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Alcohol and Tobacco Control commissioner briefs committee on enforcement, vape seizures and permit volumes
Summary
Chad Brown, commissioner of the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, briefed the committee on ATC operations: ATC issues roughly 27,000 permits, has about 68 employees, conducts about 15,000 inspections per year, and recently seized tens of thousands of illicit vape and tobacco products during a coordinated enforcement month.
Chad Brown, commissioner of the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, told the Committee on Judiciary B that ATC’s core mission is protecting public safety through regulation of alcohol, tobacco and hemp-derived CBD products. He said ATC processes about 27,000 permits annually, employs roughly 68 staff (about half POST-certified agents), and conducts approximately 15,000 inspections and compliance checks each year. Brown described enforcement actions that seized tens of thousands of illicit vape, tobacco and CBD products during a multiagency compliance month and said the agency is consolidating seized property and planning destruction of items no longer evidentiary.
Brown also described the agency’s education-first approach: ATC often engages businesses early, provides contact cards and on-site guidance during major events (Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Super Bowl) to encourage voluntary compliance, while using compliance checks (including underage operatives) to identify sales to minors. He said streamlining local-state licensing interaction and improved task-force cooperation are priorities.
Ending: Chairman Reese thanked Commissioner Brown for the briefing and invited the agency to provide any additional data the committee requests.
