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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6730
January Session, 2023
LCO No. 3728
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH'S
RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE TOBACCO AND HEALTH
TRUST FUND AND THE REQUIREMENT TO CHECK IDENTIFICATION
PRIOR TO SELLING CIGARETTES OR TOBACCO PRODUCTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 4-28f of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 2
(a) There is created a Tobacco and Health Trust Fund which shall be 3
a separate nonlapsing fund. The purpose of the trust fund shall be to 4
create a continuing significant source of funds to [(1)] support and 5
encourage development of programs to reduce tobacco [abuse] and 6
nicotine use through prevention, education and cessation programs [, 7
(2) support and encourage development of programs to reduce 8
substance abuse, and (3) develop and implement programs to meet the 9
unmet physical and mental health needs in the state] that use evidence-10
based best practices regarding (1) state and community interventions, 11
(2) communication methods to disseminate health information to a wide 12
audience, (3) cessation interventions, (4) surveillance and evaluation, 13
and (5) infrastructure, administration and management. The trust fund 14 Raised Bill No. 6730
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shall be used to support the reduction in use of all tobacco and nicotine 15
products, including, but not limited to, combustible, noncombustible, 16
electronic and synthetic tobacco and nicotine products. 17
(b) The trust fund may accept transfers from the Tobacco Settlement 18
Fund and may apply for and accept gifts, grants or donations from 19
public or private sources to enable the trust fund to carry out its 20
objectives. 21
(c) The trust fund shall be administered by a board of trustees, except 22
that the board shall suspend its operations from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 23
2005, inclusive. The board shall consist of seventeen trustees. The 24
appointment of the initial trustees shall be as follows: (1) The Governor 25
shall appoint four trustees, one of whom shall serve for a term of one 26
year from July 1, 2000, two of whom shall serve for a term of two years 27
from July 1, 2000, and one of whom shall serve for a term of three years 28
from July 1, 2000; (2) the speaker of the House of Representatives and 29
the president pro tempore of the Senate each shall appoint two trustees, 30
one of whom shall serve for a term of two years from July 1, 2000, and 31
one of whom shall serve for a term of three years from July 1, 2000; (3) 32
the majority leader of the House of Representatives and the majority 33
leader of the Senate each shall appoint two trustees, one of whom shall 34
serve for a term of one year from July 1, 2000, and one of whom shall 35
serve for a term of three years from July 1, 2000; (4) the minority leader 36
of the House of Representatives and the minority leader of the Senate 37
each shall appoint two trustees, one of whom shall serve for a term of 38
one year from July 1, 2000, and one of whom shall serve for a term of 39
two years from July 1, 2000; and (5) the Secretary of the Office of Policy 40
and Management, or the secretary's designee, shall serve as an ex-officio 41
voting member. Following the expiration of such initial terms, 42
subsequent trustees shall serve for a term of three years. The trustees 43
shall continue to serve until their successors are appointed or 44
designated. Any vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term 45
shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the 46
balance of the unexpired term. The period of suspension of the board's 47
operations from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005, inclusive, shall not be 48 Raised Bill No. 6730
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included in the term of any trustee serving on July 1, 2003. The trustees 49
shall serve without compensation except for reimbursement for 50
necessary expenses incurred in performing their duties. The board of 51
trustees shall establish rules of procedure for the conduct of its business 52
which shall include, but not be limited to, criteria, processes and 53
procedures to be used in selecting programs to receive money from the 54
trust fund. The trust fund shall be within the Office of Policy and 55
Management for administrative purposes only. The board of trustees 56
shall, not later than January first of each year, submit a report of its 57
activities and accomplishments to the joint standing committees of the 58
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 59
health and appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, in 60
accordance with section 11-4a. 61
(d) (1) For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, and each fiscal year 62
thereafter, the board of trustees, by majority vote, shall recommend 63
authorization of disbursement from the trust fund of the amount 64
deposited in the trust fund for the fiscal year pursuant to subsection (c) 65
of section 4-28e, for the purposes described in subsection (a) of this 66
section and section 19a-6d. The board's recommendations shall give [(i)] 67
(A) priority to [programs that address tobacco and substance abuse and 68
serve minors, pregnant women and parents of young children ] 69
comprehensive tobacco and nicotine control programs for the 70
prevention of tobacco and nicotine product initiation among youth and 71
young adults, smoking cessation directed at adults and youth, 72
elimination of exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol, 73
identification and elimination of tobacco and nicotine-related 74
disparities, and [(ii)] (B) consideration to the availability of private 75
matching funds. Recommended disbursements from the trust fund shall 76
be in addition to any resources that would otherwise be appropriated 77
