1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to commerce; requiring uniform mandatory 
  1.3             penalties against license holders and a licensee's 
  1.4             employees for sales to minors; providing for 
  1.5             mitigating circumstances in assessing penalties; 
  1.6             requiring administrative penalties for failure to 
  1.7             electronically verify the age of persons purchasing 
  1.8             tobacco; requiring electronic age verification for 
  1.9             each sale of tobacco; providing for the purchase of 
  1.10            electronic age verification devices; amending 
  1.11            Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 461.12, subdivisions 
  1.12            2, 6; 461.19; proposing coding for new law in 
  1.13            Minnesota Statutes, chapter 461. 
  1.14  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.15     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 461.12, 
  1.16  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.17     Subd. 2.  [ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES; LICENSEES.] If a 
  1.18  licensee or employee of a licensee sells tobacco to a person 
  1.19  under the age of 18 years, or violates any other provision of 
  1.20  this chapter, the licensee shall be charged an administrative 
  1.21  penalty of $75.  An administrative penalty of up to a maximum 
  1.22  of $200 must be imposed for a second violation at the same 
  1.23  location within 24 months after the initial violation.  For a 
  1.24  third or subsequent violation at the same location within 24 
  1.25  months after the initial violation, either or both of the 
  1.26  following must be imposed:  
  1.27     (1) an administrative penalty of $250 must be imposed, 
  1.28  and up to a maximum of $500; 
  1.29     (2) the licensee's authority to sell tobacco at that 
  2.1   location must be suspended for not less than up to a maximum of 
  2.2   seven days. 
  2.3   The applicable administrative penalties under this section must 
  2.4   be doubled in the event the licensee or an employee of the 
  2.5   licensee does not verify the age of a person attempting to 
  2.6   purchase tobacco pursuant to section 461.13 and the licensee or 
  2.7   an employee of the licensee sells tobacco to a person who is not 
  2.8   of legal age to purchase tobacco.  No suspension or penalty may 
  2.9   take effect until the licensee has received notice, served 
  2.10  personally or by mail, of the alleged violation and an 
  2.11  opportunity for a hearing before a person authorized by the 
  2.12  licensing authority to conduct the hearing.  In determining the 
  2.13  amount of a penalty and the length of a license suspension, the 
  2.14  local licensing authority shall take into consideration as 
  2.15  mitigating circumstances evidence provided by a licensee of a 
  2.16  licensee's adoption and enforcement of a written employee policy 
  2.17  to prevent the sale of tobacco to minors, a licensee's training 
  2.18  program to instruct employees on applicable laws and how to 
  2.19  prevent sales of tobacco to minors, a licensee's adoption and 
  2.20  imposition of disciplinary sanctions for employee noncompliance 
  2.21  with the licensee's policies, a licensee's policy of conducting 
  2.22  voluntary internal compliance checks to test compliance with 
  2.23  section 609.685, and whether a licensee or a licensee's employee 
  2.24  electronically verified the age of the customer during the 
  2.25  transaction in question and reasonably relied on the age 
  2.26  verification to complete the sale.  A decision that a violation 
  2.27  has occurred must be in writing and must include a summary of 
  2.28  the mitigating circumstances considered by the local licensing 
  2.29  authority in assessing a penalty or a license suspension.  
  2.30     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 461.12, 
  2.31  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.32     Subd. 6.  [DEFENSE.] It is an affirmative defense to the 
  2.33  charge of selling tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years 
  2.34  in violation of subdivision 2 or 3 that the licensee or 
  2.35  individual making the sale relied in good faith upon proof of 
  2.36  age as described in section 340A.503, subdivision 6, and 
  3.1   electronically verified the age of the purchaser of tobacco as 
  3.2   provided in section 461.13 and reasonably relied upon the 
  3.3   electronic age verification to complete the sale of tobacco. 
