01/30/1998 09:00 AM Senate HES

                                                                               
                HB 189 - RESTRICT TOBACCO SALES                                
                                                                               
MARCO PIGNALBERI, legislative aide to Representative Cowdery,                  
sponsor of the measure, explained the changes in the proposed                  
committee substitute.  Section 3 contains a simplified penalty                 
sentence in which the age and condition qualifiers were omitted.               
Section 4 was restructured for the purpose of clarification, and               
contains no substantive change, and a penalty section was added as             
Section 4(c).                                                                  
                                                                               
CHAIRMAN WILKEN noted the proposed committee substitute is a                   
cleaned up cut and paste version.                                              
                                                                               
SENATOR GREEN asked if the word "negligently" was omitted from                 
Section 1(3) because it was redundant.  MR. PIGNALBERI said that               
was correct.                                                                   
                                                                               
SENATOR GREEN asked if a person can receive a violation under this             
bill without intending to break the law.  She noted her support for            
the "knowingly" standard because that standard requires intent.                
MR. PIGNALBERI stated the bill that passed the House was based on              
the heavier penalty, but after testimony from police agencies and              
the Attorney General's Office, the standard was lowered.                       
                                                                               
SENATOR GREEN asked if the "knowingly" standard and violation                  
penalty could be maintained simultaneously.  MR. PIGNALBERI                    
deferred to Anne Carpeneti of the Department of Law to answer that             
question.                                                                      
                                                                               
Number 091                                                                     
                                                                               
ANNE CARPENETI, Department of Law, explained the "knowingly"                   
culpable mental state is problematic in this type of criminal                  
statute because a clerk could not be prosecuted unless he/she sold             
a customer tobacco products, knowing that person was under 19.  The            
knowingly standard would create a giant loophole for clerks; by not            
asking for identification of minors, they could not be prosecuted              
for selling to underaged customers.  The negligent culpable mental             
state is in current law, which is why the Department of Law                    
recommended maintaining it.                                                    
                                                                               
SENATOR GREEN said she recalled hearing about legislation during               
the past session that contained benchmarks that referred to people             
older than 19 and required identification and asked about the                  
status of that legislation.                                                    
                                                                               
MS. CARPENETI believed Senator Green was referring to a federal law            
that requires a person to ask for identification if the buyer                  
appears to be under 27 years old.  SENATOR GREEN asked if the                  
Legislature adopted similar legislation last year.  MS. CARPENETI              
believed that provision was in HB 159 which has not passed.                    
                                                                               
Number 125                                                                     
                                                                               
SENATOR LEMAN moved to adopt SCSCSSSHB 189(HES), version P, as the             
committee's working document.  There being no objection, the motion            
carried.                                                                       
                                                                               
SENATOR LEMAN moved to pass SCSCSSSHB 189(HES) from committee with             
individual recommendations.  There being no objection, the motion              
carried.