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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to nicotine products; providing a 2
short title; amending s. 569.33, F.S.; providing that 3
applicants for retail tobacco products dealer permits 4
consent to inspection and search without a warrant; 5
amending s. 569.35, F.S.; authorizing the Divi sion of 6
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco of the Department of 7
Business and Professional Regulation to assess 8
specified fines and certain penalties for each 9
violation involving the sale of a single -use nicotine 10
dispensing device that has not received a marke ting 11
granted order under 21 U.S.C. s. 387j or advertising, 12
promoting, or displaying for sale such devices; 13
directing the deposit of specified amounts of such 14
fines into the Professional Regulation Trust Fund and 15
the Department of Law Enforcement Operating Trust 16
Fund; providing a criminal penalty; requiring that any 17
administrative fines assessed to be used for specified 18
purposes; amending s. 569.37, F.S.; restricting 19
advertising, promoting, and displaying for sale 20
certain single-use nicotine dispensing devic es by 21
retail nicotine products dealers in certain instances; 22
authorizing advertising, promoting, and displaying for 23
sale certain single-use nicotine dispensing devices by 24
retail nicotine products dealers in certain instances; 25
HB 1277 2025
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
providing applicability; provi ding restrictions on 26
locations for specified dealers of nicotine products; 27
requiring dealers to submit specified information to 28
the division; requiring certain dealers to maintain 29
specified records; authorizing the division to request 30
and have access to su ch records; requiring dealers to 31
provide specified information within a certain time 32
period following such a request; requiring dealers to 33
submit an application to the division for conditional 34
use or legally recognized nonconforming use in 35
specified circumstances; requiring dealers to relocate 36
following approval of such applications within a 37
specified period of time; prohibiting dealers that are 38
required to relocate from being in breach of contract 39
of any lease agreement; amending s. 569.39, F.S.; 40
requiring the adoption of division rules to include 41
specified guidelines and authorizations; amending s. 42
569.44, F.S.; revising annual report requirements; 43
providing an effective date. 44
45
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 46
47
Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Florida Age Gate 48
Act." 49
Section 2. Section 569.33, Florida Statutes, is amended to 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
read: 51
569.33 Consent to inspection and search without warrant. — 52
An applicant for a retail nicotine products dealer permit , or a 53
retail tobacco products dealer permit issued under s. 569.003 , 54
by accepting the permit when issued, agrees that the place or 55
premises covered by the permit is subject to inspection and 56
search without a search warrant by the division or its 57
authorized assistants, and by sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, or 58
police officers, to determine compliance with this part. 59
Section 3. Section 569.35, Florida Statutes, is amended to 60
read: 61
569.35 Retail nicotine product dealers; administrative and 62
criminal penalties.— 63
(1) The division may suspend or revoke the permit of a 64
dealer, including the retail tobacco products dealer permit of a 65
retail tobacco products dealer , as defined in s. 569.002(4), 66
upon sufficient cause appearing of the violation of any of the 67
provisions of this part, by a dealer, or by a dealer's agent or 68
employee. 69
(2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), the division 70
may also assess and accept an administrative fine of up to 71
$1,000 against a dealer for each violation. The division shall 72
deposit all fines collecte d pursuant to this subsection into the 73
General Revenue Fund as collected. 74
(b) For each violation involving the sale of a single -use 75
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nicotine dispensing device that has not received a marketing 76
granted order under 21 U.S.C. s. 387j or the advertising, 77
promoting, or displaying for sale such devices, the division may 78
impose the following penalties: 79
1. For a first violation, an administrative fine of at 80
least $500, but not more than $1,000, and an order requiring 81
corrective action to be taken within 15 days after assessment of 82
such fine to preclude a recurrence. 83
2. For a second violation that occurs within 12 weeks 84
after the first violation, an administrative fine of $1,000 and 85
a suspension of up to 30 days of the dealer's retail nicotine 86
products dealer permit. 87
3. For a third or subsequent violation that occurs within 88
12 weeks after the previous violation, an administrative fine of 89
at least $2,500, but not more than $5,000, and at least a 30 -day 90
suspension or revocation of the dealer's nicotine products 91
dealer permit. 92
93
A second or subsequent violation that occurs more than 12 weeks 94
after the previous violation is punishable pursuant to 95
subparagraph (b)1. The division shall deposit one -half of all 96
fines collected under this paragraph into the Professional 97
Regulation Trust Fund, and the remaining one -half of the fines 98
collected shall be deposited into the Department of Law 99
Enforcement Operating Trust Fund. 100
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(c) In addition to any administrative penalties authorized 101
under subparagraph (b)3., a dealer, or a d ealer's agent or 102
employee, who commits a third or subsequent violation within 12 103
weeks after the previous violation commits a misdemeanor of the 104
second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 105
775.083. 106
(3) An order imposing an administrative fi ne becomes 107
effective 15 days after the date of the order. The division may 108
suspend the imposition of a penalty against a dealer, 109
conditioned upon the dealer's compliance with terms the division 110
considers appropriate. 111
(4) The administrative fines assessed under paragraph 112
(2)(b) shall be used by the division and the Department of Law 113
Enforcement to: 114
(a) Increase enforcement personnel. 115
(b) Fund compliance inspections and investigations 116
pursuant to s. 569.33. 117
(c) Develop and implement a public awareness campaign to 118
reduce nicotine use by persons under the age of 21. 119
Section 4. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 569.37, 120
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4) and (5), 121
respectively, present subsection (3) is amended, and a new 122
