Sonora, CA — Whether to pursue a program that would require sellers of tobacco products to acquire a special city license will be up for discussion at today’s Sonora City Council meeting.
Retailers of cigarettes and other tobacco products are already required to have a state license in California, but none of the money is distributed back to local jurisdictions to support the enforcement of it. Because of this, there are limited efforts to crack down on the sale of tobacco to minors. If the city passes an ordinance, the retailers would be required to pay a local fee to fund surveillance and enforcement of tobacco laws.
The initiative is being spearheaded by the Tuolumne County Public Health Department and the Blue Zones project. Meeting documents note that Tuolumne County exceeds state averages for both adult and youth tobacco use. The groups will provide a presentation, and the council will decide whether they would like to pursue the matter in the future, and have them return with additional information and specific ideas (level of fees for retailers).
In addition, there will be a presentation from the Central Sierra Economic Development District about the Sierra Jobs First Program, and there will be a vote to allow the Police Department to accept $55,000 in funding from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
The meeting starts at 5 pm today (November 3) at Sonora City Hall.
