Generally revise alcohol and tobacco laws

- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 SB0150.2
- 1 - Authorized Print Version – SB 150
1 SENATE BILL NO. 150
2 INTRODUCED BY W. GALT, D. ZOLNIKOV, B. LER, B. USHER, G. HERTZ, K. BOGNER
3
4 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING LAWS RELATING TO ALCOHOL AND
5 SMOKING; CREATING THE CIGAR BAR ROOM ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE ENDORSEMENT; APPLYING
6 THE ENDORSEMENT TO CERTAIN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSES; PROVIDING REQUIREMENTS
7 RELATING TO THE CIGAR BAR ROOM LICENSE ENDORSEMENT; REQUIRING THE SMOKING OF
8 PREMIUM CIGARS IN A SEPARATE ENCLOSED SPACE WITHIN THE LICENSED PREMISES; PROVIDING
9 A FEE; EXEMPTING CIGAR BARS ROOMS FROM CLEAN INDOOR AIR ACT REQUIREMENTS;
10 PROVIDING DEFINITIONS; PROVIDING FOR A STUDY AND REPORT; AND AMENDING SECTIONS 50-40-
11 103 AND 50-40-104, MCA; AND PROVIDING A TERMINATION DATE.”
12
13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
14
15 NEW SECTION. Section 1. Cigar bar ROOM -- license endorsement -- requirements. (1) An all-
16 beverages licensee under 16-4-201 may apply to the department for a cigar bar ROOM license endorsement.
17 The department shall issue a cigar bar ROOM endorsement if the licensee meets the requirements of this
18 section, determined through the department's suitability analysis as provided in 16-3-311. An application for a
19 catering AN endorsement and an annual fee of $200 $100 must be submitted to the department for its approval.
20 (2) A cigar bar ROOM endorsement permits the smoking of PREMIUM cigars on the licensed
21 premises IN THE AREA DESIGNATED IN SUBSECTION (4)(A)(V), which may constitute an enclosed public place as
22 defined in 50-40-103 but is exempt from the prohibition on smoking in an enclosed public place as provided in
23 50-40-104.
24 (3) A cigar bar ROOM endorsement may be issued only to an all-beverages licensee who holds a
25 gaming or gambling license under Title 23, chapter 5, part 3, 5, or 6.
26 (4) (A) An establishment with a cigar bar ROOM endorsement:
27 (a)(I) may only allow PREMIUM cigars that MEET THE DEFINITION IN THIS SECTION are purchased on the
28 licensed premises to be smoked;
- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 SB0150.2
- 2 - Authorized Print Version – SB 150
1 (b) must generate 10% or more of its annual gross income, excluding gaming or gambling income,
2 from the sale of cigars;
3 (c) must have a humidor as defined in this section;
4 (d)(II) may not permit the smoking of any other tobacco, marijuana, or alternative nicotine or vapor
5 products, as defined in 16-11-302, on the licensed premises;
6 (e)(III) must SHALL post a notice of the prohibition against smoking products other than PREMIUM
7 cigars;
8 (f)(IV) may not knowingly sell to or permit entrance to a person less than 21 years of age IN THE CIGAR
9ROOM; and
10 (g)(V) must be located in a freestanding structure occupied solely by the cigar bar, and smoke from a
11 cigar may not migrate into an enclosed area where smoking is otherwise prohibited. If indoors, the
12 establishment must SHALL ALLOW SMOKING ONLY IN have a public place INSIDE THE LICENSED PREMISES that is
13 enclosed by solid walls or windows, a ceiling, and a solid door and be THAT IS equipped with a ventilation
14 system as defined in this section.
15 (B) (I) EMPLOYEES OF THE CIGAR ROOM LICENSEE MAY NOT ENTER THE ENCLOSED SMOKING AREA WHILE
16SMOKING IS OCCURRING, EXCEPT THAT THE EMPLOYEES MAY ENTER THE SMOKING PREMISES UNDER EXIGENT
17CIRCUMSTANCES.
18 (II) EMPLOYEES MAY NOT TAKE ORDERS FOR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES IN PERSON OR DELIVER ALCOHOLIC
19BEVERAGES INTO THE SMOKING AREA WHILE PATRONS ARE SMOKING. CUSTOMERS MAY ELECTRONICALLY OR
20OTHERWISE ORDER ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES WHILE IN THE CIGAR ROOM.
