Sponsor Statement for HB 305

I was alarmed to learn that a sales person under the age of 19 is not in violation of Alaska law when he or she sells tobacco to a minor. Recently, the district attorney's office in Juneau was forced to void two citations to sales clerks under the age of 18 who the police caught selling tobacco to a minor. The statute states:

AS 11.76.100 (a) "A person commits the offense of selling or giving tobacco to a minor if the person is 19 years of age or older and (1) negligently sells, exchanges, or gives a cigarette, a cigar, tobacco, or a product containing tobacco to a person under 19 years of age ...

HB 305 is a housekeeping measure designed to close this loophole. The bill removes the definition "19 years of age or older" when referring to the offense of selling tobacco to a minor. The bill does not criminalize exchanges between minors, nor does it change the existing statute in any other way.

The legislature has made enforcing existing tobacco laws a priority in order to reduce our high incidence of teen tobacco addiction. This housekeeping measure will ensure that the law applies to everyone, especially those most likely to sell to their peers.