Cigarette or tobacco product retailers: new retail locations and sale of nitrous oxide.

The Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act requires the State Department of Public Health to establish and develop a program to reduce the availability of tobacco products to persons under 21 years of age through specified enforcement activities. In addition to the primary enforcement responsibility assumed by the department, existing law authorizes other state and local governmental agencies to conduct inspections and assess penalties for violations of the act, as specified, and encourages state and local enforcement agencies to share the results of inspections and coordinate with the department when enforcing the act. In this regard, existing law authorizes an enforcing agency to assess specified civil penalties against any person, firm, or corporation that sells, gives, or in any way furnishes to another person who is under 21 years of age any tobacco, cigarettes, or cigarette papers. Existing law, upon the assessment of a civil penalty for the 3rd, 4th, or 5th violation, requires the department to notify the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) , and requires the CDTFA to assess civil penalties and suspend or revoke a license issued under the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003. This bill, effective July 1, 2027, would prohibit a new retail location for a retailer of cigarettes or tobacco products from being located within a 600-foot radius of a school or a daycare center unless the local jurisdiction specifies a radius greater than 600 feet. The bill would also prohibit a retailer of cigarettes or tobacco products from possessing, storing, owning, or selling nitrous oxide or paraphernalia relating to the consumption of nitrous oxide. The bill would authorize an enforcement agency to assess civil penalties for a violation of those provisions. The bill would authorize the CDTFA to then assess a civil penalty and suspend or revoke a license for a violation of those provisions. The bill would exempt a grocery st