January 27, 2005, Introduced by Senators BASHAM, SWITALSKI, THOMAS, BRATER and CLARKE and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1915 PA 31, entitled
"Youth tobacco act,"
by amending sections 1, 2, and 4 (MCL 722.641, 722.642, and
722.644), sections 1 and 2 as amended by 1988 PA 314 and section 4
as amended by 1992 PA 272.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
1. (1) A person shall not sell, give, or furnish any
cigarette,
cigar, chewing tobacco, tobacco snuff, or tobacco in any
other
form a tobacco product to a person under 18 years of age. A
person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable
by a fine of not more than $50.00 $100.00 for each
offense
a first violation committed in a calendar year, not more
than $250.00 for a second violation committed in a calendar year,
or not more than $500.00 for a third or subsequent violation
committed in a calendar year.
(2)
Beginning 90 days after the effective date of this
subsection,
a A person who sells tobacco
products at retail shall
post, in a place close to the point of sale and conspicuous to both
employees
and customers, a sign produced by the department of
public
community health that
includes the following statement:
"The purchase of tobacco products by a minor under 18 years of
age and the provision of tobacco products to a minor are prohibited
by law. A minor unlawfully purchasing or using tobacco products is
subject to criminal penalties."
(3) If the sign required under subsection (2) is more than 6
feet from the point of sale, it shall be 5-1/2 inches by 8-1/2
inches, and the statement required under subsection (2) shall be
printed
in 36-point boldface boldfaced type. If the sign required
under subsection (2) is 6 feet or less from the point of sale, it
shall be 2 inches by 4 inches, and the statement required under
subsection
(2) shall be printed in 20-point boldface boldfaced
type.
(4)
The department of public community health shall produce
the sign required under subsection (2) and have adequate copies of
the sign ready for distribution to licensed wholesalers, secondary
wholesalers,
and unclassified acquirers of cigarettes and other
tobacco
products described in subsection (1) free of charge.
within
60 days after the effective date of this subsection.
Licensed wholesalers, secondary wholesalers, and unclassified
acquirers
of cigarettes and other tobacco products described in
subsection
(1) shall obtain copies of the
sign from the department
of
public community health and distribute them free of charge,
upon request, to persons who are subject to subsection (2). The
department
of public community health shall provide copies of the
sign free of charge, upon request, to persons subject to subsection
(2)
who do not purchase their supply of cigarettes or other
tobacco
products described in subsection (1) from licensed
wholesalers,
secondary wholesalers, and unclassified acquirers of
cigarettes
and other tobacco products. described
in subsection
(1).
(5) It is an affirmative defense to a charge pursuant to
subsection (1) that the defendant had in force at the time of
arrest and continues to have in force a written policy to prevent
the
sale of cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, tobacco snuff,
and
other tobacco products to persons
under 18 years of age, and
that the defendant enforced and continues to enforce the policy. A
defendant who proposes to offer evidence of the affirmative defense
described in this subsection shall file and serve notice of the
defense, in writing, upon the court and the prosecuting attorney.
The notice shall be served not less than 14 days before the date
set for trial.
(6) A prosecuting attorney who proposes to offer testimony to
rebut the affirmative defense described in subsection (5) shall
file and serve a notice of rebuttal, in writing, upon the court and
the defendant. The notice shall be served not less than 7 days
before the date set for trial, and shall contain the name and
address of each rebuttal witness.
Sec. 2. (1) A person under 18 years of age shall not possess
or
smoke cigarettes or cigars; or possess or chew, suck, or inhale
chewing
tobacco or tobacco snuff; or possess or use tobacco in any
other
form, on a public highway, street, alley, park, or other
lands
used for public purposes, or in a public place of business or
amusement
use a tobacco product in a public place.
(2) A
person who violates this section subsection (1) is
guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than
$50.00
for each offense violation. Pursuant to a probation
order,
the The court may shall
require a person who violates
this
section subsection (1) to participate in a health promotion
and
risk reduction assessment program, if available. A probationer
person who is ordered to participate in a health promotion and risk
reduction
assessment program under this section subsection is
responsible for the costs of participating in the program. In
addition,
a person who violates this section subsection (1) is
subject to the following:
(a)
For the first violation, the court may shall order the
person to do 1 of the following:
(i) Perform not more than 16 hours of community service in a
hospice,
nursing home, or hospital long-term care facility unit.
(ii) Participate in a health promotion and risk reduction
program, as described in this subsection.
(b) For a second violation, in addition to participation in a
health
promotion and risk reduction program, the court may shall
order the person to perform not more than 32 hours of community
service
in a hospice, nursing home, or
hospital long-term care
facility
unit.
(c) For a third or subsequent violation, in addition to
participation in a health promotion and risk reduction program, the
court
may shall order the person to perform not more than 48
hours of community service in a hospice, nursing home, or hospital
long-term
care facility unit.
Sec. 4. As used in this act:
(a)
"Chewing tobacco" means loose tobacco or a flat,
compressed
cake of tobacco that is inserted into the mouth to be
chewed
or sucked.
(a) (b)
"Person who sells tobacco
products at retail" means
a person whose ordinary course of business consists, in whole or in
part, of the retail sale of tobacco products subject to state sales
tax.
(c)
"Tobacco snuff" means shredded, powdered, or pulverized
tobacco
that may be inhaled through the nostrils, chewed, or placed
against
the gums.
(b) "Public place" means a public street, sidewalk, park, or
any area open to the general public in a publicly owned or operated
building or public place of business.
(c) "Tobacco product" means a product that contains tobacco
and is intended for human consumption, including but not limited to
cigarettes, noncigarette smoking tobacco, or smokeless tobacco, as
those terms are defined in section 2 of the tobacco products tax
act, 1993 PA 327, MCL 205.422, and cigars.
(d) "Use a tobacco product" means to smoke or otherwise
consume a tobacco product.