BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 151


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          Date of Hearing:   July 8, 2015


                   ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION


                                  Adam Gray, Chair


          SB  
          151 (Hernandez) - As Introduced January 29, 2015


          SENATE VOTE:  29-9


          SUBJECT:  Tobacco products: minimum legal age.


          SUMMARY:  This bill increases the minimum legal age (MLA) to  
          purchase or consume tobacco from 18 to 21 and makes additional  
          conforming changes to restrictions and enforcement mechanisms in  
          current law.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Raises the minimum legal age (MLA) to purchase and consume  
            tobacco products to 21 and makes all conforming changes in  
            current law.

          2)Establishes minimum state restrictions regarding tobacco  
            purchase and possession and does not preempt local ordinances  
            that impose a more restrictive legal age.

          3)Extends the applicability of the 21 years of age restriction  
            to provisions of the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement  
            Act (STAKE Act). 











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          EXISTING LAW:   


          1)  Requires states to enact and enforce laws that prohibit the  
            sale of cigarettes and tobacco products to minors under the  
            age of 18. 

          2)  Makes it a misdemeanor, subject to civil action and fines,  
            any individual who knowingly or under circumstances furnishes,  
            gives, or sells cigarettes or tobacco products to minors under  
            the age of 18. 

          3)  The California Cigarette and Tobacco Licensing Act of 2003,  
            requires a retailer to obtain a license from BOE to engage in  
            the sale of cigarette and tobacco products in California. 

          4)  The STAKE Act establishes various requirements for retailers  
            relating to tobacco sales to minors.  Specifically:

                a)  Prevents retailers from selling cigarettes and tobacco  
          products to minors under the    age of 18 and requires that  
          retailers check identification of individuals trying to buy      
          cigarettes and tobacco products who appear under the age of 18.   


                b)  Increases civil penalties and expands the number of  
          agencies that are permitted to  carry out investigations of  
          illegal tobacco sales to minors from the State Department of     
          Public Health (DPH) to include the Attorney General and other  
          state and local    agencies.

                c)  Makes certain violations of the STAKE Act a criminal  
          offense.

                d). Requires DPH to take primary responsibility for  
          enforcement of the STAKE Act    and requires DPH to conduct  
          random, onsite inspections of retail sites.

                e)  Requires DPH to enlist the assistance of persons who  








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          are 15 or 16 years of age for   this purpose and requires the  
          DPH to adopt and publish guidelines for the use of minors in  
          inspections, as specified.

                g)   Permits DPH to enter into an agreement with a local  
          law enforcement agency for      delegation of enforcement of the  
          STAKE Act.

          5)  Makes it a misdemeanor (Penal Code Section 308) for a  
            retailer to knowingly or under circumstances in which it has  
            knowledge, or should otherwise have grounds for knowledge,  
            sell, give, or in any way furnish a minor with tobacco  
            products or paraphernalia.

          6)  Violations of the STAKE Act or Penal Code Section 308 result  
            in BOE action, on a set schedule, relating to the licensure of  
            the retailer when the youth purchase survey finds that 13% or  
            more of youth are able to purchase cigarettes, and makes the  
            board's authority inoperative when a youth purchase survey  
            shows less than 13% of youth were able to purchase cigarettes.

          7)  Provides that a violation of the STAKE Act or Penal Code  
            Section 308 is punishable by a fine of two hundred dollars  
            ($200) for the first conviction, five hundred dollars ($500)  
            for the second offense, and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for  
            the third offense. For the 4th to 7th conviction of a  
            violation, inclusive, in 12 months, the retailer's license to  
            sell cigarettes and tobacco products is suspended for 90 days.  
             For the 8th conviction of a violation in 24 months, the  
            retailer's license is revoked.

          8)  Provides for a 30-day appeal of BOE's decision.

          9) Establishes an adult is an individual who is 18 years of age  
          or older (FAM Sec. 6501)



          FISCAL EFFECT:  Unknown








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          COMMENTS:  


           Purpose of the bill  : According to the author, an estimated 90  
          percent of tobacco users start prior to age 21, and 80 percent  
          of lifetime users start before the age of 18.  By increasing the  
          MLA to 21, this bill intends to prevent or severely restrict  
          youth access to these highly addictive and deadly products.  The  
          consumption of tobacco products leads to a lifetime of adverse  
          health effects and remains the leading cause of preventable  
          death in the nation and California. This bill aims to achieve  
          better health outcomes for Californians, while lowering the  
          immense cost on the health care system of tobacco-related  
          disease.  UC San Francisco (UCSF) reported tobacco use cost a  
          staggering $18.1 billion in California alone, with $9.8 billion  
          in direct health care expenditures.  In 2013, to address the  
          burden of tobacco, the federal Food and Drug Administration  
          (FDA) commissioned the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to study the  
          effectiveness of raising the MLA.  The IOM concluded that  
          raising the MLA to 21 would cause the smoking prevalence to  
          decline by 12 percent more than existing control policies.   
          California already has a 21 year age restriction for other  
          dangerous activities; it is time for tobacco to be added to that  
          list.  This bill will help California be a leader in tobacco  
          control and take steps towards eliminating the addictive,  
          costly, and deadly habit of tobacco use.


