(A) Because the city recognizes that the sale of tobacco, tobacco-related devices, electronic delivery devices, and nicotine or lobelia delivery products to persons under the age of 18 violates both state and federal laws; and because studies, which the city hereby accepts and adopts, have shown that most smokers begin smoking before they have reached the age of 18 years, and that almost no one starts smoking after age 25; and because national data show that about 95% of adult smokers begin smoking before they turn 21, and the ages of 18 to 21 are a critical period when many smokers move from experimental smoking to regular, daily use; and because tobacco use has been shown to be the cause of several serious health problems which, subsequently, place a financial burden on all levels of government; this chapter intends to regulate the sale of tobacco, tobacco-related devices, electronic delivery devices, and nicotine or lobelia delivery products for the purpose of enforcing, and furthering, existing laws, to protect youth and young adults against the serious effects associated with use and initiation, and to further the official public policy of the state in regard to preventing young people from starting to smoke as stated in M.S. § 144.391, as it may be amended from time to time.
(B) In making this determination, the City Council accepts the findings presented by the County Public Health Department at the May 7, 2019 City Council meeting, and referenced in the county ordinance regulating the possession, sale, and consumption of tobacco and tobacco-related devices and products within the county, adopted March 20, 2019.
(C) This chapter is enacted pursuant to M.S. Chapters 461 and 145A, as they are amended from time to time, allowing for local ordinances to set more restrictive regulations on the provision of tobacco, tobacco products, tobacco-related devices, electronic delivery devices, and nicotine or lobelia delivery devices.
(D) Pursuant to M.S. § 145A.05, subd. 1 and subd. 9, as it may be amended from time to time, this chapter shall apply to all licenses issued by the city.
(Ord. 287, passed 9-3-2019)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
CIGARS. Any roll of tobacco that is wrapped in tobacco leaf or in any substance containing tobacco, with or without a tip or mouthpiece, that is not a cigarette as defined in M.S. § 297F.01, subd. 3, as it may be amended from time to time.
COMPLIANCE CHECKS. The system the city uses to investigate and ensure that those authorized to sell licensed products are following and complying with the requirements of this chapter. COMPLIANCE CHECKS shall involve the use of persons under age 21 as authorized by this chapter. COMPLIANCE CHECKS shall also mean the use of persons under age 21 who attempt to purchase licensed products for educational, research, and training purposes, as authorized by state and federal laws. COMPLIANCE CHECKS may also be conducted by other units of government for the purpose of enforcing appropriate federal, state, or local laws and regulations relating to licensed products.
ELECTRONIC DELIVERY DEVICE. Any product containing or delivering nicotine, lobelia, or any other substance intended for human consumption through inhalation of vapor or liquid from the product. ELECTRONIC DELIVERY DEVICE shall include any component part of a product, whether or not sold separately. ELECTRONIC DELIVERY DEVICE includes, but is not limited to, device manufactured, marketed, or sold as e-cigarettes, e-cigars, e-pipes, vape pens, mods, tank systems, or under any other product name or descriptor. ELECTRONIC DELIVERY DEVICE does not include drugs, devices, or combination products authorized for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
HOOKAH. A pipe with a long, flexible tube by which the smoke is drawn through a jar of water and thus cooled for the use of tobacco or tobacco-related products.
INDIVIDUALLY PACKAGED. The practice of selling any tobacco or tobacco product wrapped individually for sale. INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED TOBACCO AND TOBACCO PRODUCTS shall include, but not be limited to, single cigarette packs, single bags or cans of loose tobacco in any form, and single cans or other packaging of snuff or chewing tobacco. Cartons or other packaging containing more than a single pack or other container, as described in this definition, shall not be considered INDIVIDUALLY PACKAGED.
INDOOR AREA. All space between a floor and a ceiling that is bounded by walls, doorways, or windows, whether open or closed, covering more than 50% of the combined surface area of the vertical planes constituting the perimeter of the area. A wall includes any retractable divider, garage door, or other physical barrier, whether temporary or permanent.
LICENSED PRODUCTS. Collectively refers to any tobacco, tobacco-related device, electronic delivery device, or nicotine or lobelia delivery product.
LOOSIES. Single or individually packaged cigarettes, cigars, or any other licensed product that has been removed from its intended retail packaging and offered for sale. The term LOOSIES does not include individual cigars with a retail price, before any sales taxes, of more than $2 per cigar.
MINOR. Any natural person who has not yet reached the age of 18 years.
MOVEABLE PLACE OF BUSINESS. Any form of business operated out of a truck, van, automobile, kiosk, trailer, or other type of vehicle or transportable shelter, and not a fixed address store front or other permanent type of structure authorized for sales transactions.
NICOTINE OR LOBELIA DELIVERY DEVICES. Any product containing or delivering nicotine or lobelia intended for human consumption, or any part of a product that is not tobacco as defined in this section, not including drugs, devices, or combination products authorized for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
PUBLIC PLACE. Any enclosed, indoor area used by the general public, including, but not limited to, restaurants, bars, any other food or liquor establishment, retail and other commercial establishments, educational facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, auditoriums, arenas, meeting rooms, waiting rooms, and common areas of rental apartment buildings.
RETAIL ESTABLISHMENT. Any place of business where licensed products are available for sale to the general public. The phrase shall include, but not be limited to, grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, and drug stores.
SALE. Any transfer or distribution of goods for money, trade, barter, or other consideration.
SAMPLING. The lighting of tobacco, tobacco products, tobacco-related devices, or the activation of, and inhaling of, vapor from electronic cigarettes in a retail establishment by a customer, or potential customer, for the purpose of SAMPLING the product or device before a purchase.