subsection (3) and subsection (6) are added to that section, to 123
read: 124
569.37 Sale or delivery of nicotine products; 125
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restrictions.— 126
(3)(a) A dealer that does not prohibit persons under 21 127
years of age on the licensed premises, that sells a single -use 128
nicotine dispensing device that has not received a marketing 129
granted order under 21 U.S.C. s. 387j, may not: 130
1. Advertise, promote, or display for sale such devices. 131
2. Advertise, promote, or display for sale such devices in 132
an area that is visible to persons outside of the dealer's 133
licensed premises. 134
3. Advertise, promote, or display for sale such devices on 135
the dealer's licensed premises in a manner visible to persons 136
under the age of 21, including, but not limited to, placement of 137
such devices in an open display unit located in an area visible 138
to persons under the age of 21. 139
(b) A dealer that prohibits persons under 21 years of age 140
on the licensed premises, that sells a single -use nicotine 141
dispensing device that has received a marketing granted order 142
under 21 U.S.C. s. 387j, may advertise, promote, or display for 143
sale such devices in an area that is visible to persons inside 144
or outside of the dealer's licensed premises. 145
(4)(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1), 146
and (2), and (3), this section doe s shall not apply to an 147
establishment that prohibits persons under 21 years of age on 148
the licensed premises. 149
(6)(a) A dealer that derives more than 20 percent of its 150
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gross monthly retail sales from the sale of nicotine products 151
may not be located within 500 feet of the real property that 152
comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, 153
or secondary school. The required distance must be measured on a 154
straight line from the nearest property line of the retail shop 155
to the nearest property line of the school. 156
(b) Each dealer must submit a survey certified under 157
chapter 472, performed at least 30 days before the date of the 158
submission of the application for a permit under s. 569.32, 159
containing a legal description of the boundaries of the place or 160
premises and any existing public or private elementary school, 161
middle school, or secondary school located within 500 feet. The 162
measurement scaled by the division governs any measurement 163
disputes. 164
(c) A dealer located within 500 feet of real property t hat 165
comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, 166
or secondary school must maintain records verifying the gross 167
monthly retail sales from the sale of nicotine products during 168
the previous 6 months, as well as the percentage of such sales 169
that represents the retail sales of nicotine dispensing devices. 170
The division may request and have access to such records for the 171
purpose of enforcement. Within 14 days after such request, the 172
dealer must provide a summary sales report verifying its sales 173
for the period of time requested. Failure of the dealer to 174
provide a sales report when requested by the division, or 175
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failure of the dealer to adequately demonstrate that the 176
business establishment has sold less than the required 177
percentage of nicotine prod ucts and nicotine dispensing devices, 178
is a violation of this section. 179
(d) Within 90 days after the opening of a public or 180
private elementary school, middle school, or secondary school 181
located within 500 feet of an existing place of business or 182
premises that sells nicotine products or nicotine dispensing 183
devices, as determined under paragraph (a), the dealer must 184
submit an application to the division for conditional use or 185
legally recognized nonconforming use in accordance with the 186
local government's appli cable land development regulations. Upon 187
approval of the division for conditional use or a legally 188
recognized nonconforming use, the dealer must relocate the 189
business or premises within 180 days to a new location in 190
compliance with this subsection. A deale r that is required to 191
relocate under this subsection may not be deemed to be in breach 192
of contract of any lease agreement. 193
(e) Within 90 days after July 1, 2025, a dealer that has a 194
place of business or premises located within 500 feet of a 195
public or private elementary school, middle school, or secondary 196
school, as determined under paragraph (a), must submit an 197
application to the division for conditional use or legally 198
recognized nonconforming use in accordance with the local 199
government's land development regulations. Upon approval of the 200
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division for conditional use or a legally recognized 201
nonconforming use, the dealer must relocate the business or 202
premises within 180 days to a new location in compliance with 203
this subsection. A dealer that is required to relocate under 204
this subsection may not be deemed to be in breach of contract of 205
any lease agreement. 206
Section 5. Section 569.39, Florida Statutes, is amended to 207
read: 208
569.39 Rulemaking authority. —The division shall adopt 209
rules to administer and enforc e this part. The rules shall 210
include guidelines for compliance audits and enforcement actions 211
pertaining to the advertising, promoting, or displaying for sale 212
single-use nicotine dispensing devices that have not received a 213
marketing granted order under 21 U.S.C. s. 387j. The rules shall 214
expressly authorize establishments that prohibit persons under 215
21 years of age on the licensed premises to sell disposable 216
nicotine dispensing devices that have not received a marketing 217
granted order under 21 U.S.C. s. 387j. 218
Section 6. Subsections (3) and (4) of section 569.44, 219
Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (4) and (5), 220
respectively, and a new subsection (3) is added to that section, 221
to read: 222
569.44 Annual report. —The division shall report annually 223
with written findings to the Legislature and the Governor by 224
December 31 on the progress of implementing the enforcement 225
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provisions of this part. This must include, but is not limited 226
to: 227
(3) The number of dealers cited for violations of s. 228
569.37(3) for advertising, promoting, or displaying for sale a 229
single-use nicotine dispensing device that has not received a 230
marketing granted order under 21 U.S.C. s. 387j, as well as the 231
penalties imposed as a result of the violation. 232
Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 233