Agenda - Council - 12/09/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Case # 5 CONSIDER INTRODUCTION OF YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO ORDINANCE By= William K. Goodrich, City Attorney Background: Chapter 227 of Minnesota Laws mandates cities to adopt ordinance restricting youth access to tobacco. Please refer to your agenda items on this subject discussed at the November 25, 1997 meeting plus the separate mailing sent to you on November 14, 1997. You will recall that we discussed the first draft of this ordinance at length at the November 25, 1997 Council meeting. Attached is a "red lined" version of the proposed ordinance showing the additions/deletions agreed to or discussed at the November 25 meeting. Since November 25, I have discussed certain provisions of the proposed ordinance with the League of Minnesota Cities' attorney. He advises as follows: With regard to Section 200, Subd. 6, vending machines, the "electronic device" language is legally suspect. Even though there is no definition of "vending machine" in the State Statute, the State enforcement people are defining "vending machine" very strictly and including in the definition those with lock out or electronic devices. In addition, as we discussed, the proposed FDA regulations on this subject will prohibit totally any type of vending machine. We should perhaps revisit our discussion on vending machines. Section 1300 Penalties. On page 9 of the enclosed ordinance is an alternative penalty section. The city of Robbinsdale has adopted this language. Under the State law, these penalties, or other alternatives you choose are permissible. The League attorney points out (a) that unless there is a specified penalty, the penalties imposed may be inconsistent leading to allegations of unequal treatment. The attorney also questions whether a city council will truly impose the stringent penalties suggested by the alternate Section 1300. Finally, there is a point where a violator could challenge a penalty as being too harsh and seek to have a court invalidate it. The penalty section therefore needs to be discussed further. Finally, on November 25, the Council discussed the possibility of prohibiting persons under 18 from selling tobacco products. This issue needs to be further discussed and a final decision made.