BILL REQ. #: H-1760.1
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2011 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/17/11.
AN ACT Relating to establishing special license endorsements for cigar lounges and retail tobacconist shops; amending RCW 70.160.060; adding new sections to chapter 82.26 RCW; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 82.26 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) A person holding a tobacco products retailer's license issued
under this chapter may apply through the master license system under
chapter 19.02 RCW for a special endorsement as a cigar lounge or retail
tobacconist shop subject to the requirements of this section.
(2) A fee of fifteen thousand dollars must accompany each special
license endorsement application under subsection (3) of this section
and a fee of five thousand dollars must accompany each special license
endorsement application under subsection (4) of this section.
(3) The board must issue an endorsement as a cigar lounge to a
business that meets the requirements of subsections (1) and (2) of this
section and that has submitted an affidavit to the board certifying
that it:
(a) Is an establishment or part of an establishment specifically
designated for the smoking of tobacco products, purchased on the
premises or elsewhere, which is physically separated from any areas of
the same or adjacent location where smoking is prohibited under state
law. For the purposes of this subsection, "physically separated" means
an area that is enclosed on all sides by solid, impermeable walls or
windows extending from the floor to ceiling with self-closing doors.
(b) Will not allow cigarettes to be smoked in the area designated
in (a) of this subsection;
(c) Holds a valid spirits, beer, and wine license in good standing
from the board;
(d) Has a valid uniform business identifier number and, if it is an
established business with reportable gross receipts, has paid all
applicable state business and occupation taxes in the year prior to
application for endorsement;
(e) In the year immediately preceding initial application or
renewal, derived at least twenty-five thousand dollars of the business'
annual gross income from the combination of the sale of tobacco
products, tobacco products related paraphernalia, and the rental of on-site humidor space. In the case where this is the first endorsement
application, the applicant may use any year prior to the initial
application to meet the requirements of this subsection or must show
proof that it has purchased, at wholesale, at least twelve thousand
five hundred dollars in tobacco products and tobacco products related
paraphernalia;
(f) Has obtained a signed letter, on appropriate letterhead, from
a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning, and refrigeration
contractor holding a valid registration with the department of labor
and industries pursuant to chapter 18.27 RCW, which certifies that the
ventilation and exhaust system for the area designated in (a) of this
subsection:
(i) Is separate and distinct from the location's general heating,
ventilation, and air-conditioning system;
(ii) Has an air flow, as calculated in cubic feet per minute, that
will provide for at least thirteen or more air changes within the space
served by the ventilation and exhaust system;
(iii) Uses the correct quantity of filters recommended by the
manufacturer of the ventilation and exhaust system and that those
filters have a minimum efficiency rating value of 14 or higher. For
the purposes of this subsection, "minimum efficiency rating value"
means the air-cleaning performance rating value as expressed in
American society of heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning
engineers standard 52.2-2007; and
(iv) Uses a loose-fill, rechargeable-type sorbent material
positioned across the airflow in such a configuration that gaseous
contaminants will have a residence time of one-tenth of one second or
more within the sorbent material. For the purposes of this section,
"residence time" must be calculated consistent with the recommendations
outlined in Chapter 45 of the 2007 American society of heating,
refrigerating, and air-conditioning engineers handbook - HVAC
applications entitled "Control of Gaseous Indoor Air Contaminants";
(g) Has on file, from each employee that may work in the area
designated in (a) of this subsection, a signed acknowledgment that the
employee has been advised of and accepts that environmental tobacco
smoke may be present in their potential work area. The acknowledgment
must contain the following provision in bold-faced type: "I, the
undersigned, acknowledge and certify that I have had sufficient
opportunity to read the entire acknowledgment of risks, that I
understand its content, and that I execute it freely and without duress
of any kind." The acknowledgment must contain the signature of the
employee, the employer, and a disinterested third-party witness;
(h) Will post signage indicating that environmental tobacco smoke
may be present in the establishment or part of the establishment. This
signage must be in the form and manner provided by the board and must
be placed in a conspicuous location at each entry to the area
designated in (a) of this subsection.
(4) The board must issue an endorsement as a retail tobacconist
shop to a business that meets the requirements of subsections (1) and
(2) of this section and that has submitted an affidavit to the board
certifying that it:
(a) Is an establishment whose primary purpose is the sale of
tobacco products and tobacco product related paraphernalia and that is
physically separated from any adjacent location where smoking is
prohibited under state law. For the purposes of this subsection,
"physically separated" means an area that is enclosed on all sides by
solid, impermeable walls or windows extending from the floor to ceiling
with self-closing doors;
(b) Will not allow cigarettes to be smoked in the area designated
in (a) of this subsection;
(c) Will prohibit entry into the area designated in subsection
(3)(a) of this section to any person under the age of eighteen;
(d) Has a valid uniform business identifier number and, if an
established business with reportable gross receipts, has paid all
applicable state business and occupation taxes in the year prior to
application for endorsement;
(e) In the year immediately preceding initial application or
renewal, derived at least seventy-five percent of the business' annual
gross income from the combination of the sale of tobacco products and
tobacco product related paraphernalia. In the case where this is the
first endorsement application, the applicant may use any year prior to
the initial application to meet the requirements of this subsection or
must show proof that it has purchased, at wholesale, at least twenty-five thousand dollars in tobacco products and tobacco products related
paraphernalia;
(f) Has obtained a signed letter, on appropriate letterhead, from
a heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning, and refrigeration
contractor holding a valid registration with the department of labor
and industries pursuant to chapter 18.27 RCW, which certifies that the
ventilation and exhaust system for the area designated in (a) of this
subsection:
(i) Is separate and distinct from the location's general heating,
ventilation, and air-conditioning system;
(ii) Has an airflow, as calculated in cubic feet per minute, that
provides for at least thirteen or more air changes within the space
served by the ventilation and exhaust system; and
(iii) Uses the correct quantity of filters recommended by the
manufacturer of the ventilation and exhaust system and that those
filters have a minimum efficiency rating value of fourteen or higher.
