Gustine Municipal Code Ch. 12 Tobacco Retailers

In enacting this chapter, it is the intent of the city council to encourage responsible tobacco retailing and to discourage violations of tobacco-related laws, especially those involving the sale or distribution of tobacco and nicotine products to youth. The city hereby makes the following legislative findings in support of this chapter (all statutory references are to the statutes as currently codified, or as may be amended or renumbered from time to time):

(1) State law prohibits the sale or furnishing of cigarettes, tobacco products and smoking paraphernalia to persons under 21 years of age (California Penal Code § 308).

(2) State law requires that tobacco retailers check the identification of tobacco purchasers who reasonably appear to be under 21 years of age (California Business and Professions Code § 22956) and provides procedures for using persons under 21 years of age to conduct onsite compliance checks of tobacco retailers (California Business and Professions Code § 22952).

(3) State law requires that tobacco retailers post a conspicuous notice at each point of sale stating that selling tobacco products to anyone under 21 years of age is illegal (California Business and Professions Code § 22952, California Penal Code § 308).

(4) State law prohibits the sale or display of cigarettes through a self-service display and prohibits public access to cigarettes without the assistance of a clerk (California Business and Professions Code § 22962).

(5) State law prohibits the sale of "bidis" (a type of hand-rolled filterless cigarette) except at those businesses that prohibit the presence of minors (California Penal Code § 308.1).

(6) State law requires all tobacco operators to obtain a Cigarette and Tobacco Products Retailer's License (California Business and Professions Code § 22972, et seq).

(7) The city has a substantial interest in promoting compliance with federal, state, and local laws intended to regulate tobacco sales and use; in discouraging the illegal purchase of tobacco products by persons under 21 years of age; in promoting compliance with laws prohibiting sales of cigarettes and tobacco products to persons under 21 years of age; and in protecting youth and underserved populations from the harms of tobacco use.

(Ord. No. 522, § 4, 3-5-2024)

The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter, shall have the meanings defined in this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

Self-service display means open displays of tobacco products and e-cigarettes and point-of-sale tobacco and e-cigarette promotional products that the public has access to without the intervention of a store employee.

Tobacco products means any substance containing tobacco leaf, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco or dipping tobacco, e cigarette, nicotine containing products, e-cigarettes, e-smokes, flavored tobacco products, e-cigs and cigalikes, vapes, personal vaporizers (PVs) and advanced personal vaporizers (APVs), mods, pod mods, pod vape devices, vape mods and box mods, wop machines, pens and vape pens, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), or any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product, whether or not sold separately.

Tobacco retailer means any person who sells, offers for sale, or offers to exchange for any form of consideration, tobacco, tobacco products, or tobacco paraphernalia. This definition is without regard to the quantity or type of tobacco products or tobacco paraphernalia sold, offered for sale, exchanged, or offered for exchange.

Vending machine means any mechanical, electric or electronic, selfservice device which, upon insertion of money, tokens or any other form of payment, dispenses tobacco products.

(Ord. No. 522, § 4, 3-5-2024)

(a) Except as otherwise provided, smoking shall be prohibited in all enclosed public places within the city, including but not limited to the following public places:

(1) Elevators;

(2) Buses, taxicabs, and other means of public transit under the authority of the city and ticket, boarding, and waiting areas of public transit depots;

(3) Restrooms;

(4) Service lines;

(5) Retail stores;

(6) All areas available to and customarily used by the general public in all business and nonprofit entities patronized by the public, including but not limited to offices (such as attorneys, doctors, and other professionals), banks, laundromats, malls, hotels and motels;

(7) Restaurants;

(8) Any areas of aquariums, galleries, libraries, or museums that are open to the public;

(9) Any facility which is primarily used for exhibiting motion pictures, stage productions, lectures, musical recitals, or other similar performances, except when smoking is part of such production;

(10) Sports arenas and convention halls;

(11) Every room, chamber, or place of meeting or public assembly, including school buildings, that is under the control of any board, council, commission, committee, or agency of the city, or any political subdivision of the state, during such time as a public meeting is in progress, to the extent such place is subject to the jurisdiction of the city;

