 11, R.I.G.L.) |
14 | PHOTO ID FOR PROOF OF AGE IS |
15 | REQUIRED FOR PURCHASE. |
16 | (2) Contain the phone number at the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental |
17 | disabilities and hospitals, where violations of §§ 11-9-13.2 -- 11-9-13.19 can be reported, in |
18 | addition to any other information required by the department of behavioral healthcare, |
19 | developmental disabilities and hospitals. |
20 | (3) Be displayed prominently for public view, wherever tobacco products or electronic |
21 | nicotine-delivery systems are sold at each cash register, each tobacco and/or electronic nicotine- |
22 | delivery systems vending machine, or any other place from which tobacco products or electronic |
23 | nicotine-delivery systems are sold. The signs shall be electronically available in both English and |
24 | Spanish online at the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and |
25 | hospitals' website. |
26 | 11-9-13.8. Prohibitions applicable to license holders and their employees and agents. |
27 | A person holding a license issued under chapter 20 of title 44 and/or § 23-1-56, or an |
28 | employee or agent of that person, is prohibited from selling, distributing, or delivering a tobacco |
29 | product and/or electronic nicotine-delivery system product: |
30 | (1) To any individual who is under eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years of age; or |
31 | (2) In any form other than an original, factory-wrapped package; or |
32 | (3) As a single-cigarette sale (§ 44-20-31) or as a sale of cigarettes by the individual piece |
33 | known as "loosies." |
34 | 11-9-13.10. Prohibition on the distribution of free tobacco products. Prohibition on |
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1 | the distribution of free tobacco products and electronic nicotine-delivery systems. |
2 | The distribution of free tobacco products and electronic nicotine-delivery systems or |
3 | coupons or vouchers redeemable for free tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery system |
4 | products systems to any person under eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years of age shall be |
5 | prohibited. Further, the distribution of free tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery |
6 | systems or coupons or vouchers redeemable for free tobacco products or electronic nicotine- |
7 | delivery systems products shall be prohibited, regardless of the age of the person to whom the |
8 | products, coupons, or vouchers are distributed, within five hundred feet (500') of any school. The |
9 | attorney general, or any local or state of Rhode Island police department, or their officers or |
10 | agents, shall bring an action for any violation of this section. Every separate, free tobacco product |
11 | or electronic nicotine-delivery system or coupon or voucher redeemable for a free tobacco or |
12 | electronic nicotine-delivery system or product in violation of this section shall constitute a |
13 | separate offense subject to a fine of five hundred dollars ($500). The penalty shall be assessed |
14 | against the business or individual responsible for initiating the Rhode Island distribution of the |
15 | free tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems or coupons or vouchers redeemable |
16 | for free tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems. |
17 | 11-9-13.11. Prohibition on the sale or distribution of tobacco products through the |
18 | mail conveyance of tobacco products through the mail to children under eighteen (18) -- |
19 | Proof of age of purchaser required -- General rule. Prohibition on the sale or distribution of |
20 | tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems through the mail; conveyance of |
21 | tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems through the mail to persons under |
22 | twenty-one (21) -- Proof of age of purchaser required -- General rule. |
23 | (a) The distribution, or sale or conveyance of tobacco products or electronic nicotine- |
24 | delivery systems by the seller of the products to children persons under the age of eighteen (18) |
25 | twenty-one (21) via the United States Postal Service, or by any other public or private postal or |
26 | package delivery service, shall be prohibited. |
27 | (b) Any person selling or distributing tobacco products in the form of cigars, pipe |
28 | tobacco, chewing tobacco, or snuff or electronic nicotine-delivery systems directly to a consumer |
29 | via the United States Postal Service, or by any other public or private postal or package delivery |
30 | service, including orders placed by mail, telephone, facsimile, or internet, shall: (1) before |
31 | distributing or selling the tobacco product or electronic nicotine-delivery system through any of |
