Senate Bill No. 3
(By Senator Anderson, Mitchell and Minard)
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[Introduced February 14, 2001; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; 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.
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 shall not be deemed considered to violate
the provisions of this section. Any person violating the
provisions of this section shall for the first violation be fined
twenty-five dollars and be required to serve eight hours of
community service; for a second violation, the person shall be
fined fifty dollars and be required to serve sixteen hours of
community service; and for a third and each subsequent violation,
the person shall be fined one hundred dollars and be required to
serve twenty-four hours of community service. 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 division 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 division 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.