Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, right, confers with Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, on Thursday in Carson City. Photo by K.M. Cannon.

CARSON CITY -- Officials involved in the juvenile court process told a state Senate panel Thursday that they are not interested in taking on the added cost and burden of supervising minors found in possession of tobacco, as proposed in a bill by Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon.

McGinness introduced Senate Bill 14 on behalf of the Churchill County School District, which wants to stop smoking by teenagers outside the grounds of their schools.

The bill would make a juvenile found in possession of tobacco subject to the juvenile court as a child in need of supervision. It is illegal for minors to purchase tobacco, but it is not illegal for them to possess tobacco products.

"This would clear up something that I feel is lacking in Nevada law," McGinness said. "I've been given anecdotal information that virtually every high school around the state has an area that smokers use, and it has become a particular problem in Churchill County."

But Cotter Conway, a lobbyist for the Washoe County public defender's office, questioned whether the juvenile court system was the right place for underage smokers.

"We are concerned about the costs associated with this bill," he said.

"It is a health problem," Conway said. "It is a problem that needs to be addressed."

Jason Frierson, representing the Clark County public defender's office, also opposed the bill because of the potential cost and increased workload that would come with enforcement.

He cited a University of Michigan study that found 8.7 percent of eighth graders, 14.5 percent of 10th graders and 21.6 percent of 12th graders reported using tobacco within the previous 30 days.

In Clark County, that would equate to thousands of students that would likely be using tobacco, Frierson said. Even if just a quarter of these were referred to the juvenile court, it would add hundreds of youths requiring supervision and access to programs, he said.

"Clark County's concern isn't that smoking isn't a problem with juveniles," Frierson said. The issue is the added burden to the court system, he said.

The bill was also opposed by the ACLU of Nevada.

Lee Rowland, staff attorney for the organization, said a citation that would require a fine or community service might be a better way to go.

"While going after juvenile smoking is a laudable goal, entering them into the criminal justice system without a clear treatment plan clearly comes off as more punitive than therapeutic," she said.

The bill was supported by a number of groups, including for the first time the Nevada Tobacco Prevention Coalition, which has opposed the measure in the past, and the tobacco company Phillip Morris USA, among others.

Larry Matheis, representing the Tobacco Prevention Coalition, said the change in position by the group is partially the result of the tougher smoking law now on the books in Nevada. Though in support of the effort to stop juvenile smoking, "we don't think it should get too punitive," he said.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, said county officials should try to do something about the issue because no consequences exist now for juveniles who are in possession of tobacco.

There has to be a middle ground between creating a full blown juvenile court program and doing nothing at all, he said.

"We don't want to pull people out of homes for this," Amodei said. "But to say this is a rule that you can break with impunity because we have absolutely no consequences for you is kind of a funny thing too."