(12) Waiting rooms, hallways, and wards and rooms of health facilities, including, but not limited to, hospitals, clinics, physical therapy, mental health, and drug and alcohol treatment facilities and doctors' and dentists' offices;

(13) Lobbies, hallways, and other common areas in apartment buildings, condominiums, senior citizen residences, nursing homes, and other multiple-unit residential facilities;

(14) Lobbies, hallways, and other common areas in multiple-unit commercial facilities;

(15) Polling places;

(16) Any school or educational institution operated by a business or nonprofit entity for the purpose of providing academic classroom instruction, trade, craft, computer, or other technical training, or instruction in dancing, artistic, musical, or other cultural skills.

(b) Except as otherwise provided, smoking shall be prohibited in the following unenclosed places within the city of Gustine:

(1) Within 100 feet of the entrance and exit of any hospital. For purposes of this section, "hospital" shall mean a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized medical and nursing staff and medical equipment;

(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, the following areas shall not be subject to the smoking restrictions of this chapter:

(1) Private residences, except when used as a child care or health care facility;

(2) Retail tobacco stores, except as applied to minors who are otherwise prohibited from purchasing or smoking tobacco products;

(3) A maximum of 50 percent of hotel and motel rooms, provided, however, that each hotel and motel shall designate not less than 50 percent of its hotel/motel rooms as nonsmoking rooms. The hotel/motel rooms designated as nonsmoking rooms will be posted as "smoking prohibited" and any ashtrays will be removed;

(4) Restaurant, hotel, or motel banquets, conference or meeting rooms, and public and private assembly rooms, when used for private functions;

(5) Private clubs during events attended exclusively by members of the organization and their invited guests, and from which members of the general public are excluded. An organization shall be deemed to be a private club where such organization has drafted and filed articles of incorporation and bylaws with the California Secretary of State and such articles of incorporation and bylaws specify the purpose of such organization to be a private club not open to the general public and/or is a nonprofit organization, and the organization is in good standing with the California Secretary of State;

(6) Bingo game establishments, but only in a separate, enclosed room away from any lobbies and restrooms.

(d) It shall not constitute a violation of this chapter for a person to smoke in a location where smoking has been authorized in the manner prescribed by this chapter.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, any owner, operator, manager, or other person who controls any establishment or facility within the city may declare that entire establishment or facility as a nonsmoking establishment.

(Ord. No. 522, § 4, 3-5-2024)

(a) No person, corporation, store, or retail establishment shall sell or give away any tobacco product to any person under the age of 21 years. All persons, corporations, stores, or retail establishments which sell or give away tobacco products shall request and examine photographic identification establishing the purchaser's age as 21 years or greater.

(b) All retail establishments selling any tobacco products must prominently display a sign by the tobacco products stating that tobacco sales to persons under 21 are prohibited.

(c) Any holder of a business license to engage in tobacco retail operations as required by section 5-12-1(6) of this chapter is subject to proceedings for license suspension or revocation if the holder or its employees are found guilty of violating any provision set forth in this section. The city manager will be responsible for proceedings for license suspension or revocation if the holder or its employees are found guilty of violating any provision set forth in this section.

(d) A civil penalty of up to $1,000.00 shall be imposed upon the license holder for a violation of subsections (a) or (b) of this section, in addition to any action concerning the establishment's business license as set forth in subsection (c).

(e) A criminal charge may be imposed against an employee who knowingly violates subsections (a) or (b) this section, in accordance with applicable state law.

(Ord. No. 522, § 4, 3-5-2024)

(a) The purpose of this section is to regulate self-service displays of tobacco products so as to restrict the availability of tobacco products to persons under the age of 21 years.

(b) It shall be unlawful for any person, business, or tobacco retailer to sell, permit to be sold, display, or offer for sale any tobacco product by means of a self-service display.

(c) The following self-service displays are exempt from this section:

(1) Cigarette or tobacco product vending machines or self-service displays that are located in facilities where the person, business, or tobacco retailer ensures that no person younger than 21 years of age is present, or permitted to enter the premises, at any time.

(Ord. No. 522, § 4, 3-5-2024)