Relating to the operation near a public or private primary or secondary school or a preschool of a retail establishment selling vaping apparatuses or tobacco products; providing a civil penalty.

The text as introduced · 490 words

90R3556 AB-D

By: Huffman
S.B. No. 328

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation near a public or private primary or

secondary school or a preschool of a retail establishment selling

vaping apparatuses or tobacco products; providing a civil penalty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter H, Chapter 161, Health and Safety

Code, is amended by adding Section 161.0877 to read as follows:

Sec. 161.0877. RETAIL SALE OF VAPING APPARATUS OR TOBACCO

PRODUCT NEAR SCHOOL; CIVIL PENALTY. (a) In this section:

(1) "School" means a public or private primary or

secondary school or a preschool, as defined by Section 36.003.

(2) "Vaping apparatus" means a battery-operated or

electronic device intended to deliver an aerosolized or vaporized

substance to the individual inhaling from the device, including:

(A) an e-cigar, e-pipe, vape pen, or e-hookah;

(B) any component, part, or accessory of the

device; and

(C) any liquid, solution, or substance intended

to be aerosolized or vaporized by the device, regardless of whether

the liquid, solution, or substance includes nicotine, flavoring, or

other chemicals.

(b) This section applies only to a retail establishment for

which at least 50 percent of the total gross receipts from retail

sales on the establishment's premises is derived from the retail

sale of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vaping apparatuses, and tobacco

products.

(c) A retailer may not operate a retail establishment that

sells vaping apparatuses or tobacco products within 1,000 feet of a

school.

(d) A retailer who violates Subsection (c) is subject to

civil penalty in an amount of not less than $500 and not more than

$2,000 per day the violation continues.

(e) The attorney general may bring an action to collect a

civil penalty imposed under this section. Civil penalties shall be

deposited in the general revenue fund. The attorney general may

recover reasonable attorney's fees and costs in bringing an action

under this section.

(f) The distance between a retail establishment and a school

is measured:

(1) in a direct line from the property line of the

school to the property line of the establishment and in a direct

line across intersections; or

(2) for an establishment located on or above the fifth

floor of a multistory building, in a direct line from the property

line of the school to the property line of the establishment, in a

direct line across intersections, and in a vertical line from the

building base at the property line to the base of the floor on which

the establishment is located.

SECTION 2. Notwithstanding Section 161.0877, Health and

Safety Code, as added by this Act, a retailer may continue to

operate a retail establishment that begins to operate before the

effective date of this Act and that sells vaping apparatuses or

tobacco products within 1,000 feet of a school, as defined by that

section, until September 1, 2029.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2027.