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Senate committee debates tobacco licensing fees, fake‑ID penalties and shisha language ahead of Finance review
Summary
Senate members and witnesses debated three fee options for a tobacco licensing bill (keep current, inflation adjust to ~$150, or align with regional states at $250–$300), discussed reinstating penalties for minors using false IDs, and considered shisha/hookah language and an online‑sales tax‑collection fix; the Attorney General and public health advocates urged moderate fee increases and an online compliance investigator.
Lawmakers spent substantial time weighing options for changes to retailer licensing, penalties and enforcement in the tobacco bill, with staff and witnesses offering alternatives ranging from an inflation adjustment to aligning Vermont with regional states.
Jen Carvey of the Legislative Council summarized three options for retail licensing fees: leave the fee at its current level (set in 2016), adjust for inflation to roughly $140–$163 (rounded defensibly to $150), or set a regional‑comparable fee of $250–$300. "If we adjusted for inflation... that would bring it to $162," Carvey said as the committee discussed round figures to include in statutory language.
Senator Weeks said a $1,000 fee included in earlier versions was mainly "shock value," and urged pragmatic increases such as an inflation adjustment or a moderate percentage increase. "A thousand percent increase on any kind of fee is more on the emotional scale than the pragmatic scale," Weeks said.
Public health and consumer advocates urged a reasonable increase to fund enforcement while minimizing harm to small retailers. Jocelyn Garin of the Coalition for Tobacco Free Vermont said the bill's draft language that would require wholesalers to be the only online purchaser was intended to ensure wholesale taxes are collected: "By making the wholesale dealer the only one that can buy online, we're ensuring that the tax is being paid," she said.
The committee also discussed reinstating a penalty provision for persons under 21 who misrepresent their age with a false ID; one sponsor proposed a civil penalty of up to $50 or up to 10 hours of community service for minors presenting false identification. Attorney General staff voiced support for compromise language on possession and purchase and signaled openness to mid‑range fee options.
David Baines, Assistant Attorney General, told the committee the office "would support a further conversation in the house on the shisha issue" and that a compliance investigator to enforce online sales would help brick‑and‑mortar retailers; he recommended a fee in the $150–$250 range.
Committee members agreed to give Senate Finance guidance on a lower, defensible fee (members signaled $150 as a defensible inflation‑adjusted number) and to refer detailed fee and penalty questions to that committee; no formal votes on final fee or penalty levels were recorded at the hearing.
Next steps: The committee will provide input to Senate Finance, and sponsors said a floor or finance amendment could be offered to set a rounded licensing fee and preserve or amend fake‑ID penalty language for further consideration.
