BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1301|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1301
Author: Hill (D), et al.
Amended: 6/18/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE : 6-1, 6/13/12
AYES: Hernandez, Harman, Alquist, DeSaulnier, Rubio, Wolk
NOES: Anderson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blakeslee, De León
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE : 7-0, 1/11/12
AYES: Wolk, Huff, DeSaulnier, Fuller, Hancock, Hernandez,
Kehoe
NO VOTE RECORDED: La Malfa, Liu
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 7/2/12
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Dutton
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 61-15, 5/31/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Retail tobacco sales: STAKE Act
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill repeals and recasts the Board of
Equalizations (BOE) existing penalty structure for
violations of the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement
(STAKE) Act, a statewide enforcement program related to the
illegal sales of tobacco products to persons under the age
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of 18.
ANALYSIS : In 1994, the Legislature enacted STAKE Act,
(SB 1927, Hayden, Chapter 1009, Statutes of 1994) was
adopted to meet the requirements of the Synar Amendment.
The STAKE Act created a new statewide enforcement program
to take regulatory action against businesses that sold
tobacco to minors.
BOE can take action if a retailer is convicted of either
selling cigarettes or tobacco products to any person who is
under the age of 18 years or violating the provisions of
the STAKE Act. Any person who provides tobacco to a minor
may be convicted of a misdemeanor, or subject to a civil
action brought by a city attorney, a county counsel, or a
district attorney. BOE may issue a $200 fine for the first
offense, a $500 fine for the second offense, and a $1,000
fine for the third offense.
Existing law also requires every person, firm, or
corporation which sells, deals in tobacco or any tobacco
product to post a conspicuous notice at the point of
purchase, that selling tobacco products to anyone under 18
years of age is illegal.
Existing federal law requires states to enact and enforce
laws that prohibit the sale of cigarettes and tobacco
products to minors under the age of 18 under the Public
Health Service Act, the relevant portions of which are
commonly referred to as the "Synar Amendment." Provides
that the federal government may reduce each state's alcohol
and substance abuse block grant funding unless the youth
purchase survey conducted by each state is below 20
percent.
However, BOE can only use this enforcement action when the
Youth Purchase Survey is 13 percent or more. If the Youth
Purchase Survey is under 13 percent, this authority remains
inoperative.
This bill:
1.Requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to notify
BOE of the third, fourth or fifth violations it assesses
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against a person, firm, or corporation that furnishes
tobacco products or instruments to minors within 30 days
of an uncontested violation or payment of the civil
penalty for an uncontested violation. Requires DPH to
provide BOE with unspecified information about the entity
receiving the violation.
2.Repeals BOE's existing penalty structure for STAKE Act
and Penal Code 308 violations. Instead, requires BOE to
levy an additional $200 civil penalty on an entity
receiving a violation from DPH to be deposited into a
specified fund. Requires BOE to suspend or revoke the
entity's license in accordance with this schedule:
45-day suspension for a third violation at the same
location within five years,
90-day suspension for a fourth violation at the
same location within five years, and
Revocation of the license for a fifth violation at
the same location within five years.
1.Repeals existing law that allows a licensee to appeal a
BOE decision to suspend or revoke a license in writing
within 30 days after the notice of the suspension or
revocation. Requires BOE to provide a licensee with at
least 10 days written notice of a pending suspension or
revocation, except where specified, and an opportunity to
appeal the suspension or revocation and the civil
penalty, but only for the purpose of correcting a mistake
or clerical error.
2.Repeals existing law stipulating that convictions of
violations by a retailer at one retail location cannot be
accumulated against other locations of that same
retailer. Repeals existing law stipulating that
convictions of violations accumulated against a prior
retail owner at a licensed location cannot be accumulated
against a new retail owner at the same retail location.
3.Deletes a provision that made BOE's enforcement authority
contingent upon the specified youth purchase survey
results.
4.Makes persons under 18 years of age participating in law
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enforcement activities pertaining to the STAKE Act immune
from prosecution for the purchase, receipt or possession
of tobacco products while participating.
5.Makes legislative findings and declarations supporting
the bill's purpose.
Comments
According to the Senate Governance and Finance Committee
analysis, this bill seeks to improve the way California
deals with repeat offenders who sell tobacco products to
minors. Despite existing laws that prohibit the sale of
tobacco products to minors and media efforts aimed at
deglamorizing tobacco use, minors are still sold tobacco
products by a variety of retailers, and products are
marketed increasingly to younger audiences. According to
the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
nearly 90 percent of adults who are regular smokers started
at or before age 19. The CDC also reported in 2007 that 21
percent of high school students were tobacco users; in
California, youth smoking rates among 9-12 graders is 14.6
percent. Not only does early tobacco use pose significant
health problems for young people, but early tobacco
engagement increases the likelihood of lifelong tobacco
addiction. CDC attributes the alarming trend of tobacco
use among youth, in part, to access and availability. The
federal Food and Drug Administration conducted stings and
issued around 1,200 warnings to retailers for unlawfully
selling tobacco to minors. The California Tobacco Control
Program rank suspension or revocation of licenses as a top
strategy to reduce youth access to tobacco. Because the
Board of Equalization (BOE) is prevented from issuing
penalties due to syntactical language, few retailer
licenses, if any, have ever been revoked.
Related Legislation
SB 330 (Padilla), 2012, requires the Department of Public
Health to create, and update quarterly, a Tobacco Query
System. SB 330 imposes a $100 fee for retailers located
within a 600 foot radius of schools.
SB 331 (Padilla), 2011, adds a 600 feet restriction on new
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tobacco retailers to a list of the Board of Equalization
can use to deny a license.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
BOE indicates that one-time administrative costs,
including modifications to computer systems and
developing forms related to the assessment of a new $200
civil penalty, as well as ongoing assessment and
collection costs, would be minor and absorbable (STAKE
Act funds: Sale of Tobacco to Minors Control Account).
BOE indicates that ongoing administrative costs related
to the suspension and revocation of retailer licenses
would also be absorbable (less than $10,000 per year),
assuming the number of STAKE Act violations reported to
BOE remain less than 20 per year (Cigarette and Tobacco
Products Compliance Fund).
Minor revenue increases related to new $200 civil
penalties assessed upon third, fourth, and fifth STAKE
Act violations within a five year period (Cigarette and
Tobacco Products Compliance Fund).
Department of Public Health (DPH) costs of approximately
$120,000 annually for legal staff workload related to an
anticipated increase in retailer appeals of STAKE Act
violations (Sale of Tobacco to Minors Control Account).
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/5/12)
American Heart Association of California
American Lung Association of California
Asian American Recovery Services
BREATHE California
California Law Enforcement Association of Records
Supervisors
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California State Sheriff's Association
San Mateo County Sheriff
San Mateo County Tobacco Education Coalition
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State of California Tobacco Education and Research
Oversight Committee
Youth Leadership Institute
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 61-15, 05/31/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Cook,
Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Hagman, Hall, Hayashi,
Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries,
Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller,
Mitchell, Monning, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson, Torres,
Valadao, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Conway, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove,
Harkey, Jones, Knight, Logue, Morrell, Nielsen, Norby,
Silva, Smyth, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bill Berryhill, Charles Calderon,
Gorell, Halderman
AGB:n 7/5/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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