House panel cuts youth tobacco fines, advances Tobacco 21 bill

Alaska lawmakers continued work Saturday night on legislation to raise the tobacco age to 21, adopting amendments that reduce proposed fines for minors caught with tobacco products and eliminate mandatory court appearances. The House Finance Committee adjourned with additional amendments pending, planning to resume Sunday morning.

The measure responds to years of legislative efforts to raise Alaska's tobacco age and tax vaping products. While federal law set the tobacco purchasing age at 21 nationwide in 2019, states retain authority over possession penalties and taxation. Bill sponsor Gary Stevens said the legislation raises the legal age to buy, sell, use and possess cigarettes, nicotine products and e-cigarette products to 21. "This bill is an effort to push back on a multi-billion dollar industry that is trying to addict young people to these substances," Stevens said.

The committee adopted an amendment lowering the maximum fine for minors possessing tobacco from $300 to $100, passing 10-1. The change came after debate over how severely to penalize young people who become addicted to nicotine products.

"I just urge your support. It still keeps it an offense that requires some accountability, that being a $100 fine, up to a $100 fine, but is not so substantial," Sara Hannan said.

Andy Josephson cast the lone dissenting vote, arguing the reduced penalty was too lenient. "I think $100 is de minimis and not meaningful, and it is up to $300. That is apparently what the other body wanted," Josephson said.

The committee also adopted a second amendment eliminating mandatory court appearances for minors cited for tobacco possession. The change allows citations to be handled like traffic tickets, without requiring a court date.

"Amendment number 2 eliminates the mandatory court appearance for minors. That language appears in Section 4 on page 3. Adopting this amendment would allow minors accused of possession of tobacco to dispose of their citation without having to go to court," Hannan said.

Hannan explained that not all children have parents able to take time off work for court proceedings, and some rural communities lack local courts. "Not all children have parents or guardians that are able to take time off work to attend a court proceeding that they are mandated to as a minor. Not all communities have court for kids to go to," she said.

The committee rejected 4-7 an amendment that would have exempted active-duty military members under 21 from tobacco possession penalties. Representative Stapp, who sponsored the military exemption, argued that service members who can deploy to war zones should not face state fines for tobacco use.

Jamie Allard cited a Department of Defense memorandum opposing tobacco use among service members. She quoted Admiral Fuller: "If someone is young enough to fight for their country, they should be free from addiction to a deadly drug."

Hannan noted that federal law and Department of Defense policy already ban tobacco possession on military installations for those under 21. "They already, by federal law and Department of Defense, are excluded and banned from smoking or possessing tobacco on military installations," she said.

Stapp countered that the federal ban applies only to sales, not use. "If you go on Fort Wainwright or JBear or Eielson or Elmendorf, you will find hundreds of people that are not age 21 that are actively using tobacco products," Stapp said.

The committee also adopted an amendment adding synthetic nicotine products like Zyn to the state's tobacco tax. The products, which are manufactured in laboratories rather than derived from tobacco plants, currently fall through a loophole in state law.

The bill's sponsor advocated for a 25 percent retail tax on vaping products, though the committee withdrew Amendment 5 and did not offer Amendments 6 through 8 before turning to Amendment 9, which would replace the retail vape tax with a wholesale excise tax structure. Debate over the wholesale versus retail tax approach remained unresolved when the committee adjourned at 8:43 p.m., planning to resume work on the measure Sunday morning at 9 a.m.