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Debate over vape-product registry divides Montana committee as sponsor seeks to strip tax
Summary
Supporters told the Appropriations Committee a manufacturer-paid registry is needed to keep illicit disposable vapes off Montana shelves; opponents, largely independent vape-shop owners, said a 50% wholesale tax and federal PMTA burden would crush local businesses and hand the market to tobacco companies.
Representative Amy Regier (R-Whitefish) told the House Appropriations Committee she brought House Bill 525 to create a vapor product registry similar to other states' tobacco-product directories and to require manufacturers selling vapor products into Montana to certify federal compliance.
Regier also offered a sponsor amendment to remove a punitive wholesale tax imposed on vapor products; she said the tax was added in House Taxation without consulting her and that manufacturers, not retailers, would pay registration fees and renewal costs. Under the bill's current language, manufacturers would pay a $2,500 initial registration per product SKU and a $1,000 annual renewal, while penalties for selling…
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