1 ORDINANCE NO. 2025-150
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 2019-115 OF THE GONZALES CITY CODE (TOBACCO LICENSING)
TO PROHIBIT THE SALE OF ALL FLAVORED TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND TO
PROHIBIT SINGLE USE ELECTRONIC SMOKING PRODUCTS
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GONZALES DOES ORDAIN, as follows:
SECTION 1:
WHEREAS, state law prohibits the sale or furnishing of cigarettes, tobacco products, and smoking paraphernalia to minors, as well as the purchase, receipt, or possession of tobacco products by minors (Cal. Pen. Code § 308);
WHEREAS, state law explicitly permits cities and counties to enact local tobacco retail permitting ordinances and allows for the suspension or revocation of a local permit for a violation of any state tobacco control law (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 22971.3); WHEREAS, in 2019 the Gonzales City Council enacted Ordinance 2019-115 to establish a permitting system for tobacco retailers to ensure that retailers comply with tobacco control laws and business standards of the City to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City. Prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products also furthers these goals and objectives;
WHEREAS, prohibiting tobacco retailers from selling flavored tobacco products will not unduly burden legitimate business activities of retailers who sell cigarettes or other tobacco products to adults. It will, however, allow the City to regulate the operation of lawful businesses to discourage violations of local laws by selling flavored tobacco products; WHEREAS, the City has a substantial interest in promoting compliance with federal, state, and local laws intended to regulate flavored tobacco product sales and use; in discouraging the illegal purchase of flavored tobacco products by minors; in promoting compliance with laws prohibiting sales of e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products to minors; and finally, and most importantly, in protecting children from being lured into illegal activity through the misconduct of adults;
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 793, upheld on November 8, 2022, prohibits a tobacco retailer from selling or possessing with intent to sell, flavored tobacco products; WHEREAS, in a ruling issued on March 18, 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company et al v. County of Los Angeles, et al (9th Cir. 2022) 29 F.4th 542 held that the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, codified at 21 USC §387 et seq., did not preempt a city from banning the sale of some or all tobacco products; WHEREAS, in Chapter 7.80 of the Monterey County Code of Ordinances, passed initially on May 15, 2012, and updated on March 15, 2022, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors amended their Tobacco Retail License Ordinance in order to include a ban on flavored tobacco products and single use electronic cigarettes;
2 WHEREAS, more than 1.63 million young people in the United States reported vape use in 2024, including 7.8% of high school students and 3.5% of middle school students (FDA); WHEREAS, the majority of students who currently use e-cigarettes use a flavored ecigarette product (87.6% in 2024) (CDC); WHEREAS, the majority of students who currently use e-cigarettes use disposable cigarettes (55.6% in 2024) (CDC);
WHEREAS, 17.6% of high school students have reported using vape products in California in 2022 (California Youth Tobacco Survey);
WHEREAS, 20.8% of high school students in the Monterey County area have tried or currently use vape products as of 2023 (California Student Tobacco Survey); WHEREAS, e-cigarette use among youth has decreased significantly from 7.7% of youth in 2023 to only 5.9% of youth in 2024 (CDC);
WHEREAS, e-cigarette waste introduces plastic, nicotine salts, heavy metals, lead, mercury, and flammable lithium-ion batteries into waterways, soil, and to wildlife (CDC); WHEREAS, a garbology study performed in 12 San Francisco high schools from 2018 to 2019 to investigate e-cigarette, combustible cigarette, and cannabis product waste revealed that 99% of identifiable e-cigarette waste was from flavored pods other than tobacco flavor and 42% of all identifiable combustible cigarette waste was menthol flavored. In the same study, menthol flavored waste accounted for 60% in low-income schools, 38% in middle-income schools, and 28% in high-income schools of all identifiable combustible cigarette waste (CDC); WHEREAS, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries report on marine debris on the shoreline of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary in 2023 found 1,331 individual pieces of ecigarette waste through clean-up efforts from 2017-2021; WHEREAS, adolescents obtain e-cigarettes from a variety of sources, including purchasing from a store or online (31%), buying from another person (16%), and giving a person of legal age money to purchase for them (15%) (AJHP Pepper et al 2019); WHEREAS, the City of Gonzales determined that the proposed action is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (CCR, Title 14, Chapter 3 (“CEQA Guidelines), Article 20, Section 15378). In addition, CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 includes the general rule that CEQA applies only to activities which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. Because the proposed action and this matter have no potential to cause any effect on the environment, or because it falls within a category of activities excluded as projects pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378, this matter is not a project. Because the matter does not cause a direct or any reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change on or in the environment, this matter is not a project. Any subsequent discretionary projects resulting from this action will be assessed for CEQA applicability.