21 (III) VIDEO GAMBLING MACHINES MAY NOT BE PLACED IN THE ENCLOSED SMOKING AREA.
22 (C) THE CIGAR ROOM LICENSEE SHALL MONITOR THE ENCLOSED SMOKING AREA THROUGH WINDOWS OR
23CAMERAS TO ENSURE COMPLIANCE WITH TITLE 16.
24 (5) A licensee meeting the requirements of this section shall annually report to the department, on
25 a form prescribed by the department, the revenue generated from the sale of cigars as a percentage of annual
26 gross income and any other information considered necessary by the department for renewal of the cigar bar
27 endorsement.
28 (6)(5) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 SB0150.2
- 3 - Authorized Print Version – SB 150
1 (a) "Cigar" means a premium tobacco product that:
2 (i) is composed of only tobacco leaves, water, and an insignificant amount of vegetable-based
3 adhesive;
4 (ii) is handmade and is not machine-made ;
5 (iii) is wrapped in whole leaf tobacco;
6 (iv) contains a 100% leaf tobacco binder;
7 (v) is capped by hand;
8 (vi) does not have a filter, tip, or nontobacco mouthpiece;
9 (vii) has a characterizing flavor that is added through a natural process, such as mixing different
10 types of tobacco leaves, soaking, or aromatic smoking, and is not flavored through a chemical process or other
11 means; and
12 (viii) weighs at least 2.7 grams a cigar.
13 (b)(A) "Enclosed public place" has the same meaning as provided in 50-40-103.
14 (c) "Humidor" means an enclosure affixed to the location that is large enough for an individual to
15 stand and in which the humidity of the enclosure is controlled.
16 (B) "PREMIUM CIGAR" MEANS A CIGAR THAT IS:
17 (I)WRAPPED IN WHOLE-LEAF TOBACCO;
18 (II)CONTAINS A 100% LEAF TOBACCO BINDER;
19 (III)IS MADE BY MANUALLY COMBINING THE WRAPPER, FILLER, AND BINDER;
20 (IV)HAS NO FILTER, TIP, OR NONTOBACCO MOUTHPIECE AND IS CAPPED BY HAND; AND
21 (V)WEIGHS MORE THAN 6 POUNDS FOR EACH 1,000 UNITS.
22 (d)(C) "Ventilation system" means a dedicated system in which exhausted air is not recirculated to
23 nonsmoking areas and smoke is not back streamed into nonsmoking areas.
24
25 NEW SECTION. SECTION 2. GAMING IMPACT STUDY. (1) THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, GAMBLING
26CONTROL DIVISION, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE GAMING ADVISORY COUNCIL, SHALL CONDUCT A STUDY OF THE GAMING
27INDUSTRY IN MONTANA.
28 (2) THE STUDY MUST UTILIZE A RANGE OF DATA FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES, INCLUDING VIDEO GAMBLING
- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 SB0150.2
- 4 - Authorized Print Version – SB 150
1MACHINE MANUFACTURERS, OWNERS, ROUTE OPERATORS, CASINO OWNERS, AND APPLICABLE TREND DATA FROM
2 MONTANA AND OTHER STATES.
3 (3) UPON COMPLETION OF THE STUDY, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL PUBLISH A REPORT THAT IS ACCESSIBLE
4TO THE PUBLIC. THE REPORT MUST INCLUDE:
5 (A)A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE DATA AS IT RELATES TO BET LIMITS, PAYOUT LIMITS, BONUS
6GAMES, GAME STRUCTURE, AND OTHER ANCILLARY ISSUES THAT ARE DEEMED RELEVANT;
7 (B)SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE METHODS USED FOR COLLECTING OR ACQUIRING DATA USED IN THE
8REPORT; AND
9 (C)THE IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIFIC ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE LEGISLATURE AND DEPARTMENT
10CONCERNING GAMING.
11 (4) THE STUDY AND REPORT MUST BE COMPLETED BY DECEMBER 1, 2026.
12
13Section 3. Section 50-40-103, MCA, is amended to read:
14 "50-40-103. Definitions. As used in this part, the following definitions apply:
15 (1) (a) "Bar" means an establishment with a license issued pursuant to Title 16, chapter 4, that is
16 devoted to serving alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests or patrons on the premises and in which the
17 serving of food is only incidental to the service of alcoholic beverages or gambling operations. The term
18 includes but is not limited to taverns, night clubs, cocktail lounges, and casinos.
