Committee advances several bills, adopts vape product tax amendment; $5 million transfer to commerce approved

The House Ways and Means General Fund Committee on Monday advanced several bills across a range of topics, issuing favorable reports and adopting amendments on measures that would affect state finance, law enforcement benefits and tobacco and nicotine product regulation.

Tax and enforcement for vaping products

Representative Faulkner presented a bill to create a 10-cent-per-milliliter tax on certain alternative nicotine (vape) products, authorize the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to collect fees for enforcement and create a state registry and reporting system. The measure, as amended by Representative Mooney, adds clarifying language to align Alabama—s registry rules with federal Food and Drug Administration filings and makes the state system automatically follow applicable federal decisions.

Under the amendment adopted by the committee, tax revenue distribution would be: 50% to the state general fund, 25% allocated to counties on a population basis and 25% to municipalities on a population basis; the sponsor said that if a county has no municipalities the municipal share would be distributed pro rata. The bill prohibits duplicate local vape taxes in favor of a…