It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Sections 11-9-13.6 and 11-9-13.11 of the General Laws in Chapter 11-9 entitled "Children" are hereby amended to read as follows:

11-9-13.6. Duties of the department of health. -- (a) The department of health shall:

(1) Coordinate and promote the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter and serve as the primary liaison from this department to other state or local agencies, departments, or divisions on issues pertaining to stopping children's access to tobacco.

(2) Provide retail tobacco products dealers signs concerning the prohibition of sales to children under eighteen (18) years of age. Said signs, conforming to the requirements of this chapter, shall be sold at cost. This sign, or an exact duplicate of it made privately, shall be displayed in all locations where tobacco products are sold.

(3) Investigate concurrently with other state and local officials violations of this chapter.

(4) Utilize unannounced statewide compliance checks of both tobacco product sales including retail tobacco over-the-counter sales, mail order sales initiated via mail, facsimile, telephone or internet ordering or other types of electronic communications, and tobacco vending machine sales as part of investigating compliance with the provisions of this chapter. Underage individuals, acting as agents for the department of health and with the written permission of a parent or guardian, may purchase, with impunity from prosecution, tobacco products for the purposes of law enforcement or government research involving monitoring compliance with this chapter, provided that the underage individuals are supervised by an adult law enforcement official. Any individual participating in an unannounced compliance check of over-the-counter or vending machine sales, must state his/her accurate age if asked by the sales representative of the retail establishment being checked.

In fulfilling the requirement of unannounced statewide compliance checks, the Department of health shall maintain complete records of the unannounced compliance checks, detailing, at least, the date of the compliance check, the name and address of the retail establishment checked or the mail order company, the results of the compliance check (sale/no sale), whether the sale was made as an over-the-counter sale, a mail order purchase or a tobacco vending machine sale, and if a citation was issued for any violation found. Said records shall be subject to public disclosure. Further, the department of health shall report to the owner of each retail establishment checked or mail order company, the results of any compliance check (sale/no sale) whether the sale was made as an over-the-counter sale, a mail order purchase or a tobacco vending machine sale, and if a citation was issued for any violation found.

(5) Seek enforcement, concurrently with other state and local officials, of the penalties as detailed in this chapter.

(6) Develop and disseminate community health education information and materials relating to this chapter.

11-9-13.11. Prohibition on the sale or conveyance of tobacco products through the mail to children under eighteen (18) -- General rule -- Prohibition on the sale or conveyance of tobacco products through the mail to children under eighteen (18) - Proof of age of purchaser required -- General rule. Prohibition on the sale or distribution of tobacco products through the mail to children under eighteen (18) Proof of age of purchaser required General rule. -- (a) The distribution, or sale or conveyance of tobacco products to children under the age of eighteen (18) via the United States postal service, or by any other public or private postal or package delivery service, shall be prohibited.

(b) Any person selling or distributing tobacco products in the form of cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, or snuff directly to a consumer via the United States postal service, or by any other public or private postal or package delivery service, including orders placed by mail, telephone, facsimile, or internet, shall: (1) before distributing or selling the tobacco product through any of these means, receive both a copy of a valid form of government identification showing date of birth to verify the purchaser is age eighteen (18) years or over and an attestation from the purchaser certifying that the information on the government identification truly and correctly identifies the purchaser and the purchaser's current address, and (2) deliver the tobacco product to the address of the purchaser given on the valid form of government identification and by a postal or package delivery service method that either limits delivery to that purchaser and requires the purchaser to sign personally to receive the delivery or requires a signature of an adult at the purchaser's address to deliver the package.

(c) The attorney general shall bring an action for any violation of this chapter. Any distribution, or sale or conveyance of a tobacco product to a child under eighteen (18) years of age via the United States postal service, or by any other public or private postal or package delivery service, shall be subject to an action against the distributor, or seller or conveyor by the attorney general of the state of Rhode Island. A minimum fine of five hundred dollars ($500) one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall be assessed against any distributor, or seller or conveyor convicted of distributing, or selling or conveying tobacco products via the United States postal service, or by any other public or private postal or package delivery service, for each delivery, or sale or conveyance of a tobacco product to a child under eighteen (18) years of age.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.