Bill Text: NY S06509 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires a business that is shown to have sold a tobacco product to a minor to close pending the completion of an investigation; provides for the commissioner of taxation and finance to revoke the dealer's registration for a period not less than five years if they are found to have sold such tobacco product to a minor.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-06 - RECOMMIT, ENACTING CLAUSE STRICKEN [S06509 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S06509-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6509 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 25, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law and the tax law, in relation to requiring a business that is shown to have sold a tobacco product to a minor to close pending the completion of an investigation The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1399-cc of the public health law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 8 to read as follows: 3 8. Any person operating a place of business wherein tobacco products, 4 herbal cigarettes, liquid nicotine, shisha or electronic cigarettes are 5 sold or offered for sale, who is found in violation of this section 6 shall immediately close such place of business pending the completion of 7 the enforcement action or hearing by an enforcement officer, pursuant to 8 section thirteen hundred ninety-nine-ff of this article. 9 § 2. Subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of section 1399-ee of the public 10 health law, subdivision 2 and paragraphs (e) and (f) of subdivision 3 as 11 amended by section 6 of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, and 12 subdivisions 3, 4, and 5 as amended and subdivision 6 as added by chap- 13 ter 162 of the laws of 2002, are amended to read as follows: 14 2. If the enforcement officer determines after a hearing that a 15 violation of this article has occurred, he or she shall impose a civil 16 penalty of a minimum of three hundred dollars, but not to exceed one 17 thousand five hundred dollars for a first violation, and a minimum of 18 one thousand dollars, but not to exceed two thousand five hundred 19 dollars for each subsequent violation, unless a different penalty is 20 otherwise provided in this article and direct the commissioner of taxa- 21 tion and finance to suspend the dealer's registration for a period not 22 less than five years. [The enforcement officer shall advise the retail23dealer that upon the accumulation of three or more points pursuant to24this section the department of taxation and finance shall suspend theEXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05964-01-3S. 6509 2 1dealer's registration.] If the enforcement officer determines after a 2 hearing that a retail dealer was selling tobacco products while their 3 registration was suspended or permanently revoked pursuant to subdivi- 4 sion three or four of this section, he or she shall impose a civil 5 penalty of twenty-five hundred dollars. 6 3. [(a) Imposition of points. If the enforcement officer determines,7after a hearing, that the retail dealer violated subdivision one of8section thirteen hundred ninety-nine-cc of this article with respect to9a prohibited sale to a minor, he or she shall, in addition to imposing10any other penalty required or permitted pursuant to this section, assign11two points to the retail dealer's record where the individual who12committed the violation did not hold a certificate of completion from a13state certified tobacco sales training program and one point where the14retail dealer demonstrates that the person who committed the violation15held a certificate of completion from a state certified tobacco sales16training program.17(b) Revocation. If the enforcement officer determines, after a hear-18ing, that a retail dealer has violated this article four times within a19three year time frame he or she shall, in addition to imposing any other20penalty required or permitted by this section, direct the commissioner21of taxation and finance to revoke the dealer's registration for one22year.23(c) Duration of points. Points assigned to a retail dealer's record24shall be assessed for a period of thirty-six months beginning on the25first day of the month following the assignment of points.26(d) Reinspection. Any retail dealer who is assigned points pursuant to27paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be reinspected at least two28times a year by the enforcement officer until points assessed are29removed from the retail dealer's record.30(e) Suspension. If the department determines that a retail dealer has31accumulated three points or more, the department shall direct the32commissioner of taxation and finance to suspend such dealer's registra-33tion for one year. The three points serving as the basis for a suspen-34sion shall be erased upon the completion of the one year penalty.35(f) Surcharge. A two hundred fifty dollar surcharge to be assessed36for every violation will be made available to enforcement officers and37shall be used solely for compliance checks to be conducted to determine38compliance with this section.394.] (a) If the enforcement officer determines, after a hearing, that a 40 retail dealer has violated this article while their registration was 41 suspended pursuant to subdivision three of this section, he or she 42 shall, in addition to imposing any other penalty required or permitted 43 by this section, direct the commissioner of taxation and finance to 44 permanently revoke the dealer's registration and not permit the dealer 45 to obtain a new registration. 