A. Title: This Section shall be known as the CLAY COUNTY TOBACCO ORDINANCE.
B. Definitions: For the purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the definitions given to them:
TOBACCO PRODUCTS: Cigarettes; cigars; cheroots; stogies; perique; granulated, plug cut, crimp cut, ready rubbed, and other smoking tobacco; shorts; refuse scraps, clippings, cuttings and sweepings of tobacco; and other kinds and forms of tobacco, prepared in such manner as to be suitable for chewing or smoking in a pipe or other tobacco-related devices.
TOBACCO-RELATED DEVICES: Cigarette papers or pipes for smoking.
VENDING MACHINE: Any mechanical, electric or electronic, self-service device which, upon insertion of money, tokens or any other form of payment, dispenses tobacco products.
C. Purchase By Minors Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of eighteen (18) years to purchase tobacco products, or to misrepresent their identity or age, or to use any false or altered identification for the purpose of purchasing tobacco products.
D. Possession By Minors Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of eighteen (18) years to possess any tobacco products.
E. Sales Prohibited To Minors: It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer to sell any tobacco products to any person under the age of eighteen (18) years.
F. Proximity To Certain Institutions: It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, give away or deliver tobacco products within one hundred feet (100') of any school building, child care facility or other building used for education or recreational purposes by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years.
G. Free Distributions Prohibited To Minors: It shall be unlawful for any person in the business of selling or otherwise distributing, promoting or advertising tobacco products, or any employee or agent of any such person, in the course of such person's business, to distribute, give away or deliver tobacco products free of charge to any person on any right of way, park, playground or other property owned by the County, any school district, any park district or any public library.
H. Vending Machines Sales: It shall be unlawful for any person to sell tobacco products from vending machines. This subsection shall not apply to vending machines in facilities that cannot be entered at any time by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years.
I. Business Owner Responsibility: It shall be unlawful for any owner, or operator or an employee of an establishment to knowingly permit violations of this Section. Every act or omission of whatsoever nature, constituting a violation of any of the provisions of this Section by any officer, director, manager or other agent or employee of any business owner shall be deemed and held to be the act of such business owner.
J. Parental Responsibility: It shall be unlawful for a parent or legal guardian of a minor to knowingly permit the minor to violate this Section.
K. License:
1. License Required: No person shall keep for retail sale, sell at retail or otherwise dispose of any tobacco product at any place in the County without first obtaining a license from the County.
2. License Fee: The license fee for a retail tobacco license shall be periodically set by the County. This fee is an estimate of the monies sufficient to cover the cost of issuing the license and the expense cost of enforcing the ordinances.
3. Posting Of License: Every license shall be conspicuously posted at the place for which the license is issued and shall be exhibited to any person upon request.
L. Self-Service Sales; Exception:
1. Access Prohibited: It shall be unlawful for a licensee under this Section to allow the sale of tobacco products or tobacco- related devices by any means whereby the customer may have access to such items without having to request the item from the licensee or the licensee's employee and whereby there is not a physical exchange of the tobacco product or tobacco-related device between the licensee or the clerk and the customer.
2. Storage: All tobacco products and tobacco-related devices shall either be stored behind a counter or other area not freely accessible to customers, or in a case or storage unit not left open and accessible to the general public.
3. Exception: This prohibition shall not apply to retail stores which derive at least ninety percent (90%) of their revenue from tobacco products and tobacco-related devices and which cannot be entered at any time by persons under the age of eighteen (18) years.
M. Compliance Checks: The County shall conduct unannounced compliance checks at least once each calendar year at each location where tobacco is sold to test compliance with Minnesota Statutes Annotated section 609.685. Compliance checks shall utilize minors over the age of fifteen (15) years, but under the age of eighteen (18) years, who, with the prior written consent of a parent or legal guardian, attempt to purchase tobacco under the direct supervision of a law enforcement officer or any employee of the licensing authority.
N. Administrative Penalties:
1. Violation:
a. First Violation: A licensee or an employee of a licensee who sells tobacco products or tobacco-related devices to a person under the age of eighteen (18) years, or violates any other provision of this Section, the licensee shall be charged an administrative penalty of seventy five dollars ($75.00) and receive a written violation warning from the County.
b. Second Violation: For a second violation, an administrative penalty of two hundred dollars ($200.00) shall be imposed, and the licensee's authority to sell tobacco products or tobacco- related devices shall be suspended for not less than three (3) days.
c. Third Violation: For a third violation, an administrative penalty of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) shall be imposed, and the licensee's authority to sell tobacco products or tobacco- related devices shall be suspended for not less than ten (10) days.
d. Fourth Violation: For a fourth violation, the licensee's authority to sell tobacco products or tobacco-related devices shall be revoked.
2. Individuals Subject To Penalty: An individual who sells tobacco products or tobacco-related devices to a person who is under the age of eighteen (18) years shall be charged an administrative penalty of fifty dollars ($50.00).
3. Notice; Hearing Required: No suspension or penalty may take effect under this subsection until the licensee or individual has received notice, served personally or by certified mail, of the alleged violation and an opportunity for a hearing before a person authorized by the County to conduct the hearing.
O. Criminal Penalties:
1. Violation; Penalty: Upon a finding of guilty for violation of this Section, there shall be imposed a fine up to seven hundred dollars ($700.00) and/or imprisonment not to exceed ninety (90) days.
2. Juvenile Violation: Upon a juvenile violating this Section, the penalty imposed shall be in accordance with Minnesota Statutes Annotated section 260.195.
P. Exceptions And Defenses:
1. Exception: Nothing in this Section shall prevent the providing of tobacco products or tobacco-related devices to a minor as part of a lawfully recognized religious, spiritual or cultural ceremony.
2. Defense: It shall be an affirmative defense to the violation of this Section for a person to have reasonably and in good faith relied upon representations of proof of age as described by State law.
Q. Effective Date: This Section shall be effective on and after March 24, 1998. (Ord. 1998-4, 3-24-1998)