  3.4      Sec. 3.  [461.131] [ELECTRONIC AGE VERIFICATION FOR TOBACCO 
  3.5   SALES.] 
  3.6      A licensee or an employee of a licensee shall 
  3.7   electronically verify the age of each person attempting to 
  3.8   purchase tobacco who is not known by the licensee or an employee 
  3.9   of a licensee to be of legal age to purchase tobacco by either 
  3.10  scanning identification offered by the person as proof of age as 
  3.11  described in section 340A.503, subdivision 6, or inputting data 
  3.12  contained on the identification into an electronic systems 
  3.13  device.  Electronic age verification must be performed for the 
  3.14  sale of tobacco through the use of identification card readers, 
  3.15  scanners, or other electronic system devices that are capable of 
  3.16  verifying any electronically readable format or data input from 
  3.17  identification to confirm whether a person is of legal age to 
  3.18  purchase tobacco.  No licensee or employee of the licensee shall 
  3.19  disseminate or resell the information displayed or retained as a 
  3.20  result of the electronic age verification process to any third 
  3.21  party except to offer proof to a local licensing authority or a 
  3.22  court of law that the licensee or licensee's employee 
  3.23  electronically verified the age of the purchaser of tobacco as 
  3.24  provided in section 461.13 and reasonably relied upon the 
  3.25  electronic age verification to complete the sale of tobacco. 
  3.26     Sec. 4.  [461.132] [PURCHASE OF ELECTRONIC AGE VERIFICATION 
  3.27  EQUIPMENT.] 
  3.28     A licensee shall purchase for each location that offers 
  3.29  tobacco for sale a minimum of one electronic card reader, 
  3.30  scanner, or other electronic system device that is capable of 
  3.31  verifying any electronically readable format on or data input 
  3.32  from identification as described in section 340A.503 to verify 
  3.33  whether a person is of legal age to purchase tobacco.  After 
  3.34  purchasing an electronic age verification device as described in 
  3.35  this section, a licensee may apply to the Minnesota department 
  3.36  of health for reimbursement of the cost of an electronic age 
  4.1   verification device up to a maximum of $500 for each location at 
  4.2   which an electronic age verification device is operated.  The 
  4.3   Minnesota department of health shall reimburse each licensee for 
  4.4   the cost of electronic age verification devices from funds in 
  4.5   the Minnesota department of health tobacco use prevention 
  4.6   endowment and the Minnesota department of health local public 
  4.7   health endowment.  The Minnesota department of health shall 
  4.8   adopt procedures for licensees to apply for a reimbursement of 
  4.9   the cost of electronic age verification devices. 
  4.10     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 461.19, is 
  4.11  amended to read: 
  4.12     461.19 [EFFECT ON LOCAL ORDINANCE; NOTICE.] 
  4.13     Sections 461.12 to 461.18 do not preempt a local ordinance 
  4.14  that provides for more restrictive regulation of tobacco sales., 
  4.15  except that on and after the effective date of this act, a 
  4.16  licensing authority shall not assess or impose a penalty on a 
  4.17  licensee or an employee of a licensee that is greater than the 
  4.18  administrative penalties set forth in section 461.12, 
  4.19  subdivisions 2 and 3.  Each licensing authority shall adopt the 
  4.20  uniform administrative penalty structure as set forth in section 
  4.21  461.12, subdivisions 2 and 3, for violations of either this 
  4.22  chapter or a local licensing ordinance by a licensee or the 
  4.23  licensee's employee.  A governing body shall give notice of its 
  4.24  intention to consider adoption or substantial amendment of any 
  4.25  local ordinance required under section 461.12 or permitted under 
  4.26  this section.  The governing body shall take reasonable steps to 
  4.27  send notice by mail at least 30 days prior to the meeting to the 
  4.28  last known address of each licensee or person required to hold a 
  4.29  license under section 461.12.  The notice shall state the time, 
  4.30  place, and date of the meeting and the subject matter of the 
  4.31  proposed ordinance.  
  4.32     Sec. 6.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.] 
  4.33     Sections 1, 2, and 5 are effective the day following final 
  4.34  enactment and apply to administrative penalties imposed on or 
  4.35  after that date.  Sections 3 and 4 are effective October 1, 2003.