32 | these means, receive both a copy of a valid form of government identification showing date of |
33 | birth to verify the purchaser is age eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years or over and an attestation |
34 | from the purchaser certifying that the information on the government identification truly and |
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1 | correctly identifies the purchaser and the purchaser's current address, and (2) deliver the tobacco |
2 | product or electronic nicotine-delivery system to the address of the purchaser given on the valid |
3 | form of government identification and by a postal or package delivery service method that either |
4 | limits delivery to that purchaser and requires the purchaser to sign personally to receive the |
5 | delivery or requires a signature of an adult a person the age of twenty-one (21) or over at the |
6 | purchaser's address to deliver the package. |
7 | (c) The attorney general shall bring an action for any violation of this chapter. Any |
8 | distribution, or sale or conveyance of a tobacco product or electronic nicotine-delivery system to |
9 | a child person under eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) years of age via the United States Postal |
10 | Service, or by any other public or private postal or package delivery service, shall be subject to an |
11 | action against the distributor, or seller or conveyor by the attorney general of the state of Rhode |
12 | Island. A minimum fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall be assessed against any |
13 | distributor, or seller or conveyor convicted of distributing, or selling or conveying tobacco |
14 | products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems via the United States postal service, or by any |
15 | other public or private postal or package delivery service, for each delivery, or sale or conveyance |
16 | of a tobacco product or electronic nicotine-delivery system to a child person under eighteen (18) |
17 | twenty-one (21) years of age. |
18 | (d) For the purpose of this section, "distribution," "distributing," "selling" and "sale" do |
19 | not include the acts of the United States Postal Service or other common carrier when engaged in |
20 | the business of transporting and delivering packages for others or the acts of a person, whether |
21 | compensated or not, who transports or delivers a package for another person without any reason |
22 | to know of the package's contents. |
23 | (e) Any delivery sale of cigarettes shall be made pursuant to the provisions of chapter |
24 | 20.1 of title 44. The provisions of this section shall apply to each tobacco product listed in |
25 | subsection (b) herein or electronic nicotine-delivery system as defined in § 11-9-13.4, but shall |
26 | not apply to any delivery sale of cigarettes. |
27 | 11-9-13.13. Nature and size of penalties. |
28 | (a) Any person or individual license holder who violates a requirement of §§ 11-9-13.6(2) |
29 | and 11-9-13.7, display of specific signage, shall be subject to a fine in court of not less than |
30 | thirty-five dollars ($35.00), nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), per civil violation. |
31 | (b) The license holder is responsible for all violations of this section that occur at the |
32 | location for which the license is issued. Any license holder who or that violates the prohibition of |
33 | § 11-9-13.8(1) and/or (2) or § 11-9-13.20 shall be subject to civil fines as follows: |
34 | (1) A fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the first violation within any thirty-six- |
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1 | month (36) period; |
2 | (2) A fine of five hundred dollars ($500) for the second violation within any thirty-six- |
3 | month (36) period; |
4 | (3) A fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000) and a fourteen-day (14) suspension of the |
5 | license to sell tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems for the third violation |
6 | within any thirty-six-month (36) period; |
7 | (4) A fine of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) and a ninety-day (90) |
8 | suspension of the license to sell tobacco products or electronic nicotine-delivery systems for each |
9 | violation in excess of three (3). |
10 | (c) Any person who or that violates a prohibition of § 11-9-13.8(3), sale of single |
11 | cigarettes; or § 11-9-13.8(2), regarding factory-wrapped packs; shall be subject to a penalty of |
12 | five hundred dollars ($500) for each violation. |
13 | (d) The department of taxation and/or the department of health shall not issue a license to |
14 | any individual, business, firm, association, or corporation, the license of which has been revoked |
15 | or suspended; to any corporation, an officer of which has had his or her license revoked or |
