BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 768|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 768
Author: Thurmond (D), et al.
Amended: 6/3/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORG. COMMITTEE: 7-3, 6/29/15
AYES: Hall, Block, Glazer, Hernandez, Hill, Lara, McGuire
NOES: Gaines, Runner, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Galgiani, Hueso
SENATE LABOR & IND. REL. COMMITTEE: 4-1, 7/8/15
AYES: Mendoza, Jackson, Leno, Mitchell
NOES: Stone
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 53-25, 6/4/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Smokeless tobacco: baseball stadiums
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill prohibits the use or possession of
smokeless tobacco products on the playing field of a baseball
stadium during a professional baseball game or practice.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Prohibits the smoking of tobacco in every publicly owned
building open to the general public for the primary purpose of
exhibiting a motion picture, stage drama, musical recital, or
any other performance, with the exception of any indoor
sporting event, except in designated area.
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Page 2
2)Prohibits any person from smoking in any public workplace or
restaurant, inside a public building or within 20 feet of any
air intake door or window of any government building.
3)Defines "tobacco product" to mean any product containing
tobacco, as specified, including, but not limited to,
cigarette, loose tobacco, cigars, snuff, chewing tobacco, or
any other preparation of tobacco.
4)Defines an "electronic cigarette" as a device that can provide
an inhalable dose of nicotine by delivering a vaporized
solution.
This bill:
1)Prohibits the use or possession of smokeless tobacco products
on the playing field of a baseball stadium during a
professional baseball game or practice.
2)Defines a "baseball stadium" to mean the physical area in
which a professional baseball game or practice is occurring.
3)Defines a "playing field" to mean the area in which a baseball
game is played, including a dugout, bullpen, and team bench
area.
4)Defines "professional baseball" to mean baseball games played
in connection with Major League Baseball (MLB) or minor league
baseball.
5)Defines "smokeless tobacco" to mean a product that contains
cut, ground, powdered, or leaf tobacco and is intended to be
placed in the oral or nasal cavity, including, but not limited
to, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, dissolvable
tobacco products, and snus.
6)Specifies that the provisions of this bill do not supersede a
conflicting provision in a collective bargaining agreement
(CBA) that is in effect on January 1, 2016, but will only
apply to a CBA that is executed on or after January 1, 2016.
7)Makes legislative findings and declarations.
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Background
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "MLB has already
begun the process of imposing certain limits on the use of
smokeless tobacco, but its use has not yet been banned entirely.
MLB players are not allowed to carry tobacco packages in their
uniform pockets, and tobacco use during televised interviews and
non-game functions is prohibited. Today, the crux of the
smokeless tobacco debate in California is centered on the
on-field use of smokeless tobacco. AB 768 will send a simple
and powerful message to young fans that baseball and smokeless
tobacco don't mix"
Smoking policies at MLB stadiums in California. Currently the
State of California is home to the following five professional
MLB teams each of which has the following smoking policies:
1)Los Angeles Angels - Angel Stadium: Angel Stadium prohibits
smoking, including the use of electronic cigarettes, in
seating areas, suites, concourses, and restrooms. Smoking is
allowed in designated areas.
2)Los Angeles Dodgers - Dodger Stadium: Dodger Stadium is a
smoke-free facility with designated smoking areas. Electronic
cigarettes are subject to the same restrictions.
3)Oakland Athletics - O.co Coliseum: In accordance with the
City of Oakland's smoking ordinance, all MLB games are
smoke-free. Violators of this policy are subject to ejection
and/or citation. There are no designated smoking areas
anywhere in the stadium. Electronic cigarettes are not
permitted.
4)San Diego Padres - Petco Park: The stadium is a smoke-free
facility. Guests who use standard or electronic smoking
devices at a Petco Park event are required to utilize the
designated locations outside the ballpark.
5)San Francisco Giants - AT&T Park: AT&T Park is a smoke free
facility with no smoking areas. Smoking is not permitted
anywhere in the ballpark. Electronic smoking and any other
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vaporized smoking is not permitted anywhere inside AT&T Park.
Tobacco use in Minor League Baseball. California is currently
home to 12 minor league teams. As of 1993, all minor league
players, coaches and umpires are forbidden to smoke or chew
tobacco anywhere in their ballparks or on team buses. The ban
applies to more than 6,000 uniformed baseball personnel on the
160 minor league teams, but not to fans, employees of the clubs
or to any major league players, including those sent down to the
minors for rehabilitation.