3 NOW THEREFORE, the Gonzales City Council declares as follows:
SECTION 2: The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by reference.
SECTION 3: City of Gonzales Ordinance 2019-115, 4.70.010 – Purpose and Application, subsection is hereby amended to read as follows:
“C. This article is adopted to: (1) ensure compliance with business standards and practices of the City; (2) to encourage responsible retailing of tobacco; (3) to limit the sale of tobacco products to those with the taste or aroma of tobacco, or no taste or aroma at all; and (4) to discourage violations of tobacco-related laws, but not to expand or reduce the degree to which the acts regulated by federal or state law are criminally proscribed or otherwise regulated.” SECTION 4: City of Gonzales Ordinance 2019-115, 4.70.020 – Definitions, subsection is hereby relettered sequentially by inserting the following new definitions in alphabetical order into the existing text:
“C. “Flavored tobacco product" shall mean any tobacco product that contains a taste or smell, other than the taste or smell of tobacco, that is distinguishable by a consumer either prior to, or during the consumption of, a tobacco product, including but not limited to, any taste or smell relating to fruit, menthol, mint, wintergreen, chocolate, cocoa, vanilla, honey or any candy, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice.
D. "Health Officer" means the Health Officer of the County of Monterey or his or her designee.
N. "Sale," "sell" or "to sell" means any transaction where, for any consideration, ownership is transferred from one (1) person or entity to another including, but not limited to any transfer of title or possession for consideration, exchange or barter, in any manner by any means.
O. "Single use electronic cigarette" means any single-use device or delivery system sold in combination with nicotine which can be used to deliver to a person nicotine in aerosolized or vaporized form, including but not limited to, a single-use e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, vape pen, or e-hookah. Single use electronic cigarettes shall not include any product that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for sale as a tobacco cessation product or other therapeutic purposes where that product is marketed and sold solely for such approved use.
P. "State" means the State of California.”
SECTION 5: City of Gonzales Ordinance 2019-115, 4.70.040 – Issuance of License, subsection, is hereby relettered sequentially by inserting the following new definitions in alphabetical order into the existing text:
“G. It shall be a violation of this Chapter for any tobacco retailer or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees to sell or offer for sale, or to possess with intent to sell or offer for sale, any flavored tobacco product.
1. It should be a rebuttable presumption that a tobacco retailer in possession of four (4) or more flavored tobacco products, including, but not limited to, individual flavored 4 tobacco products, packages of flavored tobacco products, or any combination thereof, possesses such flavored tobacco products with intent to sell or offer for sale.
2. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a tobacco product is a flavored tobacco product if a tobacco retailer, manufacturer, or any employee or agent of a tobacco retailer or manufacturer has:
a. Made a public statement or claim that the tobacco product imparts a characterizing flavor;
b. Used text and/or images on the tobacco products' labeling or packaging to explicitly or implicitly indicate that the tobacco product imparts a characterizing flavor; or c. Taken action directed to consumers that would be reasonably expected to cause consumers to believe the tobacco product imparts a characterizing flavor.
H. It shall be a violation of this Chapter for any tobacco retailer or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees to sell or offer for sale, or to possess with intent to sell or offer for sale, any single use electronic cigarette.”
SECTION 6: All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
SECTION 7: This ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days from and after its final passage and adoption.
SECTION 8: Nothing in this Article shall be interpreted or applied to create any power or duty in conflict with any federal or state law. If any provision of this Article or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Article or the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.
INTRODUCE AND FIRST READ at regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Gonzales on the 2nd day of June, 2025, and was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council on the ___ day of June, 2025, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBERS:
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBERS:
Jose L. Rios, The Honorable Mayor
ATTEST:
__________________________________
Mary Villegas, Deputy City Clerk