Amended in Senate April 19, 2016

Amended in Senate April 4, 2016

Senate Bill No. 977

Introduced by Senator Pan

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Cooper)

February 10, 2016

An act to amend Section 104495 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to tobacco.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 977, as amended, Pan. Tobacco: youth sports events.

Existing law prohibits the smoking of a cigarette, cigar, or other tobacco-related product, and the disposal of tobacco-related waste, within 25 feet of any playground or tot lot sandbox area, as defined. Existing law prohibits a person from intimidating or retaliating against another person seeking compliance with these prohibitions. A violation of these prohibitions is an infraction, punishable by a fine of $250 for each violation. Existing law expressly does not preempt the authority of any county, city, or city and county to regulate smoking around playgrounds or tot lot sandbox areas.

This bill would prohibit the use of a tobacco product, as defined, within 250 feet of a youth sports event, begin insert as defined, end insert and make a violation an infraction punishable by a fine of $250 for each violation. The bill would state that its provisions do not preempt the authority of any county, city, or city and county to regulate the use of tobacco products around a youth sports event. By establishing a new crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 104495 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

104495.  

(a) For the purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall govern:

(1) “Playground” means any park or recreational area
specifically designed to be used by children that has play equipment
installed, or any similar facility located on public or private school
grounds, or on city, county, or state park grounds.

(2) “Tot lot sandbox area” means a designated play area within
a public park for the use by children under five years of age. Where
the area is not contained by a fence, the boundary of a tot lot
sandbox area shall be defined by the edge of the resilient surface
of safety material, such as concrete or wood, or any other material
surrounding the tot lot sandbox area.

(3) “Public park” includes a park operated by a public agency.

(4) “Youth sports event” means any practice, game, or related
activity organized by begin delete a nonprofit youth sports organization end delete begin insert any
entity end insert at which athletes up to 18 years of age are present.

(5) “Smoke or smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or
carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, or pipe, or any other
lighted or heated tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation,
whether natural or synthetic, in any manner or in any form.
“Smoking” includes the use of an electronic smoking device that
creates an aerosol or vapor, in any manner or in any form, or the
use of any oral smoking device for the purpose of circumventing
the prohibition of smoking.

(6) “Cigarette” means the same as defined in Section 104556.

(7) “Cigar” means the same as defined in Section 104550.

(8) “Tobacco product” means any of the following:

(A) A product containing, made, or derived from tobacco or
nicotine that is intended for human consumption, whether smoked,
heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or
ingested by any other means, including, but not limited to,
cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, or
snuff.

(B) An electronic device that delivers nicotine or other vaporized
liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not
limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, or hookah.

(C) Any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product,
whether or not sold separately.

(b) A person shall not smoke a cigarette, cigar, or other
tobacco-related product within 25 feet of any playground or tot
lot sandbox area.

(c) A person shall not dispose of cigarette butts, cigar butts, or
any other tobacco-related waste within 25 feet of a playground or
a tot lot sandbox area.

(d) A person shall not use a tobacco product within 250 feet of
a youth sports event.

(e) A person shall not intimidate, threaten any reprisal, or effect
any reprisal, for the purpose of retaliating against another person
who seeks to attain compliance with this section.

(f) Any person who violates this section is guilty of an infraction
and shall be punished by a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250)
for each violation of this section. Punishment under this section
shall not preclude punishment pursuant to Section 13002, Section
374.4 of the Penal Code, or any other law proscribing the act of
littering.

(g) The prohibitions contained in subdivisions (b), (c), (d), and
(e) shall not apply to private property.

(h) The prohibitions contained in subdivisions (b) and (c) shall
not apply to a public sidewalk located within 25 feet of a
playground or a tot lot sandbox area.

(i) This section shall not preempt the authority of any county,
city, or city and county to regulate smoking around playgrounds
or tot lot sandbox areas. Any county, city, or city and county may
enforce any ordinance adopted prior to January 1, 2002, or may
adopt and enforce new regulations that are more restrictive than
this section, on and after January 1, 2002.

(j) This section shall not preempt the authority of any county,
city, or city and county to regulate the use of tobacco products
around a youth sports event. Any county, city, or city and county
may enforce any ordinance adopted before January 1, 2017, or
may adopt and enforce a new regulation that is more restrictive
than this section, on and after January 1, 2017.

SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.