89R8754 MCF-D
By: Lalani H.B. No. 2300
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the distribution of hookahs; creating a criminal
offense.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 161, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter H-1 to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER H-1. DISTRIBUTION OF HOOKAHS
Sec. 161.095. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Hookah" means a type of water pipe with a long
flexible tube for drawing aerosol through water and used to smoke
tobacco products, including shisha tobacco products, or
non-tobacco products.
(2) "Minor" means an individual under 21 years of age.
(3) "Retailer" means a person who engages in the
practice of selling hookahs to consumers and includes a restaurant,
bar, or cafe at which a hookah is provided for use by customers
on-site. The term includes the owner of a vending machine.
Sec. 161.096. PROHIBITED SALE OR USE OF HOOKAHS TO
INDIVIDUALS YOUNGER THAN 21 YEARS OF AGE; CRIMINAL OFFENSE; PROOF
OF AGE REQUIRED. (a) A person commits an offense if the person,
with criminal negligence:
(1) sells, gives, or provides for use at a retailer, or
causes to be sold, given, or provided for use at a retailer, a
hookah to a minor; or
(2) sells, gives, provides for use, or causes to be
sold, given, or provided for use, a hookah to another person who
intends to deliver the hookah to a minor.
(b) If an offense under this section occurs in connection
with a sale by an agent or employee of a retailer in which hookahs
are sold at retail or provided for customer use on-site, the agent
or employee is criminally responsible for the offense and is
subject to prosecution.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(d) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(1)
that the individual to whom the hookah was sold, given, or provided
for use presented to the defendant an apparently valid proof of
identification.
(e) A proof of identification satisfies the requirements of
Subsection (d) if it contains a physical description and photograph
consistent with the individual's appearance, purports to establish
that the individual is 21 years of age or older, and was issued by a
governmental agency. The proof of identification may include a
driver's license issued by this state or another state, a passport,
or an identification card issued by a state or the federal
government.
(f) It is an exception to the application of Subsection
(a)(1) that the individual to whom the hookah was sold, given, or
provided:
(1) is at least 18 years of age; and
(2) presented at the time of purchase a valid military
identification card of the United States military forces or the
state military forces.
Sec. 161.097. SALE OR PROVISION OF HOOKAH TO INDIVIDUALS
YOUNGER THAN 30 YEARS OF AGE. (a) A person may not sell, give,
provide for use at a retailer, or cause to be sold, given, or
provided for use at a retailer, a hookah to an individual who is
younger than 30 years of age unless the individual to whom the
hookah was sold, given, or provided presents an apparently valid
proof of identification.
(b) An owner of a retailer shall adequately supervise and
train the retailer's agents and employees to prevent a violation of
Subsection (a).
(c) A proof of identification described by Section
161.096(e) satisfies the requirements of Subsection (a).
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.