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Senate approves vape-product registry language, adds fee cap for manufacturers
Summary
Lawmakers approved a bill creating a registry for eligible vaping products and added an amendment capping manufacturer fees; the Senate debated FDA role and age limits during floor discussion before passing the measure by roll call.
The Mississippi Senate on a morning roll call passed legislation to create a registry for vaping products that are eligible for sale and to set a fee structure for products and manufacturers — including a floor-adopted amendment that caps a manufacturer's annual charge.
Senator Harkins, presenting the strike-all amendment, said the bill mirrors earlier Senate language for a vape-product registry and incorporates a mechanism to align state listings with federal (FDA) determinations. “The language that in the event the FDA changes the protocol for what is determined to be an eligible vape product in the country, whatever the determination, system they use, that will determine what is, on our registry,” Harkins said on the floor.
Committee and floor debate focused on two items: whether the statute should defer to FDA determinations of eligible products, and whether the state or the regulated entities should determine age limits for sales. Senator Ford asked whether the bill specified an age limit; Harkins noted the federal tobacco minimum age is 21 and that the department could promulgate more restrictive rules. Senator Jordan urged care because of potential youth harm from illicit products.
Senator Johnson offered a floor amendment to cap the total fees a manufacturer could be charged: “add on line 669, comma, but not to exceed $15,000 annually per manufacturer,” he said. The Senate adopted the amendment as friendly, then passed the strike-all as amended.
Sponsors said the registry is intended to limit illicit or unreviewed products by tying permitted state sales to FDA-reviewed products and by requiring labels and registration (manner and rates determined by the rulemaking process). The bill also includes language authorizing agencies to collect fees for registrations; Johnson’s amendment inserted the $15,000-per-manufacturer annual cap to contain that expense.
The measure passed by use of the morning roll call after floor amendments were adopted.
