After closing out 2013 with a promise to introduce a bill that would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco in Suffolk County, NY from 19 to 21, legislator William Spencer, D-Centerport, started off 2014 by following through on that pledge. Resolution 1039 was filed on January 2 and would put the county at the eastern end of Long Island on par with neighboring New York City, which passed a similar increase in November 2013. It is scheduled for its first public hearing on February 11. Spencer told Newsday that he expects a fight to get his proposal passed, not only from within the 18-member legislature but from convenience stores, gasoline stations and other tobacco retailers. While not all members of the legislature have made their feelings about the proposal known, John M. Kennedy, Jr., R-Neconset, and the minority leader, has been a vocal opponent of the age increase, telling Newsday that “I’m fed up with government’s quest to regulate every element of behavior.” The financial impact to the county and state should the law pass has not been calculated yet. Suffolk County is home to approximately 15 million people.
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