California · Public Resources Code - PRC

PRC §5008.10: (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Cigar” has the same meaning as defined in Section 104550 of the Health and Safety Code and, for purposes of this section, may co

Infraction

What this law says, in plain English

Smoking and improper disposal of cigar or cigarette waste are prohibited on state beaches and in units of the state park system, except on paved roadways, parking facilities, and in certain permitted filming or religious contexts.

Read the full statutory text
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (1) “Cigar” has the same meaning as defined in Section 104550 of the Health and Safety Code and, for purposes of this section, may contain any other weed or plant as an alternative or supplement to tobacco or nicotine. (2) “Cigarette” has the same meaning as defined in Section 104556 of the Health and Safety Code and, for purposes of this section, may contain any other weed or plant as an alternative or supplement to tobacco or nicotine. (3) “Smoke” or “smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, or pipe, or any other lighted or heated tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation, whether natural or synthetic, in any manner or in any form. “Smoke” or “smoking” includes the use of an electronic smoking device that creates an aerosol or vapor, in any manner or in any form, or the use of any oral smoking device for the purpose of circumventing a prohibition on smoking. “Smoke” or “smoking” does not include the use of a cigar, cigarette, or pipe, or any other lighted or heated tobacco or plant product used as a prop in a motion picture, television program, or similar filmed audiovisual work, provided filming is properly permitted by the California Film Commission, the active film set is closed to the general public, and any waste is immediately removed from the park. “Smoke” or “smoking” does not include the use of a cigar, cigarette, or pipe, or any other lighted or heated tobacco or plant product used in connection with the good faith practice of a religious belief or ceremony. (4) “State beach” means a sand, cobble, or other natural area that is owned or operated by, or under the jurisdiction of, the department and that adjoins the ocean, a bay, or an estuary. (5) “Unit of the state park system” means an area specified in Section 5002. (b) A person shall not smoke on a state beach or in a unit of the state park system. This prohibition does not apply to paved roadways or parking facilities of a state beach or unit of the state park system. (c) A person shall not dispose of used cigar or cigarette waste on a state beach or in a unit of the state park system unless the disposal of the cigar or cigarette waste is made in an appropriate waste receptacle. (d) A person who violates this section is guilty of an infraction and shall be punished by a fine of up to twenty-five dollars ($25). (e) The department shall develop and post signs at strategic locations, as determined by the director, of state beaches and units of the state park system operated by the department to provide notice of the smoking prohibition set forth in subdivision (b). (f) An entity operating, pursuant to an agreement with the department, a state beach or unit of the state park system that is not operated by the department shall post signs approved by the department at strategic locations, as determined by the operating entity and approved by the department, to provide notice of the smoking prohibition set forth in subdivision (b). (g) Subdivision (b) shall be enforced on a state beach and in a unit of the state park system only after signs have been posted at that state beach or unit of the state park system pursuant to subdivision (e) or (f), as applicable.

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