ASSEMBLY, No. 2423

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED OCTOBER 21, 1996

By Assemblymen GREEN and LANCE

An Act concerning smoking by minors and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1.    For purposes of this act:

    "Foster home" means and includes private residences wherein any child in the care, custody or guardianship of the Division of Youth and Family Services may be placed for temporary or long-term care, and shall include any private residence maintained by persons with whom any such child is placed for adoption.

    "Tobacco product" means cigarettes, cigars, loose tobacco, and smokeless tobacco.

    2.    All State departments shall, within 30 days of the effective date of this act, promulgate rules which prohibit the smoking or other use of tobacco products by persons under the age of 18 in all indoor and outdoor areas of public or private facilities, whether operated by a State, municipal, county or private agency, under the department's jurisdiction and to which payments are made from the treasury of the State, directly or indirectly, with the exception of foster homes. All State departments shall, upon renewal or issuance of a contract with a private or governmental agency, require as a condition of continued State payments to the facility that the facility prohibit the smoking or other use of tobacco products by persons under the age of 18 in all indoor and outdoor areas of the facility, with the exception of foster homes.

    3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

    This bill prohibits smoking by persons under the age of 18 in facilities which receive State funds, whether public, private, State, municipal or county, with the exception of foster homes, in an effort to safeguard the health of minors from the risks of smoking. Each State department would be responsible for promulgating rules prohibiting smoking by minors in such facilities under the department's jurisdiction and for providing a condition in all contracts with private or governmental agencies that requires the agency to prohibit smoking by minors in its facilities.

Prohibits smoking by minors in facilities receiving State funds.