16 | suspended; or to any individual who is, or has been, an officer of a corporation the license of |
17 | which has been revoked or suspended so long as such revocations or suspensions are in effect. |
18 | (e) The court shall may suspend the imposition of a license suspension of the license |
19 | secured from the Rhode Island tax administrator or the department of health for violation of |
20 | subsections (b)(3) and (b)(4) of this section if the court finds that the license holder has taken |
21 | measures to prevent the sale of tobacco products and/or electronic nicotine-delivery systems to |
22 | minors underage individuals and the license holder can demonstrate to the court that those |
23 | measures have been taken and that employees have received training. No person shall sell |
24 | tobacco products and/or electronic nicotine-delivery system products systems at retail without |
25 | first being trained in the legal sale of tobacco products and/or electronic nicotine-delivery system |
26 | products systems. Training shall teach employees what constitutes a tobacco product and/or |
27 | electronic nicotine-delivery system product; legal age of purchase sale; acceptable identification; |
28 | how to refuse a direct sale to a minor an underage individual or secondary sale to an adult a |
29 | person age (21) years or older; and all applicable laws on tobacco sales and distribution. Dealers |
30 | shall maintain records indicating that the provisions of this section were reviewed with all |
31 | employees who conduct, or will conduct, tobacco product and/or electronic nicotine-delivery |
32 | systems sales. Each employee who sells or will sell tobacco products and/or electronic nicotine- |
33 | delivery system products shall sign an acknowledgement form attesting that the provisions |
34 | systems of this section were reviewed with him or her. Each form shall be maintained by the |
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1 | retailer for as long as the employee is so employed and for no less than one year after termination |
2 | of employment. The measures to prevent the sale of tobacco products and/or electronic nicotine- |
3 | delivery systems to minors underage individuals shall be defined by the department of behavioral |
4 | healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals in rules and regulations. |
5 | SECTION 2. Section 11-9-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-9 entitled "Children" is |
6 | hereby repealed. |
7 | 11-9-14. Use of tobacco by minors. |
8 | No person under eighteen (18) years of age shall use or possess, when such possession is |
9 | clearly visible, tobacco in any public street, place, or resort, any tobacco and/or electronic |
10 | nicotine delivery system in any form whatsoever. Any person under eighteen (18) years of age |
11 | violating the provisions of this section shall be required to perform up to thirty (30) hours of |
12 | community service or shall be required to enter into a tobacco treatment program, approved by |
13 | any local substance abuse prevention task force, at the option of a minor charged with a violation |
14 | of this section. |
15 | SECTION 3. Sections 44-20.1-1, 44-20.1-3 and 44-20.1-5 of the General Laws in |
16 | Chapter 44-20.1 entitled "Delivery Sales of Cigarettes" are hereby amended to read as follows: |
17 | 44-20.1-1. Definitions. |
18 | For purposes of this chapter: |
19 | (1) "Administrator" means the tax administrator. |
20 | (2) "Adult" means a person who is at least the legal minimum purchase age for sale of |
21 | tobacco products. |
22 | (3) "Consumer" means an individual who is not licensed as a wholesaler or retailer |
23 | pursuant to the provisions of § 44-20-2. |
24 | (4) "Delivery sale" means any sale of cigarettes to a consumer in the state where either: |
25 | (i) The purchaser submits the order for such sale by means of a telephonic or other |
26 | method of voice transmission, the mail or any other delivery service, or the Internet or other |
27 | online service; or |
28 | (ii) The cigarettes are delivered by use of the mails or other delivery service. A sale of |
29 | cigarettes shall be a delivery sale regardless of whether the seller is located within or without the |
30 | state. A sale of cigarettes not for personal consumption to a person who is a wholesale dealer or a |
31 | retail dealer shall not be a delivery sale. |
32 | (5) "Delivery service" means any person who is engaged in the commercial delivery of |
33 | letters, packages, or other containers. |
34 | (6) "Legal minimum purchase age" means the minimum age at which an individual may |
| LC001432 - Page 12 of 15 |
1 | legally purchase cigarettes in the state, the age of twenty-one (21) years. |
2 | (7) "Mail" or "mailing" means the shipment of cigarettes through the United States Postal |