           Background  : According to the Center for Disease Control and  
          Prevention (CDC), tobacco use causes cancer, heart disease,  
          stroke, lung diseases, and diabetes and remains the leading  
          cause of preventable death in the United States, resulting in  
          over 480,000 deaths annually.  A study conducted by UCSF  
          estimated that, in 2009, 34,000 deaths in California were  
          attributable to smoking.  Furthermore, according to the United  
          States Department of Health and Human Services (DHS),  
          approximately 80 percent of adult smokers began smoking before  








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          the age of 18. Youth smoking is associated with greater  
          likelihood of adult smoking, heavier use of cigarettes, and more  
          difficulty in quitting.


          Research shows a sharp decline in smoking according to the DHS.   
          With the passage of Proposition 99 in 1988 and the enactment of  
          subsequent legislation throughout the 1990s, California has  
          mounted the largest and most comprehensive anti-smoking campaign  
          in the United States.  DHS states that California's campaign  
          sets the standard for the rest of the nation and the world,  
          setting a goal of changing public perception of tobacco use and  
          emphasizing local interventions, regional coalitions, media,  
          research, and evaluation.  The campaign has focused on four key  
          areas: countering pro-tobacco influences; protecting youth and  
          adults from secondhand smoke; reducing the availability of  
          tobacco products to youth; and, providing support for quitting  
          tobacco use.  Since the passage of Proposition 99, adult smoking  
          prevalence dropped by more than 30 percent and per-capita  
          cigarette consumption in California fell by more than 50  
          percent.


           Youth  : The CDC states that nearly all tobacco users begin during  
          their youth, with 3,200 adolescents trying their first cigarette  
          each day. DPH estimates that 64 percent of smokers in California  
          start before age 18.  According to DPH, California has one of  
          the lowest teenage smoking rates in the nation.  However, the  
          prevalence of smokeless tobacco use among youth has greatly  
          increased, and there has been a slowing decline in rates of  
          cigarette smoking among youth.  Through implementation of the  
          STAKE Act, California also has seen a steady decline in illegal  
          sales to minors, although there has been a slight increase in  
          recent years.


           Other States  : In 1992, Congress passed the Synar Amendment,  
          which requires states to pass and enforce laws that prohibit the  
          sale of tobacco to minors.  It also requires that federal  








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          alcohol and substance abuse block grant funding be applied to  
          enforcing state law in a manner that can reasonably be expected  
          to reduce the illegal sales rate of tobacco products to minors.   
          Up to 40 percent of the block grant funding can be withheld from  
          states for not complying with the Synar Amendment.  All states  
          are currently in compliance; 45 States have a MLA of 18 to  
          purchase or consume tobacco; while Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey  
          and Utah are 19.  On Friday, June 19, 2015, Hawaii Governor,  
          David Ige, signed SB 1030 (Baker) into law, making Hawaii the  
          first state to raise the MLA to 21. Colorado and Utah have  
          pending legislation to increase the MLA to 21 as well.


           Support  : The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS  
          CAN) argues SB 151, a bill that would raise the minimum age to  
          purchase cigarettes to 21 years old.  This bill is important  
          because nationally 95% of adult smokers start before they turn  
          21.  Half of adult daily smokers become addicted before the age  
          of 18 and 80% of adult smokers become addicted before they turn  
          21.  It is estimated that 34,000 Californians will die from  
          smoking every year. There are 441,000 children who are alive now  
          that will die prematurely due to smoking-related disease.  It is  
          the single largest preventable cause of death.  Smoking kills  
          more people than alcohol, AIDS, car crashes, illegal drugs,  
          murders and suicides combined.  The annual health care costs in  
          California directly caused by smoking are $13.29 billion.  
          Medi-Cal covers $3.5 billion of those costs each year.


          They contend the tobacco companies know that increasing the  
          minimum age of purchase to 21 would result in fewer people  
          smoking.  In fact, a report by Philip Morris in 1986 stated  
          "Raising the legal minimum age for cigarette purchaser to 21  
          could gut our key young adult market (17-20) where we sell about  
          25 billion cigarettes and enjoy a 70 percent market share." SB  
          151 is an important component in a comprehensive strategy to  
          reduce youth consumption of tobacco and prevent a lifelong  
          addiction.









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           Opposition  : The California Retailers Association argues the FDA  
          is required to study the public health implications of  
          increasing the minimum legal age to purchase or consume tobacco  
          and report its findings to congress this year.  Congress has  
          established a thoughtful process for understanding this issue  
          and states should allow this process to occur.  States and  
          localities should defer to this federal process and allow  
          Congress to consider the FDA report before enacting any changes  
          in minimum laws. 


