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; authorizing a private right of 
  1.10            action; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 
  1.11            461.12, subdivisions 2, 6; 461.19; proposing coding 
  1.12            for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 461. 
  1.13  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.14     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 461.12, 
  1.15  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.16     Subd. 2.  [ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES; LICENSEES.] If a 
  1.17  licensee or employee of a licensee sells tobacco to a person 
  1.18  under the age of 18 years, or violates any other provision of 
  1.19  this chapter, the licensee shall be charged an administrative 
  1.20  penalty of $75.  An administrative penalty of up to a maximum 
  1.21  of $200 must be imposed for a second violation at the same 
  1.22  location within 24 months after the initial violation.  For a 
  1.23  third or subsequent violation at the same location within 24 
  1.24  months after the initial violation, either or both of the 
  1.25  following must be imposed:  
  1.26     (1) an administrative penalty of $250 must be imposed, 
  1.27  and up to a maximum of $500; 
  1.28     (2) the licensee's authority to sell tobacco at that 
  1.29  location must be suspended for not less than up to a maximum of 
  2.1   seven days. 
  2.2   The applicable administrative penalties under this section must 
  2.3   be doubled in the event the licensee or an employee of the 
  2.4   licensee does not verify the age of a person attempting to 
  2.5   purchase tobacco and the licensee or an employee of the licensee 
  2.6   sells tobacco to a person who is not of legal age to purchase 
  2.7   tobacco.  No suspension or penalty may take effect until the 
  2.8   licensee has received notice, served personally or by mail, of 
  2.9   the alleged violation and an opportunity for a hearing before a 
  2.10  person authorized by the licensing authority to conduct the 
  2.11  hearing.  In determining the amount of a penalty and the length 
  2.12  of a license suspension, the local licensing authority shall 
  2.13  take into consideration as mitigating circumstances evidence 
  2.14  provided by a licensee of a licensee's adoption and enforcement 
  2.15  of a written employee policy to prevent the sale of tobacco to 
  2.16  minors, a licensee's training program to instruct employees on 
  2.17  applicable laws and how to prevent sales of tobacco to minors, a 
  2.18  licensee's adoption and imposition of disciplinary sanctions for 
  2.19  employee noncompliance with the licensee's policies, a 
  2.20  licensee's policy of conducting voluntary internal compliance 
  2.21  checks to test compliance with section 609.685, and whether a 
  2.22  licensee or a licensee's employee electronically verified the 
  2.23  age of the customer during the transaction in question and 
  2.24  reasonably relied on the age verification to complete the sale.  
  2.25  A decision that a violation has occurred must be in writing and 
  2.26  must include a summary of the mitigating circumstances 
  2.27  considered by the local licensing authority in assessing a 
  2.28  penalty or a license suspension.  
  2.29     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 461.12, 
  2.30  subdivision 6, is amended to read: 
  2.31     Subd. 6.  [DEFENSE.] It is an affirmative defense to the 
  2.32  charge of selling tobacco to a person under the age of 18 years 
  2.33  in violation of subdivision 2 or 3 that the licensee or 
  2.34  individual making the sale relied in good faith upon proof of 
  2.35  age as described in section 340A.503, subdivision 6, and 
  2.36  electronically verified the age of the purchaser of tobacco and 
  3.1   reasonably relied upon the electronic age verification to 
  3.2   complete the sale of tobacco. 
  3.3      Sec. 3.  [461.131] [ELECTRONIC AGE VERIFICATION FOR TOBACCO 
  3.4   SALES.] 
  3.5      No licensee or employee of the licensee shall disseminate, 
  3.6   resell, or utilize the information displayed or retained as a 
  3.7   result of the electronic age verification process for any reason 
  3.8   other than to offer proof to a local licensing authority or a 
  3.9   court of law that the licensee or licensee's employee 
  3.10  electronically verified the age of the purchaser of tobacco and 
  3.11  reasonably relied upon the electronic age verification to 
  3.12  complete the sale of tobacco.  Any person who violates this 
  3.13  section is liable for a civil penalty of not less than $100, nor 
  3.14  more than $10,000 for each violation.  The commissioner of 
  3.15  commerce shall enforce this section and has the powers available 
  3.16  to the commissioner under section 45.027.  Any individual 
  3.17  aggrieved by a violation of this section may also bring an 
  3.18  action under section 8.31, subdivision 3a, to recover damages, 
  3.19  cost, and attorney fees. 
  3.20     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 461.19, is 
  3.21  amended to read: 
  3.22     461.19 [EFFECT ON LOCAL ORDINANCE; NOTICE.] 
  3.23     Sections 461.12 to 461.18 do not preempt a local ordinance 
  3.24  that provides for more restrictive regulation of tobacco sales., 
  3.25  except that on and after the effective date of this act, a 
  3.26  licensing authority shall not assess or impose a penalty on a 
  3.27  licensee or an employee of a licensee that is greater than the 
  3.28  administrative penalties set forth in section 461.12, 
  3.29  subdivisions 2 and 3, if the licensee or employee of the 
  3.30  licensee has electronically verified the age of the person 
  3.31  attempting to purchase tobacco.  A governing body shall give 
  3.32  notice of its intention to consider adoption or substantial 
  3.33  amendment of any local ordinance required under section 461.12 
  3.34  or permitted under this section.  The governing body shall take 
  3.35  reasonable steps to send notice by mail at least 30 days prior 
  3.36  to the meeting to the last known address of each licensee or 
  4.1   person required to hold a license under section 461.12.  The 
  4.2   notice shall state the time, place, and date of the meeting and 
  4.3   the subject matter of the proposed ordinance.  
  4.4      Sec. 5.  [EFFECTIVE DATE; APPLICATION.] 
  4.5      Sections 1, 2, and 4 are effective the day following final 
  4.6   enactment and apply to administrative penalties imposed on or 
  4.7   after that date.  Section 3 is effective October 1, 2003.