3 | Service. |
4 | (8) "Person" means the same as that term is defined in § 44-20-1. |
5 | (9) "Shipping container" means bills of lading, airbills, or any other documents used to |
6 | evidence the undertaking by a delivery service to deliver letters, packages, or other containers. |
7 | 44-20.1-3. Age Verification requirements. |
8 | (a) No person shall mail, ship, or otherwise deliver cigarettes in connection with a |
9 | delivery sale unless such person prior to the first delivery sale to such consumer: |
10 | (1) Obtains from the prospective consumer a certification that includes: |
11 | (i) A reliable confirmation that the consumer is at least the legal minimum purchase |
12 | twenty-one (21) years of age; and |
13 | (ii) A statement signed by the prospective consumer in writing that certifies the |
14 | prospective consumer's address and that the consumer is at least eighteen (18) twenty-one (21) |
15 | years of age. Such statement shall also confirm: |
16 | (A) That the prospective consumer understands that signing another person's name to |
17 | such certification is illegal; |
18 | (B) That the sale of cigarettes to individuals under the legal minimum purchase age |
19 | twenty-one (21) years of age is illegal; and |
20 | (C) That the purchase of cigarettes by individuals under the legal minimum purchase age |
21 | is illegal under the laws of the state; and |
22 | (D)(C) That the prospective consumer wants to receive mailings from a tobacco |
23 | company; |
24 | (2) Makes a good faith effort to verify the information contained in the certification |
25 | provided by the prospective consumer pursuant to subsection (1) against a commercially available |
26 | database, or obtains a photocopy or other image of the valid, government-issued identification |
27 | stating the date of birth or age of the individual placing the order; |
28 | (3) Provides to the prospective consumer, via e-mail or other means, a notice that meets |
29 | the requirements of § 44-20.1-4; and |
30 | (4) In the case of an order for cigarettes pursuant to an advertisement on the Internet, |
31 | receives payment for the delivery sale from the prospective consumer by a credit or debit card |
32 | that has been issued in such consumer's name or by check. |
33 | (b) Persons accepting purchase orders for delivery sales may request that the prospective |
34 | consumers provide their e-mail addresses. |
| LC001432 - Page 13 of 15 |
1 | 44-20.1-5. Shipping requirements. |
2 | (a) Each person who mails, ships, or otherwise delivers cigarettes in connection with a |
3 | delivery sale: |
4 | (1) Shall include as part of the bill of lading or other shipping documents a clear and |
5 | conspicuous statement providing as follows: "Cigarettes: Rhode Island law prohibits shipping to |
6 | individuals under 18, and requires the payment of all applicable taxes": |
7 | (2) Shall use a method of mailing, shipping or delivery that obligates the delivery service |
8 | to require: (i) the consumer placing the purchase order for the delivery sale or another adult of |
9 | legal minimum purchase age twenty-one (21) years of age or older residing at the consumer's |
10 | address, to sign to accept delivery of the shipping container; and (ii) proof, in the form of a valid, |
11 | government-issued identification bearing a photograph of the individual who signs to accept |
12 | delivery of the shipping container, demonstrating that he/she either the addressee or another adult |
13 | of legal minimum purchase age residing at the consumer's address. However, proof of the legal |
14 | minimum purchase age shall be required only if such individual appears to be under twenty-seven |
15 | (27) thirty (30) years of age; and |
16 | (3) Shall provide to the delivery service retained for such delivery sale evidence of full |
17 | compliance with § 44-20.1-7. |
18 | (b) If the person accepting a purchase order for a delivery sale delivers the cigarettes |
19 | without using a delivery service, such person shall comply with all requirements of this chapter |
20 | applicable to a delivery service and shall be in violation of the provisions of this chapter if he/she |
21 | fails to comply with any such requirement. |
22 | SECTION 4. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2020. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES -- TOBACCO AND NICOTINE PRODUCTS-- | |
CHILDREN | |
*** | |
1 | This act would provide certain restrictions on the sale of tobacco products, enhance the |
2 | definition of "tobacco products", and would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco products |
3 | and nicotine-delivery systems from eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21) years of age. |
4 | This act would take effect on January 1, 2020. |
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