Vapes could be off limits to teens

Fort Lauderdale is preparing to ban tobacco sales to anyone younger than 21

Teenagers could be out of luck if they want to buy their vape products in Fort Lauderdale.

The city is preparing to snuff out sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products to anyone younger than 21, becoming only the second community in Florida to take the action.

The ban would apply to e-cigarettes, e-pipes, vapor products, or hookahs, as well as traditional cigarettes. It also would apply to tobacco products like rolling papers, filters, pens, pipes and tobacco cartridges.

City commissioners moved forward with the new law Tuesday and could approve it at a final hearing in two weeks. Enforcement would begin six weeks later, a city memo says.

Under the law, businesses that sold cigarettes to young people — or even doled out tobacco products free to anyone younger than 21 — could be fined,

The first time the law was violated, a warning would be given. A second offense would carry a $500 civil citation. A third offense or more would draw $1,000 fines each day.

All stores selling cigarettes would be required to post a sign alerting the public that sales are restricted to those 21 or older, up from age 18 now. Vending machines would no longer be allowed in city limits, unless access were restricted to those of age.

Alachua County in January became the first community in Florida to pass a “Tobacco 21” law. Fort Lauderdale would be the second, according to the Preventing Tobacco Addiction Foundation.

Nationwide, at least 475 cities and 18 states raised the age to 21, the same threshold for buying beer or liquor.

Fort Lauderdale is just one of 31 cities in Broward County, so young smokers still would be free to buy their smokes somewhere else. But proponents of the law say momentum builds when cities pass the higher age limit, sometimes culminating in a statewide law.

City documents supporting

of Supervisors of Elections President Tammy Jones, said the Legislature will need to approve the $1.3 million cost of mailing postcards to all eligible but unregistered voters.

But Okaloosa supervisor Paul Lux said those costs will come down considerably for the next election cycle after 2020. ERIC requires each eligible voter be notified just one time only, Lux said, and going forward the state would only have to reach out to new residents arriving after each election.

The decision to join comes a year after Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill making the state eligible to join ERIC.

Supervisors, many of whom were at the Orange elections office for the announcement, said they were thrilled about the decision, which they have been pushing for for years — and which they did not know was coming as of Wednesday morning.

“For our association, which was meeting this morning to go over our legislative priorities, this was our number one priority to get the Legislature to do,” said Orange supervisor Bill Cowles. “And we just crossed that off our list.”

Patricia Brigham, the president of the Florida League of Women Voters, said the league was “delighted” DeSantis joined the compact.

“There was a delay, there’s no question about that,” Brigham said. “I can’t speculate as to why. The main thing is to focus on the positive. DeSantis put the kibosh on that [delay], and now it’s up to the Legislature to make sure money is allocated for ERIC.”

DeSantis also touched on a recent study by Daniel A. Smith at the University of Florida that estimated 4 in 5 ex-felons would not have their voting rights restored following the passage of Amendment 4 last year because they still owed fines, fees or restitution. Paying those in full was a requirement included in a law implementing Amendment 4 DeSantis signed in June.

DeSantis said a study doesn’t include all data and it was still unclear how many former felons still owed money as part of their sentences.

And, he said, the controversial law “is actually more liberal than what the actual amendment [said], because the amendment did not have any accommodation for people who were indigent. The Legislature provided that, and so if you owe $500 in restitution, you can actually go to the court and say, ‘I just can’t pay it, but I’d like to do that.’ And the court can give you relief. The amendment provided no pathway for that.”