H. B. 2763
(By Delegates Faircloth, Staton, Trump,
Michael and Mezzatesta)
[Introduced February 24, 1995; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend article nine-a, chapter sixteen of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
six, relating to enforcement of youth smoking laws by the
division of public safety, random inspections to test
compliance, use of persons under eighteen years by
law-enforcement authorities with parental consent, and
providing for annual reports on the enforcement and
compliance activities.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article nine-a, chapter sixteen of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section six,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9A. TOBACCO USAGE RESTRICTIONS.
§16-9A-6. Enforcement of youth smoking laws; random
inspecti
ons;
annual
reports.
(a) The provisions of sections two and three of this article
shall be enforced through misdemeanor proceedings brought in any
court of competent jurisdiction by the prosecuting attorney for
the county in which the alleged violation occurred. Any fine
collected upon a conviction of violation of either of the
sections shall be paid to the clerk of the court in which the
conviction was obtained. Upon receipt of a fine paid upon a
conviction of violation of either of the sections, the clerk of
the court shall promptly notify the superintendent of the
division of public safety of the conviction and the collection of
the fine.
(b) The division of public safety, acting with and through
the sheriffs of the counties of this state and the chiefs of
police of municipalities of this state, shall annually conduct random, unannounced inspections at locations where tobacco
products are sold or distributed to ensure compliance with the
provisions of sections two and three of this article. Persons
under the age of eighteen years may be enlisted by the
superintendent, sheriffs or chiefs of police, or employees
thereof, to test compliance with the sections: Provided, That
persons under the age of eighteen may be used to test compliance
with the sections only if the testing is conducted under the
direct supervision of the superintendent, sheriffs or chiefs of
police, or employees thereof, and written consent of the parent
or guardian of the person under the age of eighteen is first
obtained. Any other use of persons under the age of eighteen to
test compliance with the sections, or to test any other
prohibition of like or similar import, is unlawful, and the
person or persons responsible for use of the person under the age
of eighteen is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction
thereof, shall be fined in the amounts set forth in section two
of this article.
(c) The superintendent of the division of public safety
shall prepare, and submit to the governor on the first day of May of each year, a report of the enforcement and compliance
activities undertaken pursuant to this section, and the results
thereof. The report shall be in a form such that the governor
may submit it to the secretary of the United States department of
health and human services, in compliance with section one
thousand nine hundred twenty-six of Subpart I, of Part B of Title
XIX of the federal Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x-26).
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for random
inspection of places where tobacco products are sold, by state
and local law-enforcement authorities, to enforce youth smoking
laws, and to test compliance with such laws. With parental
consent, persons under 18 years old may be enlisted by
law-enforcement authorities to test compliance with such laws.
The department of public safety is to report annually to the
governor on the enforcement and compliance testing activities,
and the governor is to report on such efforts to the federal
Secretary of Health and Human Services, in accordance with
applicable federal law.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.