Senate Bill No. 168

(By Senators Anderson, Minard, Mitchell and Ross)

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[Introduced January 11, 2002; 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.

(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 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 may 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.