For the purposes of this subsection, "minimum efficiency rating value"
means the air-cleaning performance rating value as expressed in
American society of heating, refrigerating, and air-conditioning
engineers standard 52.2-2007; and
(iv) Uses a loose-fill, rechargeable-type sorbent material
positioned across the airflow in such a configuration that gaseous
contaminants will have a residence time of one-tenth of one second or
more within the sorbent material. For the purposes of this section,
"residence time" must be calculated consistent with the recommendations
outlined in Chapter 45 of the 2007 American society of heating,
refrigerating, and air-conditioning engineers handbook - HVAC
applications entitled "Control of Gaseous Indoor Air Contaminants";
(g) Has on file, from each employee that may work in the area
designated in (a) of this subsection, a signed acknowledgment that the
employee has been advised of and accepts that environmental tobacco
smoke may be present in their potential work area. The acknowledgment
must contain the following provision in bold-faced type: "I, the
undersigned, acknowledge and certify that I have had sufficient
opportunity to read the entire acknowledgment of risks, that I
understand its content, and that I execute it freely and without duress
of any kind." The acknowledgment must contain the signature of the
employee, the employer, and a disinterested third-party witness;
(h) Will post signage indicating that environmental tobacco smoke
may be present in the establishment or part of the establishment. This
signage must be in the form and manner provided by the board and must
be placed in a conspicuous location at each entry to the area
designated in (a) of this subsection.
(5) No employer may discharge, threaten to discharge, demote, deny
a promotion to, sanction, discipline, retaliate against, harass, or
otherwise discriminate against an employee, employed by the employer on
or before the effective date of this section, solely for refusing to
consent to or sign the acknowledgment required in subsections (3)(g) or
(4)(g) of this section.
(6) The affidavits required under this section must be submitted in
a form and manner as prescribed by the board to effectively administer
the provisions of this chapter.
(7) The board may request additional documentation or information
from an applicant in order to verify that the business meets the
requirements of this section. The applicant must comply with requests
from the department under this subsection or the board may withhold
issuance of an endorsement.
(8) Endorsements granted under this section are effective for the
same period as provided in the tobacco products retailer's license
granted to the applicant under this chapter. However, the affidavit
required under this section must be completed and verified each year by
the board and the appropriate fee paid in full before any endorsement
to a tobacco retailer license is issued or renewed.
(9) Endorsement decisions by the board must be made no later than
twenty-one business days following the submittal of a completed
affidavit together with the appropriate fee. Rejections of an
application for an endorsement under this section may be appealed under
the same process provided for other licenses issued by the board.
(10) At no point during any calendar year may the board allow the
total number of cigar lounge endorsements in the state to exceed one
hundred or the total number of retail tobacco shop endorsements in the
state to exceed five hundred. The board must administer the
distribution of cigar lounge or retail tobacco shop endorsements and
must ensure that the collective number of cigar lounge or retail
tobacco shop endorsements located within all counties with a population
of over five hundred thousand never exceed one-half of the endorsements
allowed under this subsection for each endorsement respectively.
Renewing applicants must be given priority over new applicants for
endorsements under these limitations.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 82.26 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) Up to five percent of the fees collected under section 1 of
this act must be deposited into the liquor revolving fund created in
RCW 66.08.170, to be used to cover the administrative costs of
implementing and enforcing the endorsements created in section 1 of
this act.
(2) The remaining funds collected under section 1 of this act must
be deposited into the education legacy trust account created in RCW
83.100.230, which must be used solely as appropriated to the passport
to college promise program established in chapter 28B.117 RCW.
Sec. 3 RCW 70.160.060 and 1995 c 369 s 60 are each amended to
read as follows:
This chapter is not intended to:
(1) Regulate smoking in a private enclosed workplace, within a
public place, even though such workplace may be visited by nonsmokers,
excepting places in which smoking is prohibited by the chief of the
Washington state patrol, through the director of fire protection, or by
other law, ordinance, or regulation;
(2) Regulate use or smoking of tobacco products, as that term is
defined under chapter 82.26 RCW, in a public place or place of
employment that holds a valid endorsement to their tobacco products
retailer's license under section 1 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 This act is necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the
state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect
immediately.