BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1500
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Date of Hearing: May 21, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1500 (Dickinson) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
Policy Committee: Governmental
Organization Vote: 19-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits a seller that delivers products via shipping
or mailing from selling or delivering an electronic cigarette
(e-cigarette) to a person under 18 years of age. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Requires the delivery seller to use a method of mailing or
shipping that satisfies all of the following:
a) The consumer placing the delivery sale order, or an
adult who is at least 18 years of age, shall sign to accept
delivery of the e-cigarette at the delivery address.
b) The person who signs to accept delivery of the
e-cigarette shall provide a valid, government-issued
identification bearing a photograph of the person, proving
that the person is 18 years of age or older.
c) The delivery seller shall obtain the full name, birth
date, and residential address of that person and verifying
that information through the use of a
commercially-available database consisting primarily of
data from government sources and regularly used by
government and businesses for the purposes of age and
identity verification and authentication.
2)Specifies that a violation shall be punishable by a fine not
exceeding: $200 for the first violation; $500 dollars for the
second violation; or $1,000 for a subsequent violation.
3)Specifies that this bill shall not invalidate any existing
AB 1500
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ordinance or prohibit the adoption of any future ordinance by
a city or county that regulates the distribution of
e-cigarettes in a manner that is more restrictive than this
bill.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor nonreimbursable local law enforcement costs, offset to a
limited degree by fine revenue.
COMMENTS
1) Purpose. Current law prohibits sales of cigarettes and
e-cigarettes to minors. According to the author, this bill
updates state law to require an adult to sign for the delivery
of e-cigarettes in the same manner as adults must sign for the
delivery of traditional cigarettes.
According to the author, e-cigarettes are an increasingly
common source of nicotine for teenagers. While California
barred the sale of e-cigarettes to minors in 2010, the author
claims more than half of the states still allow sales to
minors. The Centers for Disease Control published a report on
data from the 2011 and 2012 National Youth Tobacco Survey
indicating the use of e-cigarettes doubled among middle and
high school students between 2011 and 2012, and that an
estimated 1.78 million students had used e-cigarettes.
2) Independent Database Verification. According to the author,
internet tobacco sellers historically had a difficult time
verifying the age of the purchaser. Consequently, the federal
government began requiring age verification for the delivery
of tobacco products through the use of a
commercially-available database that is regularly used to
verify an individual's age. This bill would extend those age
verification procedures to delivery sellers of e-cigarettes
and require an adult to sign for the delivery of any
e-cigarettes in California when the purchase of e-cigarettes
occurred online.
Analysis Prepared by : Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
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