House committee considers annual reporting requirement for online tobacco-sales enforcement in S.198

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce & Economic Development met April 22, 2026, to review proposed amendments to S.198 that would require the Department of Liquor and Lottery and the Office of the Attorney General to submit annual reports on enforcement of online tobacco sales and related activity.

Legislative counsel Jen KBY told the committee the amendment would add a new subsection requiring that “on or before Jan. 15 of each year, the Department of Liquor and Lottery and the Office of the Attorney General would each report to this committee, the Human Services Committee and your Senate counterparts regarding enforcement of Vermont laws relating to online sales of tobacco products, tobacco substitutes and tobacco paraphernalia.” The draft lists specific metrics: number of online compliance checks conducted in the previous 12 months; number of cases referred to the Attorney General; number of public reports of unlawful online sales and the outcomes of those reports.

Committee members pressed for clarity about enforcement authority. KBY summarized existing penalties in state law, saying “a knowing or intentional violation is punishable by imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine of not more than $5,000, or both,” and that civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation can also be imposed. The group debated whether those monetary penalties are imposed by the Attorney General, by state’s attorneys, or whether the Department of Liquor and Lottery would have administrative penalty authority once it licenses wholesalers; KBY said the committee should ask DLL and law-enforcement counsel to confirm how each body would exercise enforcement authority under the revised bill.

Members also asked for more enforcement data before finalizing the reporting requirement. The committee chair noted that “last year they reported 127 [compliance] checks — that’s about 10 a month,” and asked whether that level of activity is sufficient to police online sellers. KBY said there are 14 investigators in DLL and that so far this year the department has logged 66 checks, suggesting increased activity, but she recommended the committee obtain formal staffing and enforcement statistics from DLL.

There were no formal votes during the session. Committee members directed staff and counsel to follow up with the Department of Liquor and Lottery and the Office of the Attorney General to clarify who may impose monetary or administrative penalties, to confirm the appropriate statutory cross-references (including changes to 7 V.S.A. §210 described during the meeting), and to forward any revised bill text to committee staff for insertion. The committee adjourned and said it will reconvene at 9 a.m. the next day to continue consideration of the consumer-protection provisions of S.198.