Health committee delays action on bill addressing recreational nitrous oxide use

The Health Committee met Feb. 19 and agreed to carry over HB 278 after members said they had not received the senate substitute and want time to review an expected amendment from the hospital association.

Representative Pringle, a sponsor of the discussion, described a growing local problem with people buying flavored nitrous oxide cartridges and inhaling the gas. "It's become a real problem with people that are buying it in the gas stations," Pringle said. He recounted a neighbor who he said is "almost invalid now because he has so much damage to his his brain from from huffing this stuff," and another incident in which a driver who he said was inhaling nitrous oxide "knocked himself out, went off the road, hit a tree, and killed his passenger." Pringle said the gas "deprives your brain of oxygen, and it's just become they're they're flavoring it and selling it."

Health Committee members said they had not received the senate substitute before the hearing. The committee chair said the substitute bill and the hospital association amendment will be provided to members for review before the issue is taken up again. "The senate substituted the bill, but y'all did not get a copy of the substitute in your panel, so that's the first problem," the chair said. When a member asked whether a bill could include broader language to prevent future products from bypassing regulation, the chair responded, "Is there a blanket, something you can add in this bill that prevents anything future from coming without some sort of approval?" and members indicated they wanted time to study options.

Committee records show HB 278 by Representative Rigsby was chosen to be carried over. The committee did not vote on final language or enact any ban; members said they will review the substitute and the hospital association's proposed amendment and return the item to a future agenda for formal action.

The committee's discussion focused on public-health and public-safety concerns raised by inhalant misuse and on procedural requests from members who said they needed the substitute and amendment text before taking a formal vote. No statutory citations or regulatory texts were cited during the discussion, and no formal motion to adopt language was made during the Feb. 19 meeting.