Update: Urgent Action Needed to Stop PMTA Registry Bills
Updates
April 19 The Iowa General Assembly has passed a PMTA registry bill. CASAA's call to action has been modified to ask Gov. Kim Reynolds to veto the bill.
April 17 Both houses of the Virginia General Assembly accepted Gov. Youngkin's recommendation that the effective date of the state's PMTA registry law be postponed to July 1, 2025, and passed the final version. It is now law.
April 8 Virginia Gov. Youngkin has returned HB 1069 to the House with a recommendation (an amendment) that would postpone enforcement of the PMTA registry for a year. The General Assembly will reconvene on April 17 to consider the amendment, which could be accepted as is (the bill would then become law), or the change could be overridden by a two-thirds vote (and the law passed with the original enforcement dates).
April 5 Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed HB 11 into law.
April 4 Vermont Governor Phil Scott has vetoed the flavor ban passed last month by the state legislature. The State Senate leader later announced legislators would not attempt to override the veto.
April 2 Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed LB 1204 (online sales ban) into law.
March 29 The Kentucky General Assembly has passed a PMTA registry bill, and the Nebraska legislature an online sales ban. CASAA's calls to action will be modified to ask those states' governors to veto the restrictive bills.
March 15 The Vermont state House today passed bill S 18, which bans the sale of all flavored vape and tobacco products, including nicotine pouches. The bill will go back to the Senate to iron out differences with the House version, and will then go to Governor Phil Scott for his signature or veto. Use CASAA's call to action to ask Gov. Scott to veto the bill.
March 8 Legislators in Florida and Virginia have passed PMTA registry (or directory) bills in both state houses, and the bills now await approval or veto from their state governors. If the bills are signed into law, thousands of popular vape products will be removed from store shelves in those states.
CASAA has issued calls to action that make it simple to contact Govs. DeSantis and Youngkin and ask them to veto these Big Tobacco protection bills.
Feb. 9 This article has been updated with additional state PMTA registry bills (and other bills). We will continue to add proposed state legislation as it is introduced.
Originally published Jan. 31, 2024
A new kind of restrictive vape product law is rapidly gaining traction in state legislatures. So far this year, over a dozen so-called PMTA registry (or directory) bills have been introduced. The bills are promoted to state lawmakers by tobacco companies seeking to protect themselves from competition.
The new bills follow the same outline as laws passed over the last two years in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alabama. A state establishes a registry (or directory) of products that may legally be sold in that state, which is maintained by a state agency. Manufacturers, distributors or sellers of products who want to add them to the registry must attest under penalty of perjury that the products are either authorized for sale by an FDA marketing granted order (MGO), or are still undergoing review by the agency. There is typically a one-time or recurring fee for each product registered, and the products are listed on a public website.
Because relatively few popular vape shop products meet all the requirements of a PMTA registry law, the laws create a huge advantage for tobacco companies (and one major independent vape manufacturer) that do have qualifying products. They also make it simple for law enforcement to target vape shops, which usually don’t sell tobacco industry vape products.
The bills provide an easy way for lawmakers to tell constituents—who may be frightened by ongoing news stories about a youth vaping “epidemic”—that they’ve done something to stem the vaping tide and protect kids. In reality, the laws will create a real black market where unregulated, untaxed products are sold on social media and shady websites to anyone with money to pay.
Which states are considering PMTA registry bills?
Here is a list of states with introduced PMTA registry bills. Some are brand new, and some have already advanced to hearings and pose an immediate danger to vaping consumers and businesses in their state.
We have included links to the bills themselves (if there are separate house and senate bills, usually there is just one link), and a second link if the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives Association (CASAA) has issued a call to action for state residents.
CASAA usually issues a call to action when a bill is rapidly gaining interest among legislators, committee hearings have been scheduled, or hearings are expected soon. In other words, if CASAA has issued a call to action, the bill is a serious and immediate threat and responses from vaping and nicotine consumers are needed right away to convince legislators to oppose the registry bill.
Remember, just because a bill hasn’t yet gotten a call to action doesn’t mean it won’t start moving any day. And if your state isn’t currently facing a threat, one could pop up at any time. If you join CASAA (which is free), you’ll be notified about calls to action in your state when they happen. (Disclosure: I serve as an unpaid CASAA board member.)
You can see all active CASAA calls to action on this page, below the map.
