Public Safety Committee
February 25, 2025
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Jestin D. Johnson
City Administrator
FROM: Floyd Mitchell
Chief of Police
SUBJECT: CA DOJ Proposition 56 Tobacco Grant DATE: January 31, 2025
City Administrator Date
Approval
RECOMMENDATION
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate A Grant Award in the Amount of One Million Four Hundred Ninety-Three Thousand One Hundred Forty-Three Dollars ($1,493,143) From The State Of California Office Of Attorney General, For Fiscal Year 2024-2028, For The Implementation Of The Oakland Police Department Proposition 56 Tobacco Grant Program; And Authorizing The City’s General Purpose Fund To Contribute One Hundred Eighty-Six Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-Five Dollars ($186,995) To Cover Associated Central Services Overhead Costs.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Approval of the proposed resolution accompanying this report will allow the Oakland Police Department (OPD) to receive $1,493,143 in grant funding from The State of California Office of Attorney General Prop 56 Tobacco Grant Program. The grant funds will allow OPD’s Alcoholic Beverage Action Team (ABAT) to perform the following actions during the period of December 1, 2024 – June 30, 2028:
• Identify, target, and abate problematic tobacco retailer establishments engaged in illegal sales and marketing of tobacco, including flavored products • Expand training for merchants who sell tobacco
• Collaborate efforts with the Economic Workforce Development Department, the City Attorney’s Office, and the District Attorney’s Office to hold problem merchants accountable with civil and criminal penalties
• Educate and enforce laws related to minors being sold tobacco products and nicotine vapes
• Conduct yearly training classes to educate Police Officers and Code Enforcement Inspectors on tobacco laws and regulations.
Jestin Johnson (Feb 13, 2025 18:18 PST)
Feb 13, 2025
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: CA DOJ Proposition 56 Tobacco Grant
Date: January 31, 2025 Page 2
Public Safety Committee
February 25, 2025
BACKGROUND AND LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
The Department of Justice Prop 56 Tobacco grant program is specifically designated by the Office of the Attorney General to provide financial resources to law enforcement agencies throughout California to conduct enforcement activities that target retailers for the illegal sales/marketing of tobacco products in California.
OPD will combine enforcement efforts in partnership with the Economic Workforce Development Department to identify and prevent the unlawful sale of tobacco products, including illegal sales to minors. The focus will be on regulating licensed tobacco premises along with unlicensed, illegal “smoke shops” and “gift shops.”
The City of Oakland has also attempted to solve tobacco control enforcement issues through the enactment of local ordinances which required all tobacco merchants to obtain a City of Oakland Tobacco Retailer License (TRL) in order to vend tobacco. Tobacco stores may lose their TRL if they continuously violate tobacco regulations, including sales of tobacco products to minors.
In May 2022, Oakland enacted ordinance No. 13591 C.M.S
., which banned flavored tobacco
products from being sold in the City. The City has witnessed a surge in unlicensed and illegal tobacco merchants who do not have the required State, Local, and Zoning Clearances to vend tobacco products. While the TRL Program and Oakland Police Department ABAT’s efforts have produced some positive results, additional resources are necessary to conduct enforcement efforts and education opportunities for merchants.
OPD has implemented and maintains a practical system for tracking and documenting actions taken on nuisance tobacco establishments. This grant will provide for OPD to centralize data sharing by creating a database with tobacco enforcement efforts that can be shared with other City departments. Allowing information sharing across different City departments will lead to more efficient investigations by providing multiple users accesses to data. This coordination will ensure that inspections and enforcement efforts are not duplicated, streamlining the process and reducing unnecessary overlap. The sharing of information will foster greater collaboration between law enforcement and other city departments. All departments can work together towards a common investigative goal.
ANALYSIS AND POLICY ALTERNATIVES
This policy action advances the citywide priority of responsive, trustworthy government because it will help educate merchants, Police Officers, and Code Inspectors about tobacco laws and regulations. It is specifically targeted to reduce the illegal sales and marketing of tobacco, which directly benefits the public health of youth and the community.
ABAT's limited funding restricts efforts to expand enforcement operations. This CA DOJ Prop 56 Tobacco Grant will provide funding for additional staffing required to effectively conduct tobacco enforcement efforts and undertake required educational opportunities for merchants and City Employees.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: CA DOJ Proposition 56 Tobacco Grant
Date: January 31, 2025 Page 3
Public Safety Committee
February 25, 2025
OPD has received grant assistance from the State of California on Alcohol Enforcement for eleven out of the past twelve years. Building on the success of previous grants for alcohol and tobacco enforcement, OPD has consistently demonstrated its ability and commitment to effectively manage and administer grant funds. The department has a proven track record of meeting reporting requirements and collaborating with other departments to ensure accurate financial records are maintained in relation to grant operations.
