PRINTER'S NO. 1948
No. 1588 Session of 1997
INTRODUCED BY L. I. COHEN, MELIO, RUBLEY, ORIE, ARMSTRONG, BARD,
BATTISTO, MAITLAND, BELARDI, JOSEPHS, C. WILLIAMS, SEYFERT,
BROWNE, BENNINGHOFF, CORPORA, MILLER, WASHINGTON,
E. Z. TAYLOR, TRELLO, ROSS, PRESTON AND STEELMAN,
JUNE 4, 1997
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 4, 1997
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
2 Consolidated Statutes, further providing for the sale of
3 tobacco to minors.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 6305 of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
8 § 6305. Sale of tobacco.
9 (a) Offense defined.--A person is guilty of a summary
10 offense if he:
11 (1) sells tobacco, in any form, to any minor under the
12 age of 18 years;
13 (2) by purchase, gift or other means, furnishes tobacco,
14 in any form, to a minor under the age of 18 years; [or]
15 (3) knowingly and falsely represents himself to be 18
16 years of age or older to another for the purpose of procuring
17 or having furnished to him tobacco in any form[.]; or
1 (4) maintains a vending machine that dispenses tobacco
2 in any form and is accessible to any minor under the age of
3 18 years.
4 (a.1) Warning sign required.--
5 (1) Any person who sells or offers to sell tobacco in
6 any form shall display a warning sign, as specified in
7 paragraph (2), at each retail sales counter or on each
8 vending machine.
9 (2) The warning sign required by paragraph (1) shall be
10 displayed at all times in a prominent place on the retail
11 sales counter or vending machine. Each letter of the wording
12 of the sign shall have a minimum height of one inch. The
13 warning sign shall read as follows:
14 IT IS A VIOLATION OF STATE LAW FOR CIGARETTES OR
15 OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO BE SOLD TO A MINOR.
16 (3) A violation of this subsection is a summary offense.
17 (b) Penalty.--A person who violates this section shall, upon
18 conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $25 for
19 a first offense and not less than $100 for a subsequent offense.
20 (c) Defense.--It shall be an affirmative defense to a
21 prosecution for an offense under this section that the person
22 selling or otherwise furnishing the tobacco product was
23 presented with and reasonably relied upon an identification card
24 which identified the person purchasing or otherwise receiving
25 the tobacco product as over the age of 18 years.
26 (d) Exception.--Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection
27 (a)(4), a person who maintains a vending machine is not in
28 violation of this section if the vending machine is in a place
29 where minors under the age of 18 years are not permitted access
30 either by law or by policy of the owner of the establishment in
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1 which the vending machine is located, unless accompanied by a
2 parent, legal guardian or spouse.
3 (e) Municipal ordinances.--Nothing in this section shall be
4 construed to prohibit a municipality from enacting an ordinance
5 which further restricts the location of or bans vending machines
6 that dispense cigarettes or other tobacco products.
7 (f) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
8 words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
9 subsection:
10 "Identification card." A driver's license, a Department of
11 Transportation nondriver's identification card or a card issued
12 by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for the purpose of
13 identifying a person who seeks to purchase liquor or malt or
14 brewed beverages or a card which falsely purports to be any of
15 the foregoing.
16 "Person who maintains a vending machine." A person who owns
17 a vending machine or controls the establishment in which the
18 vending machine is located.
19 Section 2. Title 18 is amended by adding a section to read:
20 § 7330. Certain combination vending machines prohibited.
21 (a) Offense defined.--It shall be unlawful for any person to
22 maintain for public access any vending machine which dispenses
23 both candy and cigarettes.
24 (b) Grading.--A violation of this section constitutes a
25 misdemeanor of the third degree.
26 Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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