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Senate approves rule requiring ID checks, scanners at tobacco retailers
Summary
Senators passed Senate Bill 10.2, which would require tobacco retailers to verify customers' age with specified identification and use an approved scanner; the proponent said grants would underwrite equipment costs for businesses.
The youth senate approved Senate Bill 10.2, an amendment that would require tobacco distributors to verify purchaser age using specific forms of identification and to use an approved ID scanner at point of sale.
Proponent Gabby Donaldson described the measure as a step to prevent sales to minors, saying the bill "requires employees of tobacco dispensaries to effectively check the IDs of every customer who attempts to legally buy tobacco products" and that the scanners would be paid for through a Department of Commerce grant in the bill’s funding language.
Delegates asked how the proposal would work at self-checkout and whether the required scanner is a new certification. Donaldson said current vendor permitting covers most outlets and that scanning would still require employee oversight at self-checkout, consistent with existing liquor enforcement practices. She gave a typical scanner cost of about $300 and said she had identified grant funding that could cover statewide needs.
Supporters emphasized public-health effects; a senator cited statistics about youth initiation and urged passage. The chair called the vote and announced the bill passed by visible majority.
