Committee advances ATC agency bill with bans on flavored nitrous oxide and nicotine-analog products; technical changes included

Chris Saric, deputy director of the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission (ATC), told the committee the amendment to House Bill 1275 combines ATC provisions from HB 1276 into a single agency bill and adds three new substantive provisions and several technical updates.

“Just a brief explanation,” Saric said about one new substantive addition: a ban on the sale or use of flavored nitrous oxide by any entity other than a restaurant supply store “selling for the purposes of culinary use.” He described the products as “very dangerous” and said ATC had received complaints about youth use and serious injuries, adding that permit violations could lead to suspension or revocation under a new section.

Saric outlined additional substantive changes that were incorporated into 1275 from HB 1276: a donation allowance permitting permit holders to donate alcoholic beverages to nonprofit organizations for consumption at charitable events; a revised liquor-liability exception for small or noncommercial permit holders with very low annual alcoholic-beverage sales; authorization for local governments to put civic-center permits in concessionaires’ names; ATC authority to recover costs to destroy contraband defined under state criminal code; allowance for restaurant permit holders to operate patios that are not directly connected to the indoor permitted floor plan; and a prohibition on “nicotine analog” products that mimic nicotine’s effects but are not regulated as tobacco.

Saric said the liquor-liability exception was intended to help fraternal and small nonprofit permit holders that “have less than, 20,000 or $25,000 in sales of alcoholic beverages annually,” noting the transcript recorded both figures; committee staff indicated technical clarification on the precise threshold would be addressed on second reading.

Saric also said the bill updates statutory language (for example replacing the antiquated term “alien” with “legal status”) and aligns charity-raffle provisions with a limited electronic raffle allowance adopted by the Gaming Commission. He told the committee the ATC and Legislative Services Agency worked on a compressed timeline to incorporate the changes.

After brief committee discussion the committee moved the amendment and advanced House Bill 1275. The roll-call vote was recorded as 9–0 in favor; the chair announced, “Bill passes as amended 9 to 0.”

Sources: testimony of Chris Saric, roll-call recorded during the Public Policy Committee meeting.