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Committee substitute expands local authority to limit vaping sales near schools; bill cleared for local calendar
Summary
The Committee on Local Government adopted a committee substitute to Senate Bill 464 expanding local authority to restrict retail vaping sales near schools and sent the substitute to the full Senate, recommending it for the local and uncontested calendar.
The Senate Committee on Local Government on Tuesday adopted a committee substitute to Senate Bill 464 that would let local jurisdictions restrict the retail sale of vaping apparatuses within 1,000 feet of schools, create a Class A misdemeanor for specified violations and preserve limited local authority over tobacco product regulation.
"The Committee substitute to Senate Bill 4 24 addresses the alarming prevalence of youth vaping by empowering local jurisdictions to restrict vaping apparatuses sold by retailers near schools," Senator Middleton said while laying out the substitute. He told the committee the substitute defines vaping apparatus, raises the restricted distance from 300 feet to 1,000 feet from schools, adds a Class A misdemeanor, and removes a 50% threshold from the as-filed bill. He said local governments may retain authority to regulate retail sales of cigarettes, e-cigarettes and tobacco products so long as those regulations are "the least restrictive as compatible with State law."
Senator Cook moved that the committee report the bill to the full Senate with the recommendation that it "do not pass" as filed but that the committee substitute be adopted and, in lieu thereof, do pass and be printed. The clerk called the roll; members recorded five ayes and no nays. "There being 5 ayes and no nays, the committee substitute to Senate Bill 4 64 is passed," the chair said. The committee also recommended the substitute for the local and uncontested calendar without objection.
The fiscal note for the bill was discussed briefly; a committee member asked whether the bill had a fiscal note. The transcript records that a fiscal note "would" exist but the committee did not provide a complete fiscal estimate during the hearing.
Next steps: with the substitute adopted and the committee recommending placement on the local and uncontested calendar, the measure will move to the full Senate under the committee’s recommendation.