Alabama
Bill HB 65 - makes funding available for enforcement of Alabama's existing PMTA registry system
Arizona
Bill SB 1212 CASAA Call to Action
Colorado
Bill HB 1356 CASAA Call to Action
Florida
Bills H 1007 / S 1006 CASAA Call to Action
*March 8 - Bill has passed both houses, and awaits Governor DeSantis' decision to sign or veto. Use the CASAA Call to Action link to ask the governor to veto H 1007
Georgia
Bill HB 1260 CASAA Call to Action
* Feb. 29 - passed state House; referred to Senate
*March 29 - The Georgia legislature has adjourned for the year without passing HB 1260
Hawaii
Bills SB 3385 / HB 2794
Idaho
Bill S 1366 CASAA Call to Action
* March 8 - bill has apparently failed in the legislature
Illinois
Bill HB 5069 CASAA Call to Action
Indiana
Bill SB 227 CASAA Call to Action
Iowa
Bills SF 2402 / HF 2677 (formerly SB 3101/HSB 682) CASAA Call to Action
*April 3 - HF 2677 passes House
*April 17 - HF 2677 passes Senate; will now go to Gov. Kim Reynolds. Use the CASAA Call to Action link to ask Gov. Reynolds to veto the bill
Kansas
Bill HB 2801 CASAA Call to Action
Kentucky
Bills HB 11 / SB 344 CASAA Call to Action
*March 11 - House passed HB 11; sent to Senate
*March 21 - Senate passed SB 344; sent to House
*March 28 - the bills have been combined and passed both houses of the General Assembly. Use the CASAA Call to Action link to ask Gov. Beshear to veto HB 11
*April 5 - Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed HB 11 into law on April 5
Maryland
Bills HB 1033 / SB 987
Bill HB 1197
Mississippi
Bill HB 1660
Bill SB 2886
*March 5 - HB 790 died in committee
*March 8 - SB 2441 passed state Senate
*Feb. 29 - HB 1660 passed state House
*March 13 - SB 2886 passed Senate
*April 4 - SB 2886 passed House with amendments
*April 15 - SB 2886 sent to conference committee to reconcile two versions
Missouri
Bill HB 2211 CASAA Call to Action
Nebraska
Bill LB 1296 - also bans online sales
Bill LB 1204 – includes registry language from LB 1296
* March 28 - LB 1204 has passed both houses of the state legislature, although the PMTA registry language did not make it into the final bill. Use the CASAA call to action to ask Gov. Pillen to veto the bill
*April 2 - Gov. Pillen signed LB 1204 into law
New Hampshire
Bill HB 1591 CASAA Call to Action
New York
Bill A 3404
Oklahoma
Bill HB 3971 - amends existing PMTA registry law to strengthen penalties
South Carolina
Bill S 994 CASAA Call to Action
*April 2 - bill passed in Senate; sent to House
South Dakota
Bill SB 116 CASAA Call to Action
*Feb. 14 - bill withdrawn at sponsor's request
Utah
Bill SB 61 CASAA Call to Action
*Feb. 28 - bill passed both houses and sent to conference committees
*March 1 - bill passed in conference committees
*March 12 - sent to governor for signature or veto
*March 20 – signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox
Vermont
Bill HB 729
Virginia
Bills HB 1069 / SB 550 CASAA Call to Action
*March 8 - Bill has passed both houses, and awaits Governor Youngkin's signature or veto. Use the CASAA Call to Action link to ask the governor to veto SB 550
*April 8 - Gov. Youngkin has returned HB 1069 to the House with a recommendation (an amendment) that would postpone enforcement of the PMTA registry for a year. The General Assembly will reconvene on April 17 to consider the amendment, which could be accepted as is (the bill would then become law), or the change could be overridden by a two-thirds vote (and the law passed with the original enforcement dates)
*April 17 - Both houses of the legislature adopted the governor’s recommendation on April 17, setting the effective date of the law to July 1, 2025.