          The Cigar Association of California argues if an individual at  
          age 18 can be eligible to vote, serve in the military, enter  
          into legally binding contracts, and be held accountable for  
          adult crimes they ought to be entrusted to make their own  
          decisions about whether to purchase tobacco products.  A law  
          such as this would put an employee of a tobacco retail  
          establishment in the unfortunate position of having to deny the  
          sale of tobacco products to a young man or woman in uniform who  
          is under the age of 21. 


           Policy Concerns  :


               1.     California and Federal law define an adult as an  
                 individual 18 years of age or older. Upon entering the  
                 age of majority, a person is granted a variety of choices  
                 that the government deems are fit for only adults, some  
                 of which include: The right to enlist in the military;  
                 the right to vote; the right to purchase and own a long  
                 gun and be held subject to adult sentencing laws.  State  
                 and Federal government has entrusted individuals 18 years  
                 and older to make these decisions as an adult, all of  
                 which have consequences.  The committee may wish to  
                 consider that the current age of majority is sufficient  
                 for an individual to decide to use tobacco or  
                 e-cigarettes.  








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               2.     If signed, this bill would go into effect on January  
                 1, 2016, which would make it illegal overnight for 18 to  
                 20 year olds to purchase tobacco.  Individuals, who are  
                 already legally addicted to tobacco, will be forced to  
                 quit.  In all likelihood, the majority of this population  
                 would attempt to purchase tobacco products illegally  
                 through retailer or black market channels. 

           Related legislation  : SB 151 (Hernández) of 2015.  Increases the  
          minimum legal age to purchase or consume tobacco from 18 to 21  
          and makes additional conforming changes to restrictions and  
          enforcement mechanisms in current law.  (Pending in Assembly  
          G.O. Committee)





          AB 216 (Garcia) of 2015.  Prohibits the sale of any device  
          intended to deliver a non-nicotine product in a vapor state, to  
          be directly inhaled by the user, to a person under 18 years of  
          age.  (Pending in Senate Appropriations)





          SB 24 (Hill) of 2015.  Extends STAKE Act requirements to the  
          sale of electronic cigarettes (e-cigs), distinct from the  
          definition of tobacco products, and requires enforcement, as  
          specified, to begin July 1, 2016; extends current smoke-free  
          laws and penalties to e-cigs; requires e-cig cartridges to be in  
          childproof packaging, as defined; broadens the current  
          definition of e-cigs, as specified; and requires all retailers  
          of e-cigs to apply for licensure to sell e-cigs, as specified.  
          (Failed passage on the Senate Floor and is pending  
          reconsideration)









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          SB 438 (Hill) of 2015. Requires all cartridges for electronic  
          cigarettes and solutions for filling and refilling an electronic  
          cigarette to be in child-resistant packaging.  (Pending in  
          Assembly G.O. Committee) 


          SB 591 (Pan) of 2015. Imposes an additional excise tax of $2.00  
          per package of 20 cigarettes.  This bill also (1) imposes an  
          equivalent one-time "floor stock tax" on the cigarettes held or  
          stored by dealers and wholesalers, and (2) indirectly increases  
          the tobacco products tax. (Ordered to inactive file on Senate  
          Floor)


           


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          American Academy of Pediatrics


          American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network


          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,  
          AFL-CIO 


          American Heart Association/American Stroke Association 










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          American Lung Association in California


          Association of California Healthcare Districts


          Association of Northern California Oncologists


          Breathe California


          California Academy of Family Physicians


          California Academy of Preventive Medicine


          California Black Health Network


          California Center for Public Health Advocacy


          California Chapter of the American College of Cardiology


          California Chapter of the American College of Emergency  
          Physicians


          California Dental Association


          California Medical Association


          California Optometric Association









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          California Pharmacists Association


          California Police Chiefs Association


          California Primary Care Association


          California Society of Addiction Medicine


          California State Association of Counties (CSAC)


          Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids


          City Attorney of Los Angeles, Mike Feuer


          City of Encinitas


          County Behavioral Health Directors Association


          El Monte/South El Monte Chamber of Commerce


          First 5 California


          First 5 Association of California


          First 5 Riverside Commission









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          Health Officers Association of California


          Kaiser Permanente


          March of Dimes California Chapter


          Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Child and Adolescent  
          Health Research and Policy


          Medical Oncology Association of Southern California, Inc.


          Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation


          San Marcos Prevention Coalition


          Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors


          Service Employees International Union California


          Solano County Board of Supervisors


          Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee 


          Opposition


          Cigar Association of America, Inc.  








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          California Retailers Association 


          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children







          Analysis Prepared by:Kenton Stanhope / G.O. / (916)  
          319-2531