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About Texas STEP
Located at Texas State
University-San Marcos, as a part of the Department of Criminal Justice in the College of
Applied Arts, Texas Statewide Tobacco Education & Prevention (Texas STEP) provides
public awareness information on the tobacco laws, best practices and protocols to enforce
the laws, and ways to increase tobacco awareness at the local level.
Texas STEP was founded in 1993
to provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies after the passage
of the Federal SYNAR Amendment. In 1997, Texas put into effect one of the strongest and
most comprehensive tobacco laws in the country with the passage of Senate Bill 55, 75th
Legislature.
Aimed at reducing youth access
to tobacco products by eliminating the illegal sale of tobacco to children, this law
provides for comprehensive retailer education & inspections of retailers by law
enforcement to ensure compliance.
Texas STEP provides training and
technical assistance throughout the state of Texas. Participating law enforcement agencies
receive updates on the law, are provided strategies and curricula on compliance education,
are informed on the health consequences of youth tobacco use, are made aware of their
legal reporting responsibilities, and can receive in-service training on the enforcement
protocols.
Texas Statewide Tobacco Education and
Prevention (Texas STEP) plays an integral role in the implementation of Senate Bill 55, 75th
Legislature. Texas STEP’s responsibilities include:
- Provide training and technical assistance to law enforcement
agencies regarding tobacco laws and Comptroller
Tobacco Compliance Grant activities
- Receive and distribute tobacco complaint violations to local law
enforcement
- Provide oversight for local law enforcement agencies’
activities in conducting the Comptroller’s
Tobacco Compliance Grants
- Receive, track and report on all Texas law enforcement activity
regarding tobacco enforcement and compliance education
State law allows for grants be made to local law enforcement
agencies to assist the Comptrollers' office in the enforcement of the new tobacco laws.
The State Comptroller is responsible for administering these grants.
Through an interagency contract, Texas STEP provides training and
technical assistance throughout the state to all CPA block grant funded law enforcement
agencies, including school-based police. Participating law enforcement agencies
receive updates on the law, are provided strategies and curricula on compliance education,
are informed on the health consequences of youth tobacco use, are made aware of their
grant reporting responsibilities, and can receive in-service training on the enforcement
protocols.
Additionally, Texas STEP serves as
the data warehouse of enforcement and compliance education information for law enforcement
agencies and the Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Texas STEP also provides awareness
information on the tobacco laws, methods to enforce the new laws, and ways to increase
tobacco awareness at the local level. We also provide other informational materials,
such as copies of Senate Bill 55, 75th Legislature, synopsis of the new state
tobacco laws, as well as referring agencies to other partnering resource providers.
Texas STEP receives all complaints
made through the Texas Tobacco Hotline and the Comptroller's office regarding retailer
non-compliance of youth access to tobacco. Our office then assigns the complaint to a
local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the location in violation. The local
agency is responsible for on-site compliance inspection or conducting controlled buys, or
"stings," to determine the validity of the initial complaint, and if necessary
correct the problem.
The Texas STEP Program acts as the
Comptroller’s liaison to all tobacco compliance grant recipients. Our office is the
grant agencies’ first point of contact. All information regarding any tobacco
compliance, awareness, prevention, and education activity conducted by a grant agency is
reported to Texas STEP. Texas STEP provides oversight for these activities and regularly
monitors and communicates with the grant funded agency insuring that they are successful
in implementing their grants.
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