SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 601
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: MAY 15, 1997
The Senate Health Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 601.
This bill amends the "Roadside Sign Control and Outdoor Advertising Act" of 1991 to prohibit advertisements of tobacco products within 1,000 feet of a school. The provisions of this bill would apply primarily to billboard advertising.
The method for determining the 1,000 foot perimeter is the same as that specified in N.J.S.2C:35-7 governing "drug-free" school zones. The bill also provides that a local board of health may file a complaint with the Commissioner of Transportation if the board has reason to believe that the location of a sign is in violation of the 1,000 foot requirement. The commissioner is directed to order that a measurement be taken in order to determine if there is a violation.
Under this bill, owners of billboards or other fixed signs advertising tobacco products would have to change their advertising or remove their signs within 30 days of notice by the Commissioner of Transportation. The commissioner may enter private property after 30 days to remove the sign and may recover the costs of removal or $500, whichever is greater. Additional penalties are $50 to $500 for each offense, with each day of violation a separate offense. State and local law enforcement authorities, under the direction of the commissioner, may enforce the act.
It is illegal to sell cigarettes to children in New Jersey. Therefore, it is in the interest of the State to prohibit the advertising of these products near schools, where children spend most of their daytime hours.