Senate Bill No. 71
(By Senators Facemyer, Bailey, Caldwell, Sharpe,
Bowman, Minard and Mitchell)
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[Introduced January 9, 2002; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary.]
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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 increasing the
penalties for use or possession of tobacco or tobacco products
by a person under eighteen years of age; increasing fines and
community service requirements; and providing, upon a second
offense, for revocation of the person's junior or graduated
driver's license until eighteen years of age or, if the person
does not yet have a driver's license, the person is ineligible
to apply for any type of driver's license until eighteen years
of age.
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; penalties.
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 to violate the provisions of
this section. Any person violating the provisions of this section
shall for the first violation be fined twenty-five one hundred
dollars and be required to serve eight forty hours of community
service; and for a second or subsequent violation, the person shall
be fined fifty one hundred fifty dollars and be required to serve
sixteen sixty hours of community service, and shall have his or her
junior or graduated driver's license revoked until eighteen years
of age, or if the person does not have a junior or graduated
driver's license, he or she shall be ineligible to apply for any
type of driver's license until eighteen years of age. 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the penalties
for use or possession of tobacco or tobacco products by a person
under eighteen years of age. The bill increases fines and
community service requirements, and upon a second offense, provides
for revocation of the person's junior or graduated driver's license
until eighteen years of age, or if the person does not yet have a
junior or graduated driver's license, the person is ineligible to
apply for any type of driver's license until eighteen years of age.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.