Section 407.931

Title XXVI TRADE AND COMMERCE

Chapter 407

Effective - 10 Oct 2014, 2 histories, see footnote   

  *407.931.  Unlawful to sell or distribute tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to minors — vending machine requirements — what persons are liable — owners exempt, when — appeal to administrative hearing commission, when. — 1.  It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, provide or distribute tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to persons under eighteen years of age.

  2.  All vending machines that dispense tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products shall be located within the unobstructed line of sight and under the direct supervision of an adult responsible for preventing persons less than eighteen years of age from purchasing any tobacco product, alternative nicotine product, or vapor product from such machine or shall be equipped with a lock-out device to prevent the machines from being operated until the person responsible for monitoring sales from the machines disables the lock.  Such locking device shall be of a design that prevents it from being left in an unlocked condition and which will allow only a single sale when activated.  A locking device shall not be required on machines that are located in areas where persons less than eighteen years of age are not permitted or prohibited by law.  An owner of an establishment whose vending machine is not in compliance with the provisions of this subsection shall be subject to the penalties contained in subsection 5 of this section.  A determination of noncompliance may be made by a local law enforcement agency or the division of liquor control.  Nothing in this section shall apply to a vending machine if located in a factory, private club or other location not generally accessible to the general public.

  3.  No person or entity shall sell, provide or distribute any tobacco product, alternative nicotine product, or vapor product or rolling papers to any minor, or sell any individual cigarettes to any person in this state.  This subsection shall not apply to the distribution by family members on property that is not open to the public.

  4.  Any person including, but not limited to, a sales clerk, owner or operator who violates subsection 1, 2 or 3 of this section or section 407.927 shall be penalized as follows:

  (1)  For the first offense, twenty-five dollars;

  (2)  For the second offense, one hundred dollars;

  (3)  For a third and subsequent offense, two hundred fifty dollars.

  5.  Any owner of the establishment where tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products are available for sale who violates subsection 3 of this section, in addition to the penalties established in subsection 4 of this section, shall be penalized in the following manner:

  (1)  For the first violation per location within two years, a reprimand shall be issued by the division of liquor control;

  (2)  For the second violation per location within two years, the division of liquor control shall issue a citation prohibiting the outlet from selling tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products for a twenty-four-hour period;

  (3)  For the third violation per location within two years, the division of liquor control shall issue a citation prohibiting the outlet from selling tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products for a forty-eight-hour period;

  (4)  For the fourth and any subsequent violations per location within two years, the division of liquor control shall issue a citation prohibiting the outlet from selling tobacco products for a five-day period.

  6.  Any owner of the establishment where tobacco products are available for sale who violates subsection 3 of this section shall not be penalized pursuant to this section if such person documents the following:

  (1)  An in-house or other tobacco compliance employee training program was in place to provide the employee with information on the state and federal regulations regarding sales of tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to minors.  Such training program must be attended by all employees who sell tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to the general public;

  (2)  A signed statement by the employee stating that the employee has been trained and understands the state laws and federal regulations regarding the sale of tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products to minors; and

  (3)  Such in-house or other tobacco compliance training meets the minimum training criteria, which shall not exceed a total of ninety minutes in length, established by the division of liquor control.

  7.  The exemption in subsection 6 of this section shall not apply to any person who is considered the general owner or operator of the outlet where tobacco products, alternative nicotine products, or vapor products are available for sale if:

  (1)  Four or more violations per location of subsection 3 of this section occur within a one-year period; or

  (2)  Such person knowingly violates or knowingly allows his or her employees to violate subsection 3 of this section.

  8.  If a sale is made by an employee of the owner of an establishment in violation of sections 407.925 to 407.934, the employee shall be guilty of an offense established in subsections 1, 2 and 3 of this section.  If a vending machine is in violation of section 407.927, the owner of the establishment shall be guilty of an offense established in subsections 3 and 4 of this section.  If a sample is distributed by an employee of a company conducting the sampling, such employee shall be guilty of an offense established in subsections 3 and 4 of this section.

  9.  A person cited for selling, providing or distributing any tobacco product, alternative nicotine product, or vapor product to any individual less than eighteen years of age in violation of subsection 1, 2 or 3 of this section shall conclusively be presumed to have reasonably relied on proof of age of the purchaser or recipient, and such person shall not be found guilty of such violation if such person raises and proves as an affirmative defense that such individual presented a driver's license or other government-issued photo identification purporting to establish that such individual was eighteen years of age or older.

  10.  Any person adversely affected by this section may file an appeal with the administrative hearing commission which shall be adjudicated pursuant to the procedures established in chapter 621.

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(L. 1992 S.B. 509, et al. §§ 8, 10, 12, A.L. 2001 H.B. 381, A.L. 2014 S.B. 841)

*Effective 10-10-14, see § 21.250.  S.B. 841 was vetoed July 14, 2014. The veto was overridden on September 10, 2014.