January 14, 2004, Introduced by Senators SWITALSKI, JACOBS, PATTERSON, CROPSEY and THOMAS 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:
1 Sec. 1. (1) A person
shall not sell, give, or furnish any
2 cigarette, cigar,
chewing tobacco, tobacco snuff, or tobacco in
3 any other form a tobacco product to a person under 18 years
of
4 age. A person who violates this section is guilty of a
5 misdemeanor, punishable
by a fine of not more than $50.00 for
6 each offense a first violation, $100.00 for a second violation,
7 or $200.00 for a third or subsequent violation.
8 (2) Beginning 90
days after the effective date of this
9 subsection, a A person who sells tobacco products at retail
1 shall post, in a place close to the point of sale and conspicuous
2 to both employees and customers, a sign produced by the
3 department of public community
health that includes the
4 following statement:
5 "The purchase of tobacco products by a minor under 18 years
6 of age and the provision of tobacco products to a minor are
7 prohibited by law. A minor unlawfully purchasing or using
8 tobacco products is subject to criminal penalties."
9 (3) If the sign required under subsection (2) is more than 6
10 feet from the point of sale, it shall be 5-1/2 inches by 8-1/2
11 inches, and the statement required under subsection (2) shall be
12 printed in 36-point boldface
boldfaced type. If the sign
13 required under subsection (2) is 6 feet or less from the point of
14 sale, it shall be 2 inches by 4 inches, and the statement
15 required under subsection (2) shall be printed in 20-point
16 boldface boldfaced type.
17 (4) The department of
public community health shall produce
18 the sign required under subsection (2) and have adequate copies
19 of the sign ready for distribution to licensed wholesalers,
20 secondary wholesalers,
and unclassified acquirers of cigarettes
21 and other tobacco products described in subsection (1) free
of
22 charge. within
60 days after the effective date of this
23 subsection. Licensed wholesalers, secondary wholesalers, and
24 unclassified acquirers of
cigarettes and other tobacco products
25 described in
subsection (1) shall obtain copies
of the sign
26 from the department of public
community health and distribute
27 them free of charge, upon request, to persons who are subject to
1 subsection (2). The
department of public community health
2 shall provide copies of the sign free of charge, upon request, to
3 persons subject to subsection (2) who do not purchase their
4 supply of cigarettes
or other tobacco products described in
5 subsection (1) from licensed wholesalers, secondary wholesalers,
6 and unclassified
acquirers of cigarettes and other tobacco
7 products. described
in subsection (1).
8 (5) It is an affirmative defense to a charge pursuant to
9 subsection (1) that the defendant had in force at the time of
10 arrest and continues to have in force a written policy to prevent
11 the sale of cigarettes,
cigars, chewing tobacco, tobacco snuff,
12 and other tobacco products to persons under 18 years of age,
and
13 that the defendant enforced and continues to enforce the policy.
14 A defendant who proposes to offer evidence of the affirmative
15 defense described in this subsection shall file and serve notice
16 of the defense, in writing, upon the court and the prosecuting
17 attorney. The notice shall be served not less than 14 days
18 before the date set for trial.
19 (6) A prosecuting attorney who proposes to offer testimony to
20 rebut the affirmative defense described in subsection (5) shall
21 file and serve a notice of rebuttal, in writing, upon the court
22 and the defendant. The notice shall be served not less than 7
23 days before the date set for trial, and shall contain the name
24 and address of each rebuttal witness.
25 Sec. 2. (1) A person under 18 years of age shall not
26 possess or smoke
cigarettes or cigars; or possess or chew, suck,
27 or inhale chewing
tobacco or tobacco snuff; or possess or use
1 tobacco in any other
form, on a public highway, street, alley,
2 park, or other lands
used for public purposes, or in a public
3 place of business or
amusement use a tobacco product
in a public
4 place.
5 (2) A person
who violates this section subsection (1) is
6 guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than
7 $50.00 for each offense
violation. Pursuant to a probation
8 order, the court may
require a person who violates this section
9 subsection (1) to participate in a health promotion and risk
10 reduction assessment
program, if available. A probationer
11 person who is ordered to participate in a health promotion and
12 risk reduction assessment
program under this section subsection
13 is responsible for the costs of participating in the program. In
14 addition, a person who
violates this section subsection (1) is
15 subject to the following:
16 (a) For the first violation, the court may order the person
17 to do 1 of the following:
18 (i) Perform not more than 16 hours of community service in a
19 hospice, nursing home, or long-term care facility.
20 (ii) Participate in a health promotion and risk reduction
21 program, as described in this subsection.
22 (b) For a second violation, in addition to participation in a
23 health promotion and risk reduction program, the court may order
24 the person to perform not more than 32 hours of community service
25 in a hospice, nursing home, or long-term care facility.
26 (c) For a third or subsequent violation, in addition to
27 participation in a health promotion and risk reduction program,
1 the court may order the person to perform not more than 48 hours
2 of community service in a hospice, nursing home, or long-term
3 care facility.
4 Sec. 4. As used in this act:
5 (a) "Chewing
tobacco" means loose tobacco or a flat,
6 compressed cake of
tobacco that is inserted into the mouth to be
7 chewed or sucked.
8 (a) (b) "Person
who sells tobacco products at retail" means
9 a person whose ordinary course of business consists, in whole or
10 in part, of the retail sale of tobacco products subject to state
11 sales tax.
12 (c) "Tobacco
snuff" means shredded, powdered, or pulverized
13 tobacco that may be
inhaled through the nostrils, chewed, or
14 placed against the
gums.
15 (b) "Public place" means a public street, sidewalk, park, or
16 any area open to the general public in a publicly owned or
17 operated building or public place of business.
18 (c) "Tobacco product" means a product that contains tobacco
19 and is intended for human consumption, including but not limited
20 to cigarettes, noncigarette smoking tobacco, or smokeless
21 tobacco, as those terms are defined in section 2 of the tobacco
22 products tax act, 1993 PA 327, MCL 205.422, and cigars.
23 (d) "Use a tobacco product" means to smoke or otherwise
24 consume a tobacco product.