Laserfiche WebLink
Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final February 16, 2021 <br />Vice Chairman Peter O'Bryan advocated for a resolution in support of the <br />Florida Legislature funding Florida Forever in Fiscal Year 2021-2022. He <br />noted that the County had backed this measure in the past. <br />Dr. Richard Baker, President, Pelican Island Audubon Society, spoke regarding <br />the status of Florida's agricultural and conservation lands, and thanked the <br />Board for their support of conservation efforts. <br />A motion was made by Vice Chairman O'Bryan, seconded by Commissioner <br />Earman, to approve Resolution 2021-017, expressing support for $125 million <br />funding for Florida Forever for Fiscal Year 2021-2022. The motion carried by the <br />following vote: <br />Aye: 5 - Chairman Flescher, Vice Chairman O'Bryan, Commissioner Adams, <br />Commissioner Earman, and Commissioner Moss <br />14.B.2. 21-0235 Proposed Ordinance to prohibit the sale and distribution of tobacco products to <br />persons under 21 years of age <br />Recommended Action: Discuss <br />Attachments: Commissioner's Memo <br />COVB Tobacco Ordinance 2020-11 <br />Florida Local Retail Tobacco Licensing Ordinance <br />Vice Chairman O'Bryan requested the Board's consideration of an ordinance to <br />raise the legal age limit for tobacco product purchases from 18 to 21, including <br />vaping products which are not currently regulated. He included a copy of the <br />City of Vero Beach's ordinance as an example. <br />County Attorney Dylan Reingold noted that the Federal government recently <br />raised the age limit to 21 for tobacco product purchases, and supported aligning <br />the County's regulations with the Federal ones. Additionally, he noted that <br />State vaping regulations allowed room for more -stringent County restrictions to <br />be adopted. <br />Vice Chairman O'Bryan requested that Attorney Reingold look into whether an <br />exception could be made for anyone 18 and over with military ID to purchase <br />tobacco products. The Board and staff then discussed the value of aligning <br />Federal, State, and local regulations to alleviate enforcement issues across <br />jurisdictions. <br />Kyleigh Savoie, Tobacco Free Partnership Facilitator, thanked the Board for <br />their support and presented statistics regarding youth smoking and vaping. <br />A motion was made by Vice Chairman O'Bryan, seconded by Chairman Flescher, <br />to direct the County Attorney return to the Board at a future public hearing with <br />an ordinance to change the legal age for purchasing tobacco and vaping <br />products from 18 to 21 in Indian River County. The motion carried by the <br />following vote: <br />Indian River County Florida Page 9 <br />