46 (b) If the enforcement officer determines, after a hearing, that a 47 vending machine operator has violated this article three times within a 48 two year period, or four or more times cumulatively he or she shall, in 49 addition to imposing any other penalty required or permitted by this 50 section, direct the commissioner of taxation and finance to suspend the 51 vendor's registration for one year and not permit the vendor to obtain a 52 new registration for such period. 53 [5.] 4. The department shall publish a notification of the name and 54 address of any retailer violating the provisions of this section and 55 indicate the number of times the dealer has violated the provisions ofS. 6509 3 1 this section. The notification shall be published in a newspaper of 2 general circulation in the locality in which the retailer is located. 3 [6. (a) In any proceeding pursuant to subdivision three of this4section to assign points to a retail dealer's record, the retail dealer5shall be assigned one point instead of two points where the] 6 5. (a) The retail dealer [demonstrates that the person] who committed 7 [the] a violation [of] pursuant to section thirteen hundred ninety-nine- 8 cc of this article [held] may complete and receive a valid certificate 9 of completion from a state certified tobacco sales training program to 10 reduce the number of years such retail license is suspended. After the 11 completion of such program, the retail dealer shall submit such certif- 12 icate of completion to the commissioner of taxation and finance who 13 shall determine whether to reduce such retail dealer's time of suspen- 14 sion. 15 (b) A state certified tobacco sales training program shall include 16 instruction in the following elements: 17 (1) the health effects of tobacco use, especially at a young age; 18 (2) the legal purchase age and the additional requirements of section 19 thirteen hundred ninety-nine-cc of this article; 20 (3) legal forms of identification and the key features thereof; 21 (4) reliance upon legal forms of identification and the right to 22 refuse sales when acting in good faith; 23 (5) means of identifying fraudulent identification of attempted under- 24 age purchasers; 25 (6) techniques used to refuse a sale; 26 (7) the penalties arising out of unlawful sales to underage individ- 27 uals; and 28 (8) the significant disciplinary action or loss of employment that may 29 be imposed by the retail dealer for a violation of the law or a devi- 30 ation from the policies of the retail dealer in respect to compliance 31 with such law. 32 (c) A tobacco sales training program may be given and administered by 33 a retail dealer duly registered under section four hundred eighty-a of 34 the tax law which operates five or more registered locations, by a trade 35 association whose members are registered as retail dealers, by national 36 and regional franchisors who have granted at least five franchises in 37 the state to persons who are registered as such retail dealers by a 38 cooperative corporation with five or more members who are registered as 39 retail dealers and are operating in this state, and by a wholesaler 40 supplying fifty or more retail dealers. A person or entity administering 41 such training program shall issue certificates of completion to persons 42 successfully completing such a training program. Such certificates shall 43 be prima facie evidence of the completion of such a training program by 44 the person named therein. 45 (d) A certificate of completion may be issued for a period of three 46 years, however such certificate shall be invalidated by a change in 47 employment. 48 (e) Entities authorized pursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision 49 to give and administer a tobacco sales training program may submit a 50 proposed curriculum, a facsimile of any training aids and materials, and 51 a list of training locations to the department for review. Training aids 52 may include the use of video, computer based instruction, printed mate- 53 rials and other formats deemed acceptable to the department. The depart- 54 ment shall certify programs which provide instruction in the elements 55 set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision in a clear and meaningful 56 fashion. Programs approved by the department shall be certified for aS. 6509 4 1 period of three years at which time an entity may reapply for certif- 2 ication. A non-refundable fee in the amount of three hundred dollars 3 shall be paid to the department with each application. 4 § 3. Paragraph 1 of subdivision h of section 1607 of the tax law, as 5 amended by section 7 of part EE of chapter 56 of the laws of 2020, is 6 amended to read as follows: 7 1. A license shall be suspended for a period of one year upon notifi- 8 cation to the division by the commissioner of health of a lottery sales 9 agent's [accumulation of three or more points] retail license being 10 revoked pursuant to [subdivision three of] section thirteen hundred 11 ninety-nine-ee of the public health law. 12 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 13 have become a law.