Tobacco Youth Access Act
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Health and Environment.
Tobacco Youth Access Act - Allows the use of vending machines to sell tobacco products only in an area or establishment to which individuals under 18 years old (or such higher age as a State has set) (minimum age) are denied access. Allows the sale or distribution of cigarettes only in a package of 20 cigarettes. Prohibits offering or distributing tobacco products for sampling except in an area or establishment to which individuals under the minimum age are denied access. Mandates signs in retail establishments indicating the tobacco product purchase minimum age and the proof of age requirements, which must include photo identification. Requires retailers and their employees to sign an annual certification of knowledge of the minimum age and to conduct all tobacco product sales face-to-face. Prohibits the distribution of tobacco products through the redemption of coupons or coins except in face-to-face transactions. Requires the termination of any block grant under provisions of the Public Health Service Act relating to substance abuse, tuberculosis, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) if a State does not restrict youth access to tobacco as prescribed in this Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on September 27, 1996. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on October 22, 1996: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health and Environment.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 104th Congress (1995-96), 333 of the 6,806 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
JON FOX (R-PA) introduced it on September 27, 1996. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on September 27, 1996, 10941 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 10916 days ago, on October 22, 1996.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 104th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1997 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers