Bill Text: NY S02470 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to prohibiting the use of smokeless tobacco on school grounds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO EDUCATION [S02470 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S02470-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2470 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 25, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. SANDERS, CARLUCCI -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting the use of smokeless tobacco on school grounds The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 409 of the education law, as 2 amended by chapter 449 of the laws of 2012, is amended and two new 3 subdivisions 3 and 4 are added to read as follows: 4 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, rule or regu- 5 lation, tobacco use shall not be permitted and no person shall use 6 tobacco or smokeless tobacco on school grounds. 7 (a) "School grounds" means any building, structure and surrounding 8 outdoor grounds, including entrances or exits, contained within a public 9 or private pre-school, nursery school, elementary or secondary school's 10 legally defined property boundaries as registered in a county clerk's 11 office. 12 (b) "Smokeless tobacco" means any product that consists of cut, 13 ground, powdered, or leaf tobacco that is intended to be placed by the 14 consumer in an oral cavity. 15 3. The board of education of each school district shall ensure the 16 placement, in every public entrance to a public school building in its 17 district, of a sign which shall be located so as to be clearly visible 18 to the public and shall contain letters which contrast in color with the 19 sign, indicating that the use of tobacco and smokeless tobacco is 20 prohibited therein. 21 (a) The board of education of each school district shall order any 22 person using tobacco or smokeless tobacco in violation of this section 23 to comply with the provisions of this section. Except as otherwise 24 provided pursuant to subdivision four of this section, a person, after 25 being so ordered, who uses tobacco and/or smokeless tobacco in violation EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08743-01-9S. 2470 2 1 of this section is subject to a fine of not less than one hundred 2 dollars for the first offense, two hundred fifty dollars for the second 3 offense, and five hundred dollars for each subsequent offense. A penalty 4 shall be recovered in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (c) 5 and (d) of this subdivision. 6 (b) The department of health, upon written complaint or having reason 7 to suspect that a public school is or may be in violation of the 8 provisions of this section, shall, by written notification, advise the 9 board of education of the school district accordingly and order appro- 10 priate action to be taken. A board of education that receives that 11 notice and fails or refuses to comply with the order is subject to a 12 fine of not less that two hundred fifty dollars for the first offense, 13 five hundred dollars for the second offense, and one thousand dollars 14 for each subsequent offense. In addition to the penalty provided herein, 15 a court may order immediate compliance with the provisions of this 16 section. 17 (c) A penalty recovered under the provisions of this section shall be 18 recovered by, and in the name of, the commissioner of health. When the 19 plaintiff is the commissioner, the penalty recovered shall be paid by 20 the commissioner of health into the treasury of the state. 21 (d) The supreme court of the county in which a violation is alleged to 22 have occurred shall have jurisdiction over proceedings to enforce and 23 collect any penalty imposed because of a violation of this section. 24 Process shall be in the nature of a summons or warrant and shall issue 25 only at the suit of the commissioner of health or the local board of 26 health, as the case may be, as plaintiff. 27 (e) The penalties provided in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivi- 28 sion shall be the only civil remedy for a violation of this section. 29 There shall be no private right of action against a party for failure to 30 comply with the provisions of this section. 31 4. A student who violates the provisions of this section after being 32 ordered by the board of education of the district to comply with the 33 provisions of this section, shall not be subject to the fines estab- 34 lished pursuant to this section, but, rather, shall be prohibited by the 35 board of education of the district from participation in all extracur- 36 ricular activities, including interscholastic athletics, and the revoca- 37 tion of any student parking permit that the student may possess. The 38 board of education shall adopt a policy that establishes the length of a 39 suspension or revocation to be imposed on a student for an initial or 40 subsequent violation of the provisions of this section. 41 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 42 have become a law.
