11.020 Cigarette and Tobacco Products License.

(1) License Required. No person shall in any manner, or upon any pretense, or by any device directly or indirectly sell, expose for sale, possess with intent to sell, exchange, barter, dispose of or give away any cigarettes or tobacco products without first obtaining a license therefor as provided in this section.

(2) Application – Procedure. All applications for cigarette and tobacco products retailer licenses shall be made to the City Clerk and shall give the following information:

The name of the licensee, gender, age, occupation, address of the business, and whether the sale, exchange, barter, disposal or giving away will be from a vending machine, over the counter or both, and a specific description of the premises where the business is to be conducted.

At the time application is made to the City Clerk, the applicant shall pay to the City Treasurer all necessary fees and file the receipt of the City Treasurer with the City Clerk. The applicant shall also give to the City Clerk any other information deemed necessary to the City Clerk to enable the Clerk to complete the application. The above conditions must all be complied with before the application for any license or permit is accepted by the City Clerk.

(3) License Fees. The rate for a yearly license is hereby fixed as follows:

For each retail cigarette and tobacco products license the annual fee is $100.00.

(4) Issuance of License – Provisions. Cigarette and tobacco licenses shall be issued in the name of the licensee. Each license issued under this section shall be signed by the City Clerk and shall be sealed with the corporate seal of the City. All licenses shall be effective for a period of time as stated in the license. The license shall be issued on July 1st of each year or when applied for and continue in force until the following June 30th or unless sooner suspended, canceled, revoked or surrendered.

(5) Transfer of License – Procedure. No license issued pursuant hereto shall be assignable, nor inure to the benefit of any other person than to whom the license was originally issued, nor shall the license be transferable from one person to another nor from one premises to another.

(6) Record Keeping Requirements. Every licensed retailer shall keep a complete and accurate record of all purchases and receipts of cigarettes and tobacco products. All records shall be kept in numerical order by year, month and day. These records shall be preserved on the licensed premises for two years in such a manner as to ensure permanency and accessibility for inspection and shall be subject to inspection at all reasonable hours by authorized State and local law enforcement officials.

(7) Stamps. All cigarettes shall have stamps affixed to the packages identifying them with the permit or code number assigned to the person affixing them. No person shall give, sell or lend any stamp to another and no person shall accept, purchase or borrow any stamps from another. The sale or transfer of stamps shall only be by the Secretary of Revenue.

(8) Cigarette Vending. Cigarette vending machine operation and sales are subject to Wis. Stat. Chs. 134 and 139, which are hereby incorporated by reference as amended or modified from time to time.

(9) Training.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (9)(b) of this section, at the time that a retailer hires or contracts with an agent, employee or independent contractor whose duties will include the sale of cigarettes or tobacco products, the retailer shall provide the agent, employee or independent contractor with training on compliance with MMC 14.290(2), including training on the penalties under MMC 14.290(4) for a violation of MMC 14.290(2). The Department of Health and Family Services shall make available to any retailer on request a training program developed or approved by that department that provides the training required under this subsection. A retailer may comply with this subsection by providing the training program developed or approved by the Department of Health and Family Services or by providing a comparable training program approved by that Department. At the completion of the training, the retailer and the agent, employee or independent contractor shall sign a form provided by the Department of Health and Family Services verifying that the agent, employee or independent contractor has received the training, which the retailer shall retain in the personnel file of the agent, employee or independent contractor.

(b) Subsection (9)(a) of this section does not apply to an agent, employee or independent contractor who has received the training described in subsection (9)(a) of this section as part of a responsible beverage server training course or a comparable training course, as described in Wis. Stat. § 125.04(5)(a)(5), that was successfully completed by the agent, employee or independent contractor.

(c) If an agent, employee or independent contractor who has not received training described in subsection (9)(a) of this section commits a violation of MMC 14.290(2), a governmental regulatory authority, as defined in Wis. Stat. § 254.911(2), may issue a citation based on that violation only to the retailer that hired or contracted with the agent, employee or independent contractor and not to the agent, employee or independent contractor who has not received that training. If an agent, employee or independent contractor who has received the training described in subsection (9)(a) of this section commits a violation of MMC 14.290(2) for which a government regulatory authority issues a citation to the retailer that hired or contracted with the agent, employee or independent contractor, the governmental regulatory authority shall also issue a citation based on that violation to the agent, employee or independent contractor who has received that training.

(10) Penalty. Any person violating this section shall pay a forfeiture of not more than $100.00 nor less than $25.00 for the first offense and not more than $200.00 nor less than $25.00 for the second or subsequent offense. If upon such second or subsequent violation, the person so violating this section was personally guilty of a failure to exercise due care to prevent violation thereof, the person shall be fined not more than $300.00 nor less than $25.00. Conviction shall immediately terminate the license of a person convicted of being personally guilty of such failure to exercise due care and the person shall not be entitled to another license hereunder for a period of five years thereafter, nor shall the person in that period act as a servant or agent of a person licensed hereunder for the performance of the acts authorized by such license.

(11) All applicable provisions of Wis. Stat. Chs. 125, 134, 139 and 254, as amended or modified from time to time, pertaining to cigarette and tobacco product licensing are hereby incorporated by reference.

[Ord. 07-015 §§ 1 – 6, 2007. Prior code § 11.013]