(A) Whoever shall sell, give or furnish in any way any tobacco in any form whatever, or any cigars, cigarettes or cigarette paper, electronic nicotine delivery systems or alternative nicotine products, to any person under 21 years of age is guilty of an offense.
(B) (1) In order to further the public policy of deterring licensees or other persons from violating subsection (A) above, a person who is at least 15 years of age but under 21 years of age may assist a peace officer in determining compliance with such subsection if:
(a) The parent or legal guardian of the person has given written consent for the person to participate in such compliance check if such person is under 19 years of age;
(b) The person is an employee, a volunteer or an intern with a state or local law enforcement agency;
(c) The person is acting within the scope of his or her assigned duties as part of a law enforcement investigation;
(d) The person does not use or consume a tobacco product as part of such duties; and
(e) The person is not actively assigned to a diversion program, is not a party to a pending criminal proceeding or a proceeding pending under the State Juvenile Code, being Neb. RS 43-245 et seq. and is not on probation.
(2) Any person under the age of 21 years acting in accordance with an under the authority of this subsection (B) shall not be in violation of Neb. RS 28-1427.
(Neb. RS 28-1419) Penalty, see § 6-501
Editor’s note:
The city adopted the basic code model for this section in Ord. 956, passed 1-5-2021, and it has been replaced with the 2024 basic code section.