OLYMPIA — Lawmakers are considering a pair of bills that would raise the legal age for the use of tobacco and vaping products in the state from 18 to 21.
State Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Sequim; Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim; and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam — representing the 24th District, which covers Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County — said they support the change.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson also supports the legislation.
In both House Bill 2313 and Senate Bill 6157, anyone who sells tobacco products to a person younger than 21 would be guilty of a gross misdemeanor, according to The Capitol Record.
“I would be in favor” of passing the legislation, Hargrove said Friday.
“I think smoking is bad for everybody. We ought to probably raise it to 81.”
Nicotine “is one of the most addictive drugs, so I would just as soon do everything we can to keep it out of the hands of kids,” Hargrove said.
The bill will help keep tobacco away from teens younger than 18 who rely on young adults to purchase tobacco or vaping equipment on their behalf, Tharinger said.
“Eighteen-year-olds, I think, supply a lot of tobacco to even younger teenagers,” he said.
And, preventing teens from smoking will hopefully prevent them from picking up the habit later in life, Tharinger said.
“The data is really solid on the fact that if we get people not to smoke when they are young, there is a good chance they won’t smoke at all and they will have a healthier life.”
Van De Wege said that, in the past, he has had concerns about raising the legal age out of fear of creating a “nanny state” law.
“However, I have gotten to the point where the data clearly shows people get hooked on tobacco products at that age of their life and the more we can help curb that, the healthier [residents] will be and the less the state will have to spend on smoking related illnesses.”
The House Judiciary Committee currently is discussing a series of gun-related bills, including one that would allow cities to pass laws to restrict guns in public places in addition to state and federal laws already on the books.
House Bill 2460 would give cities, towns and counties the authority to regulate firearms in public parks, recreational facilities, libraries and transit facilities, according to The Capitol Record.
“I oppose that,” Van De Wege said.
“The state pre-empts local governments from being able to do that, and it is a mixture of state and federal laws that ban guns in courthouses, schools and stadiums,” he said.
“To go beyond that causes a lot of confusion among people that feel the need to carry a weapon with them. It is their right to be able to do that, and I think the system we have in place now is a good, solid system.”
Van De Wege said the state does not need a “patchwork” of laws “where you can carry guns and where you can’t carry guns. Right now it is clear to folks, and I think we should leave it that way.”
A bill sponsored by Van De Wege that would restrict outdoor burning and all fireworks during the summer months has met major opposition.
House Bill 2310 would ban the sale and use of fireworks from June 1 to Sept. 30, according to The Capitol Record.
Additionally, fireworks purchased legally elsewhere could not be discharged in Washington.
The bill also would ban outdoor burning from July 1 to Sept. 30.
Van De Wege, a firefighter from Sequim, has said the bill would help prevent wildfires such as those that burned across Eastern Washington last summer, costing the state $250 million and resulting in the deaths of three firefighters.
Several people, including fireworks industry representatives, testified against the bill at a hearing last week.
“There were concerns brought up,” including fears of lost revenues and industry lay offs during the summer months, Van De Wege said.
Van De Wege is considering taking the fireworks ban out of his bill and returning to that issue in a future session.
He also is considering removal of the outdoor fire ban, instead focusing on household vegetation burning, “which generally is banned during the summer anyway,” he said.
“It certainly is in Clallam County, but this would make it statewide.”
Over in the Senate, Hargrove has sponsored a bill that would raise property taxes to fund fire prevention efforts statewide.
Senate Bill 6766 “raises about $25 million over the biennium which we would be spending on various types of prevention and staffing up our firefighters,” he said.
“It does that through a $4.95 parcel assessment on every [taxable] parcel in the state,” with certain exemptions.
The assessment currently is $4.66.
Lawmakers probably will not complete legislation to address the McCleary decision until the 2017 session, Tharinger said.
The decision is named for Stephanie McCleary, a Sequim native who is a Chimacum parent and school district human resources director.
McCleary was the lead plaintiff in a state Supreme Court decision in 2012 directing the Legislature to fund basic public education.
Legislators are considering “how we will address that issue next year,” Tharinger said.
“I think there is a lot of us that would like to do more, but this is just a really complicated equation.”
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
