Bill Text: NY S07179 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Prohibits retail dealers from opening a tobacco business within 500 feet of an already existing licensed tobacco business; provides an exception if it is determined to be in the public interest by the municipality or community board.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CONSUMER PROTECTION [S07179 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07179-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7179

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 18, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sen. FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Consumer Protection

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  general  business  law,  in relation to certain
          requirements for new tobacco business locations

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section
     2  396-aaaa to read as follows:
     3    §  396-aaaa.   New tobacco business locations. 1. For purposes of this
     4  section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (a) "Retail dealer" means a person licensed  by  the  commissioner  of
     6  taxation  and  finance  to  sell  cigarettes,  tobacco products, tobacco
     7  accessories or vapor products in the state of New York.
     8    (b) "Tobacco business" shall have the same meaning  as  such  term  is
     9  defined  in subdivision eight of section thirteen hundred ninety-nine-aa
    10  of the public health law.
    11    (c) "Tobacco products" means one or more cigarettes or cigars,  bidis,
    12  chewing  tobacco,  powdered tobacco, nicotine water or any other tobacco
    13  products.
    14    (d) "Tobacco accessories" means products, equipment  or  paraphernalia
    15  including, but not limited to, pipes, water pipes, herb grinders, vapor-
    16  izers,  hookahs, bongs, rolling papers or any other device, equipment or
    17  apparatus designed for the inhalation of tobacco and/or nicotine.
    18    (e) "Vapor product" means any vapor product,  as  defined  by  section
    19  thirteen  hundred  ninety-nine-aa  of the public health law, intended or
    20  reasonably expected to be used with or for the consumption of nicotine.
    21    2. (a) No retail dealer shall open a tobacco business in a city,  town
    22  or  village  having  a population of twenty thousand or more within five
    23  hundred feet of any existing licensed tobacco business.
    24    (b) The measurement in paragraph (a)  of  this  subdivision  shall  be
    25  taken  in a straight line from the center of the nearest entrance of the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10384-01-3

        S. 7179                             2

     1  premises sought to be established to the center of the nearest  entrance
     2  of such existing premises licensed and operating as a tobacco business.
     3    3.  Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of subdivision two
     4  of this section, a retail dealer shall be permitted to open a new tobac-
     5  co business which shall be within  five  hundred  feet  of  an  existing
     6  licensed  tobacco business if, after consultation with the local munici-
     7  pality or community board, such municipality or community  board  deter-
     8  mines  that  permitting  such new tobacco business to locate within five
     9  hundred feet of an existing licensed tobacco business would  be  in  the
    10  public interest. The municipality or community board may conduct a hear-
    11  ing or public meeting in connection with any request to locate a tobacco
    12  business  within five hundred feet of an existing licensed tobacco busi-
    13  ness and shall provide notice to the retail dealer at least fifteen days
    14  in advance of any scheduled hearing or public meeting.
    15    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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