Senate Bill No. 583
(By Senator Anderson and Ross)
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[Introduced February 21, 2000; referred to the Committee
on Transportation; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article nine-a, chapter
sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to use or possession
of tobacco or tobacco products by persons under the age of
eighteen years; and providing for delay in eligibility for
driver's license for violating minors.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article nine-a, chapter sixteen of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 9A. TOBACCO USAGE RESTRICTIONS.
§16-9A-3. Use or possession of tobacco or tobacco products by persons under the age of eighteen years; penalty;
delayed eligibility for driver's license.
(a) No person under the age of eighteen years shall have on or
about his or her person or premises or use any cigarette, or
cigarette paper or any other paper prepared, manufactured or made
for the purpose of smoking any tobacco products, in any form; or,
any pipe, snuff, chewing tobacco or tobacco product: Provided,
That minors participating in the inspection of locations where
tobacco products are sold or distributed pursuant to section seven
of this article and chapter shall not be deemed considered to
violate the provisions of this section: Provided, however, That
any person violating the provisions of this section is punishable
by eight hours of community service: Provided further, That
notwithstanding the provisions of section two, article five,
chapter forty-nine, the magistrate court shall have concurrent
jurisdiction.
(b) A minor who is found by a court to have violated the
provisions of subsection (a) of this section after having reached
the age of ten years, and who has not at the time of the violation
obtained a West Virginia driver's instruction permit or driver's
license, in addition to any other penalty imposed, upon application for a permit or license to the department of motor vehicles, is
ineligible for issuance of either the permit or license for a
period of six months following the application: Provided, That
each violation shall not result in more than one six-month period
of ineligibility. Upon a finding that the minor has violated
subsection (a) of this section after reaching the age of ten years,
the court shall send to the department of motor vehicles a copy of
the finding with the minor's name and social security number. The
commissioner of motor vehicles shall delay issuance of a permit or
license as provided herein.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to impose a six-month delay
in eligibility for a driver's instruction permit or driver's
license on those minors found to have violated the statute
prohibiting use or possession of tobacco or tobacco products after
reaching the age of ten years.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.