by the state for such purposes and programs. 78
(2) The board of trustees shall submit such recommendations for the 79
authorization of disbursement from the trust fund to the joint standing 80
committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 81
relating to public health and appropriations and the budgets of state 82 Raised Bill No. 6730
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agencies. Not later than thirty days after receipt of such 83
recommendations, said committees shall advise the board of their 84
approval, modifications, if any, or rejection of the board's 85
recommendations. If said joint standing committees do not concur, the 86
speaker of the House of Representatives, the president pro tempore of 87
the Senate, the majority leader of the House of Representatives, the 88
majority leader of the Senate, the minority leader of the House of 89
Representatives and the minority leader of the Senate each shall appoint 90
one member from each of said joint standing committees to serve as a 91
committee on conference. The committee on conference shall submit its 92
report to both committees, which shall vote to accept or reject the report. 93
The report of the committee on conference may not be amended. If a 94
joint standing committee rejects the report of the committee on 95
conference, the board's recommendations shall be deemed approved. If 96
the joint standing committees accept the report of the committee on 97
conference, the joint standing committee having cognizance of matters 98
relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies shall advise 99
the board of said joint standing committees' approval or modifications, 100
if any, of the board's recommended disbursement. If said joint standing 101
committees do not act within thirty days after receipt of the board's 102
recommendations for the authorization of disbursement, such 103
recommendations shall be deemed approved. Disbursement from the 104
trust fund shall be in accordance with the board's recommendations as 105
approved or modified by said joint standing committees. 106
(3) After such recommendations for the authorization of 107
disbursement have been approved or modified pursuant to subdivision 108
(2) of this subsection, any modification in the amount of an authorized 109
disbursement in excess of fifty thousand dollars or ten per cent of the 110
authorized amount, whichever is less, shall be submitted to said joint 111
standing committees and approved, modified or rejected in accordance 112
with the procedure set forth in subdivision (2) of this subsection. 113
Notification of all disbursements from the trust fund made pursuant to 114
this section shall be sent to the joint standing committees of the General 115
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public health and 116 Raised Bill No. 6730
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appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, through the Office of 117
Fiscal Analysis. 118
(4) The board of trustees shall submit a biennial report to the joint 119
standing committees of the General Assembly having cognizance of 120
matters relating to public health and appropriations and the budgets of 121
state agencies, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a. Such 122
report shall include, but need not be limited to, an accounting of the 123
unexpended amount in the trust fund, if any, all disbursements and 124
other expenditures from the trust fund and an evaluation of the 125
performance and impact of each program receiving funds from the trust 126
fund. Such report shall also include the measurable outcome and 127
evaluation criteria and application process used to select programs to 128
receive such funds. 129
Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 53-344 of the general statutes is 130
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 131
2023): 132
[(d) (1) A seller or seller's agent or employee shall request that each 133
person intending to purchase cigarettes or a tobacco product present a 134
driver's license or identity card to establish that such person is twenty-135
one years of age or older.] 136
[(2)] (1) A seller or seller's agent or employee may perform a 137
transaction scan to check the validity of a driver's license or identity card 138
presented by a cardholder as a condition for selling, giving away or 139
otherwise distributing cigarettes or a tobacco product to the cardholder. 140
[(3)] (2) If the information deciphered by the transaction scan 141
performed under subdivision [(2)] (1) of this subsection fails to match 142
the information printed on the driver's license or identity card presented 143
by the cardholder, or if the transaction scan indicates that the 144
information so printed is false or fraudulent, neither the seller nor any 145
seller's agent or employee shall sell, give away or otherwise distribute 146
any cigarettes or a tobacco product to the cardholder. 147 Raised Bill No. 6730
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[(4)] (3) Subdivision [(2)] (1) of this subsection does not preclude a 148
seller or seller's agent or employee from using a transaction scan device 149
to check the validity of a document other than a driver's license or an 150
identity card, if the document includes a bar code or magnetic strip that 151
may be scanned by the device, as a condition for selling, giving away or 152
otherwise distributing cigarettes or a tobacco product to the person 153
presenting the document. 154
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2023 4-28f
Sec. 2 July 1, 2023 53-344(d)
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the Department of Public Health's recommendations
regarding (1) the Tobacco and Health Trust Fund's purposes; and (2) the
requirement for sellers to check the identification of the purchaser prior
to selling cigarettes or tobacco products.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]