During its first meeting of August Monday night, the Sheridan City Council in Wyoming voted against an ordinance that would have increased the fine amount and penalties for any minor possessing or using electronic cigarettes or other vaping products on first reading by a 4 to 3 vote.
The penalty would have increased as much as 2,900 percent from the current fee of $25 to a maximum of $750, according to city attorney Brendon Kerns. Violators would not have been required to appear in court or perform community service or serve probation and would have been guaranteed full expungement of the incident from their criminal records within six months — regardless of whether it is their first or subsequent offense.
Councilor Kristen Jennings was one of the four councilors who voted against the ordinance, stating that the council should not rush to pass a law without understanding its implications on the community.
“I realize that the school district has asked for help, but at the same time pushing forward something that could potentially be full of holes may not be helping anybody to the best of the ability that we’re trying to do,” said Jennings. “So it could be shooting ourselves in the foot, and in a way, I think the premise is great and I do see we have an issue, but at the same time giving ourselves a self-imposed deadline to not be able to work through some of these questions and concerns. It seems like some of the citizens have too. I don’t know how well that benefits anybody.”