Smokeless tobacco use in MLB. Smokeless tobacco use by baseball
players is an issue that is the subject of an existing CBA.
Currently, baseball players do not carry tobacco tins or
packages in their pockets when fans are allowed in the ballpark
or use tobacco during pregame or postgame interviews or team
functions, as part of their existing contracts. According to a
press release by MLB, the players have agreed to these
restrictions based in part upon their understanding of the
importance of their status as role models; however, the players
union strongly opposes any further limitation of their private
rights to engage in legal conduct.
This bill specifies that the provisions of this bill will not
supersede conflicting provisions relating to smokeless tobacco
in a CBA that is in effect on January 1, 2016, but will only
apply to a CBA that is executed on or after January 1, 2016.
The current CBA is set to expire on December 1, 2016.
Prior/Related Legislation
SB 151 (Hernandez, 2015) increases the minimum legal age to
purchase or consume tobacco from 18 to 21. (Pending in the
Assembly Governmental Organization Committee)
SB 140 (Leno, 2015) recasts and broadens the definition of
"tobacco product" in current law to include electronic
cigarettes, as specified, and extends current restrictions and
prohibitions against the use of tobacco products to electronic
cigarettes. (Held in the Assembly Governmental Organization
Committee)
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SB 24 (Hill, 2015) extends the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids
Enforcement Act requirements to the sale of electronic
cigarettes, distinct from the definition of tobacco products,
and requires enforcement, as specified, to begin July 1, 2016.
(Failed passage on the Senate Floor)
AB 48 (Stone, 2015) prohibits a person or entity form selling,
giving, or in any way furnishing to another person of any age in
this state a cigarette utilizing a single-use filter made of any
material, including cellulose acetate.
AB 1819 (Hall, Chapter 459, Statutes of 2014) expanded the
existing prohibition against smoking in a family day care from
only during the hours of operation to at any time.
SB 648 (Corbett, 2014) would have prohibited the offer, sale, or
distribution of electronic cigarettes from a vending machine or
other coin or token operated by a mechanical device or
appliance, unless that machine or appliance is located on
premises that are issued an on-sale public license to sell
alcoholic beverages and is at least 15 feet from the entrance.
(Failed passage in the Assembly Appropriations Committee)
AB 1500 (Dickinson, 2014) would have prohibited a seller that
delivers products via shipping or mailing form selling or
delivering an electronic cigarette to a person under 18 years of
age. (Held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee)
AB 352 (Hall, Chapter 291, Statutes of 2013) prohibited the
smoking of tobacco products in foster care homes.
SB 882 (Corbett, Chapter 312, Statutes of 2010) made it
unlawful, to the extent not preempted by federal law, for a
person to sell or otherwise furnish an electronic cigarette to a
person under 18 years of age.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: No Local: No
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SUPPORT: (Verified7/9/15)
American Academy of Pediatrics, California
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
American Heart Association
American Stroke Association
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Black Health Network
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Chapter of the American College of Emergency
Physicians
California Children's Hospital Association
California Dental Association
California Dental Hygienists' Association
California Medical Association
California Society of Addiction Medicine
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Children's Defense Fund, California
City of Berkeley
County Health Executives Association of California
Health Access California
Medical Oncology Association of Southern California
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland
University of Southern California
OPPOSITION: (Verified7/9/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the American Academy of
Pediatrics, "tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause
of death and illness in the United States. Most tobacco users
started using tobacco products before 18 years of age. Role
modeling of tobacco use by adults has been demonstrated to be a
contributing factor."
The California Children's Hospital Association states that,
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"California is home to five major league baseball teams in both
leagues. These players are role models for the millions of
young people who watch baseball and often see players and
managers using tobacco. AB 768 sends a simple and powerful
message to kids that sports and tobacco don't mix. Sports,
including baseball, should be about promoting a healthy and
active lifestyle, not a deadly and addictive product."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 53-25, 6/4/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Baker, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia,
Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Roger
Hernández, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
McCarty, Mullin, Nazarian, O'Donnell, Perea, Quirk, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NOES: Travis Allen, Bigelow, Brough, Chang, Chávez, Dababneh,
Dahle, Beth Gaines, Grove, Harper, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Obernolte, Olsen,
Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gallagher, Medina
Prepared by:Felipe Lopez / G.O. / (916) 651-1530
7/10/15 14:06:12
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