Teenage Tobacco Possession Bill Changed

As Nancy Willing mentioned in the comments, Rep. Michael Romane changed the wording of HB 36 as she said, “that makes both minor possession and purchase of tobacco as civil offenses”. He has indeed changed it.

Here’s the text:

Purchase or  receipt   possession  of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes by minors.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who has not attained the age of 18 years to purchase a tobacco product or tobacco substitute, to accept receipt of a sample, to exchange a coupon for a tobacco product or tobacco substitute, or to present or offer to another person a purported proof of age which is false, fraudulent or not actually that person’s own proof of age, for the purpose of purchasing or receiving any tobacco product or tobacco substitute or redeeming a coupon for a tobacco product or tobacco substitute.

(b)  It shall be unlawful for any person who has not attained the age of 18 to knowingly or intentionally possess, use, or consume a tobacco product or tobacco substitute.

(b) (c)   A person who violates subsection (a)  or (b)  of this section shall be adjudged delinquent and shall for a first adjudication be fined $50 or ordered to perform 25 hours of community service work, and for a second adjudication and for all subsequent adjudications be fined $50 and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service work. A subsequent adjudication of delinquency is one that occurs within 12 months of a prior like offense.

I’m no lawyer or expert on legislation, so I let others educate me. If this bill no longer adds a criminal record to teenage offenders that’s a good thing.

I still strongly believe that this is a nuisance bill and we really do not need to crowd our family courts with this. Or maybe there is some hidden money somewhere to expand our family courts and hire more social workers to handle the fallout from this bill?