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Bill would restore seizure authority over illicit electronic smoking devices to regulator that previously held it
Summary
Senate Bill 842 would return enforcement powers to the agency that had authority to seize electronic smoking devices prior to a reorganization; sponsor said the measure restores parity with enforcement for other regulated products.
Senator Steve Hershey presented Senate Bill 842 to the House Economic Matters Committee, saying the measure restores enforcement authority that the regulatory agency had prior to a transfer of responsibilities.
Hershey told the committee the bill "takes the enforcement authority that the A.T.C.C. had when they were under the comptroller's office" and gives it back to the agency so it can seize electronic smoking devices sold or offered for sale in violation of the Business Regulation Article. "So it's really, just, a continuation of what they were allowed to do before they were the ATCC," he said, describing the change as aligning enforcement authority for electronic smoking devices with authority already used for cigarettes and alcohol.
Hershey said the bill also aims to ensure owners have an opportunity to recover devices if they can show the seizure was improper. He asked the committee for a favorable report; the committee took no recorded vote during the hearing.
The sponsor characterized the measure as a technical correction following organizational changes and said the bill mirrors longstanding enforcement practice for other regulated products.