The grant term is from December 1, 2024, to June 30, 2028.
Grant Objectives:
• Conduct no fewer than 80 retail inspections per year
• Conduct no fewer than 6 undercover buy operations per year • Conduct no fewer than 6 minor decoy operations per year • Provide education materials to over 430 tobacco retailers per year • Provide educational training to merchants yearly
• Provide educational training to Police Officers and Code Enforcement Officers annually
FISCAL IMPACT
Table 1 below outlines the staffing costs of the enforcement work during the 2024-28 fiscal year (FY); Table 2 outlines Equipment costs; and Table 3 summarizes all costs. The grant covers the personnel cost of one officer through 2027 and partially for 2028, as indicated in Table 1 below.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: CA DOJ Proposition 56 Tobacco Grant
Date: January 31, 2025 Page 4
Public Safety Committee
February 25, 2025
Table 1: Summary of Staffing Costs
Personnel Cost FTE FY 2024-25
(4 Months)
FY 2025-26
(12 Months)
FY 2026-27
(12 Months)
FY 2027-28
(8 Months)
Police Officer
(Grant Fund)
1.57 $142,483 $459,352 $485,171 $344,808
Police Officer
(General Purpose
Fund)
0.43 $129,777 $418,391 $441,907 $310,808
Total 2.00 $272,260 $877,743 $927,078 $655,616
Table 2: Equipment Costs
Item FY 2024-28 Cost
Acella Database $34,125
Callyo App $18,450
Two (2) Panasonic Toughbook Computers $6,504
Undercover Buy Monies $2,250
Total $61,329
Table 3: Summary of All Costs for the DOJ Prop 56 Grant
Item FY 2024-28 Cost
Staffing Costs $1,431,814
Equipment Costs $61,329
Total $1,493,143
The CA DOJ PROP 56 Tobacco grant program guidelines do not allow funds to be used for indirect or overhead costs. Therefore, OPD requests that the General Purposes Fund contribute $186,995 (13.06 percent of the personnel costs). All of the CA DOJ PROP 56 Tobacco grant revenues will be allocated to Fund (TBD); Special Operations Division Org (107710); Project (TBD); and Program (TBD), as illustrated below.
Fund Source Organization Project Program Amount
TBD 107710 TBD TBD $1,493,143
OPD CSO funding will be allocated as follows:
Fund Source Organization Project Program Amount
1010 107710 TBD TBD $186,995
PUBLIC OUTREACH / INTEREST
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: CA DOJ Proposition 56 Tobacco Grant
Date: January 31, 2025 Page 5
Public Safety Committee
February 25, 2025
Upon receipt of the grant, several activities will go into motion as noted in the grant objectives (stated above in the Analysis section). These activities will produce a significant amount of public engagement by way of training, inspections, and other operations.
COORDINATION
OPD consulted with the Budget Office and Office of the City Attorney in developing this report and accompanying resolution.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: There are no economic activities associated with this grant.
Environmental: This project will help enforce tobacco laws, which will benefit public health and address nuisance issues often associated with stores that vend tobacco products illegally.
Increased inspections and compliance checks will lead to a reduction in illegal “smoke shop” and “gift shop” store locations.
Race and Equity: The grant will help further educate merchants and employees about responsible vending of tobacco products. It is specifically targeted to reduce minor access to tobacco products and flavored vapes with an overall goal of improving youth and community health.
Jestin D. Johnson, City Administrator
Subject: CA DOJ Proposition 56 Tobacco Grant
Date: January 31, 2025 Page 6
Public Safety Committee
February 25, 2025
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE
Staff Recommends That The City Council Adopt A Resolution Authorizing The City Administrator To Accept And Appropriate A Grant Award in the Amount of One Million Four Hundred Ninety-Three Thousand One Hundred Forty-Three Dollars ($1,493,143) From The State of California Office Of Attorney General, For Fiscal Year 2024-2028, For The Implementation of The Oakland Police Department Prop 56 Tobacco Grant Program; And Authorizing The City’s General Purpose Fund To Contribute One Hundred Eighty-Six Thousand Nine Hundred Ninety-Five Dollars ($186,995) To Cover Associated Central Services Overhead Costs.
For questions regarding this report, please contact A/Sgt Jennifer Sena, Special Operations Division (SOD), ABAT, at (510) 777-8674.
Reviewed by:
Captain Eriberto Perez-Angeles
OPD, Special Operations Division
Dr. Tracey Jones, Police Services Manager
OPD, Research and Planning Unit
Prepared by:
A/Sgt Jennifer Sena, ABAT Unit
Oakland Police Department