SELF-SERVICE MERCHANDISING. Open displays of licensed products in any manner where any person shall have access to the licensed products, without the assistance or intervention of the licensee or the licensee’s employee. The assistance or intervention shall entail the actual, physical exchange of the licensed products between the customer and the licensee or employee. SELF-SERVICE SALES are interpreted as being any sale where there is not an actual physical exchange of the product between the clerk and the customer.
SMOKING. Inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, pipe, hookah, or any other lighted or heated product, whether natural or synthetic, containing, made, or derived from nicotine, tobacco, marijuana, or other plant, that is intended for inhalation. SMOKING also includes carrying or using an activated electronic delivery device.
SMOKING LOUNGE. A tobacco products shop which allows customers to be seated.
TOBACCO or TOBACCO PRODUCTS. Includes cigarettes and any product containing, made, or derived from TOBACCO that is intended for human consumption, whether chewed, smoked, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means, or any component, part, or accessory of a TOBACCO PRODUCT; cigars; cheroots; stogies, perique; granulated, plug cut, crimp cut, ready rubbed, and other smoking tobacco; snuff; snuff flour; cavendish; plug and twist tobacco; fine cut and other chewing tobaccos; shorts; refuse scraps, clippings, cuttings, and sweepings of tobacco; dipping tobaccos; and other kinds and forms of TOBACCO, TOBACCO or TOBACCO PRODUCT does not include drugs, devices, or combination products authorized for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration, as those terms are defined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
TOBACCO PRODUCTS SHOP. Any licensed retail establishment that derives at least 90% of its revenue from tobacco or tobacco products, and where no person under the age of 21 is present, or permitted to enter, at any time.
TOBACCO-RELATED DEVICES. Includes any pipe, rolling papers, or other device intentionally designed, or intended to be used, with tobacco products. TOBACCO-RELATED DEVICES includes components of TOBACCO-RELATED DEVICES which may be marketed or sold separately.
VAPOR LOUNGE. A vapor products shop which allows customers to be seated.
VAPOR PRODUCTS SHOP. A retail establishment with an entrance door opening directly to the outside that derives more than 90% of its gross revenue from the sale of electronic delivery devices, electronic cigarettes, and related products, and in which the sale of other products is merely incidental. VAPOR PRODUCTS SHOP does not include a vapor products department or section of any individual business establishment with any type of food, liquor, or restaurant license.
VENDING MACHINE. Any mechanical, electric or electronic, or other type of device which dispenses licensed products upon the insertion of money, tokens, or other form of payment directly into the machine by the person seeking to purchase the licensed product.
(Ord. 287, passed 9-3-2019)
(A) License required. No person, business, or entity shall sell, or offer to sell, any licensed products without first having obtained a license to do so from the city.
(B) Application. An application for a license to sell licensed products shall be made on a form provided by the city. The application shall contain the full name of the applicant, the applicant’s residential and business addresses and telephone numbers, the name of the business for which the license is sought, and any additional information the city deems necessary. Upon receipt of a completed application, the City Administrator shall forward the application to the City Council for action at its next regularly scheduled City Council meeting. If the City Administrator determines an application incomplete, he or she shall return the application to the applicant with notice of the information necessary to make the application complete.
(C) Action. The City Council may either approve or deny the license, or it may delay action for a reasonable period of time as necessary to complete any investigation of the application or the applicant it deems necessary. If the City Council approves the license, the City Administrator shall issue the license to the applicant. If the City Council denies the license, notice of the denial shall be given to the applicant, along with notice of the applicant’s right to appeal the City Council’s decision.
(D) Term. All licenses issued under this section shall be valid for one calendar year, expiring on December 31.
(E) Revocation or suspension. Any license issued under this section may be revoked or suspended as provided in § 113.12.
(F) Transfers. All licenses issued under this section shall be valid only on the premises for which the license was issued, and only for the person to whom the license was issued. No transfer of any license to another location or person shall be valid without the prior approval of the City Council.
(G) Moveable place of business. No license shall be issued to a moveable place of business. Only fixed location businesses shall be eligible for licensing under this section.
(H) Display. All licenses shall be posted and displayed in plain view of the general public on the licensed premises.
(I) Renewals. The renewal of a license issued under this section shall be handled in the same manner as the original application. The request for a renewal shall be made at least 30 days, but not more than 60 days, before the expiration of the current license.
(J) Issuance as privilege and not a right. The issuance of a license issued under this section shall be considered a privilege and not an absolute right of the applicant, and shall not entitle the holder to an automatic renewal of the license.
(K) Smoking. Smoking shall not be permitted, and no person shall smoke within the indoor area of any establishment with a retail tobacco license. Smoking for the purposes of sampling tobacco and tobacco-related products is prohibited.
(Ord. 287, passed 9-3-2019) Penalty, see § 113.99
(A) Grounds for denying the issuance or renewal of a license under this chapter includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) The applicant is under the age of 21 years;
(2) The applicant has been convicted, within the past five years, of any violation of a federal, state, or local law, ordinance provision, or other regulation relating to licensed products;
(3) The applicant has had a license to sell licensed products revoked within the preceding 12 months of the date of application;
(4) The applicant fails to provide any information required on the application, or provides false or misleading information; and/or
(5) The applicant is prohibited by federal, state, or other local law, ordinance, or other regulation from holding a license.
(B) However, except as may otherwise be provided by law, the existence of any particular ground for denial does not mean that the city must deny the license.
(C) If a license is mistakenly issued or renewed to a person, it shall be revoked upon the discovery that the person was ineligible for the license under this chapter.
(Ord. 287, passed 9-3-2019)
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