19 (b) The term does not include a cigar bar ROOM.
20 (2) "Cigar bar ROOM" means an establishment with a license issued pursuant to Title 16, chapter 4,
21 part 2, that holds a cigar bar ROOM endorsement under [section 1] that permits the smoking of PREMIUM cigars in
22 an enclosed public place.
23 (2)(3) "Department" means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-
24 2201.
25 (3)(4) "Enclosed public place" means an indoor area, room, or vehicle that the general public is
26 allowed to enter or that serves as a place of work, including but not limited to the following:
27 (a) restaurants;
28 (b) stores;
- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 SB0150.2
- 5 - Authorized Print Version – SB 150
1 (c) public and private office buildings and offices, including all office buildings and offices of
2 political subdivisions, as provided for in 50-40-201, and state government;
3 (d) trains, buses, and other forms of public transportation;
4 (e) health care facilities;
5 (f) auditoriums, arenas, and assembly facilities;
6 (g) meeting rooms open to the public;
7 (h) bars, but not including cigar bars ROOMS as defined in subsection (2) of this section that meet
8 the requirements of [section 1];
9 (i) community college facilities;
10 (j) facilities of the Montana university system; and
11 (k) public schools, as provided for in 20-1-220 and 50-40-104.
12 (4)(5) "Establishment" means an enterprise under one roof that serves the public and for which a
13 single person, agency, corporation, or legal entity is responsible.
14 (5)(6) "Incidental to the service of alcoholic beverages or gambling operations" means that at least
15 60% of the business's annual gross income comes from the sale of alcoholic beverages or gambling receipts,
16 or both.
17 (6)(7) "Person" means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, political subdivision, or
18 other entity.
19 (7)(8) "Place of work" means an enclosed room where one or more individuals work.
20 (8)(9) "Smoking" or "to smoke" includes the act of lighting, smoking, or carrying a lighted cigar,
21 cigarette, pipe, or any smokable product and includes the use of marijuana."
22
23Section 4. Section 50-40-104, MCA, is amended to read:
24 "50-40-104. Smoking in enclosed public places prohibited -- notice to public -- places where
25prohibition inapplicable. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, smoking in an enclosed public place
26 is prohibited.
27 (2) The proprietor or manager of an establishment containing enclosed public places shall post a
28 sign in a conspicuous place at all public entrances to the establishment stating, in a manner that can be easily
- 2025
69th Legislature 2025 SB0150.2
- 6 - Authorized Print Version – SB 150
1 read and understood, that smoking in the enclosed public place is prohibited.
2 (3) The proprietor or manager of an intrastate bus that is not chartered shall prohibit smoking in all
3 parts of the bus.
4 (4) The prohibition in subsection (1) does not apply to the following places, whether or not the
5 public is allowed access to those places:
6 (a) a private residence unless it is used for any of the following purposes, in which case the
7 prohibition in subsection (1) applies:
8 (i) a family day-care home or group day-care home, as defined in 52-2-703 and licensed pursuant
9 to Title 52, chapter 2, part 7;
10 (ii) an adult foster care home, as defined in 50-5-101 and licensed pursuant to Title 50, chapter 5;
11 or
12 (iii) a health care facility, as defined in 50-5-101 and licensed pursuant to Title 50, chapter 5;
13 (b) a private motor vehicle;
14 (c) school property in which smoking is allowed pursuant to the exception in 20-1-220;
15 (d) a hotel or motel room designated as a smoking room and rented to a guest; however, not more
16 than 35% of the rooms available to rent to guests may be designated as smoking rooms; and
17 (e) a site that is being used in connection with the practice of cultural activities by American
18 Indians that is in accordance with the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, 42 U.S.C. 1996 and 1996a; and
19 (f) a cigar bar ROOM as defined in 50-40-103 that meets the requirements of [section 1]."
20
21 NEW SECTION. SECTION 5. CODIFICATION INSTRUCTION. [SECTION 1] IS INTENDED TO BE CODIFIED AS AN
22INTEGRAL PART OF TITLE 16, AND THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 16 APPLY TO [SECTION 1].
23
24 NEW SECTION. SECTION 6. TERMINATION. [SECTION 2] TERMINATES DECEMBER 31, 2026.
25 - END -