Georgia committee advances bill to create state vape product registry after disputed debate

The House Ways and Means Committee’s public finance and local policy subcommittee on Tuesday advanced HB577, a proposal to create a state registry of nicotine vapor products and give the Georgia Department of Revenue a role in enforcement.

Proponents said the registry is intended to curb a flood of unregulated, flavored disposable products coming from overseas and to give retailers a list of products that are legal to sell. “What this bill does is it creates a state level registry, and it would run the Department of Revenue and then give a state level, enforcement mechanism to try to get the vaping, crisis under control,” Representative Houston Gaines said during the presentation.

The bill’s author said the measure would not change what federal law allows or bans, but would provide clarity to retailers about which products are legal. He told the committee…