Washington State
Bill SB 6118 CASAA Call to Action
* March 8 - bill has apparently failed in the legislature
West Virginia
*March 9 - legislature adjourned without addressing either bill
Wyoming
Bill SF 107 CASAA Call to Action
* March 7 - bill failed on third reading
Other bills
CASAA has issued calls to action for several other bills in various states that are not PMTA registry bills. If you live in these states, please take action:
- Colorado - SB 22: reverses state preemption - CASAA Call to Action - **March 6 - Bill failed in committee
- Hawaii - HB 1778: flavor ban and preemption repeal - CASAA Call to Action
- Maine - LD 1215: flavor ban - CASAA Call to Action - **June 23, 2023 - Passed the Senate. **April 19, 2024 - Bill did not receive a House vote before the session ended
- Maryland - HB 1414: increases vape tax from 12% to 30% retail - CASAA Call to Action - Legislators have apparently abandoned this bill. Instead, they added a vape tax increase to the state budget bill. The tax on open-system devices and bottled e-liquid will increase from 12% to 20%
- Michigan - Multiple bills: flavor ban, 57% tax
- Minnesota - HF 2177 / SF 2123: flavor ban - CASAA Call to Action
- Nebraska - LB 388: 20% wholesale tax - CASAA Call to Action - **April 18 - Bill did not receive a final vote. However the legislature will hold a special session, with the tax bill among legislation likely to be addressed
- New Mexico - SB 72: 44% wholesale tax - CASAA Call to Action - Legislative session adjourned; bill did not pass
- New Mexico - SB 80: flavor ban - CASAA Call to Action - Legislative session adjourned; bill did not pass
- Rhode Island - H 7225: 80% wholesale tax - CASAA Call to Action
- Vermont - S 18: flavor ban - CASAA Call to Action - **March 15 - Bill S 18 passed the state house. It has now gone to the governor for signature or veto. **April 3 - Gov. Scott vetoed bill S 18. **April 11 - State legislators will not attempt to override the governor's veto
- Virginia - HB 30 (state budget bill): proposed doubling of e-liquid tax to 11 cents per milliliter - CASAA Call to Action - The state legislature is returning for a special session in May, and will vote on the updated budget (with the vape tax increase) around the middle of the month. CASAA is urging Virginia residents to use its call to action to urge Gov. Youngkin to remove the vape tax from the budget
Why does Big Tobacco favor PMTA registries?
The FDA has so far authorized just seven e-liquid-based vaping devices (six of which are still being sold), and a handful of tobacco-flavored refill cartridges or pods. All are made by subsidiaries of three major tobacco companies.
The FDA is still reviewing premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) for many other products, including Juul Labs’ JUUL device and R.J. Reynolds’ Vuse Alto, the most popular convenience store vape. PMTAs for nicotine pouches, including brands sold by Reynolds, Altria Group and Philip Morris International, are also still under review.
The products named above would all be exempted from enforcement in states with PMTA registry laws. But nearly all other popular products would be illegal to sell—including most disposable vapes and bottled e-liquid. PMTA registry laws make vape shops instant targets for law enforcement, which is a goal of the tobacco companies seeking to protect their inferior vape products from competition.
#AGsFlavorBan#FloridaVapeBan#BigTobaccoVapeBill@AGAshleyMoody @Fl9Perry @TobyOverdorf pic.twitter.com/lrF5HPjFlo
— 🇺🇸Nick O🏴☠️ (@Nickotvd) January 30, 2024
Aside from product eligibility, many small vape manufacturers and sellers simply don’t have the money and manpower to register hundreds or thousands of products in multiple states. But for the tobacco companies—with small product selections, office buildings full of employees, and billions of dollars in the bank—maintaining PMTA registry listings in a minor business detail.
That’s why CASAA refers to vape registry laws as “big tobacco protection acts.”
Vuse manufacturer R.J. Reynolds is known to be actively promoting the introduction and passage of PMTA registry laws. It isn’t certain if other big tobacco companies (or Juul) are actively lobbying for the entire batch of current PMTA registry bills, but according to vape industry advocate Nick Orlando, both Altria and Juul Labs have expressed support for the Florida registry bill.
Reynolds, which is now owned by British American Tobacco, has a long history of throwing its weight around to disrupt independent vaping manufacturers and sellers. Before the FDA finalized its Deeming Rule, granting itself regulatory authority over vaping products, Reynolds urged the agency to ban open-system (refillable) vapes, and to classify vape shops as tobacco manufacturers.
In the last year, Reynolds and BAT have taken multiple actions to promote restrictions and bans on disposable vapes, which are now collectively Reynolds’ biggest convenience store vape competitors.
Jim McDonald
Vaping since: 12 years
Favorite products:
Favorite flavors: RY4-style tobaccos, fruits
Expertise in: Political and legal challenges, tobacco control haters, moral panics
Jim McDonald
Smokers created vaping without help from the tobacco industry or anti-smoking crusaders, and I believe vapers have the right to continue innovating to help themselves. My goal is to provide clear, honest information about the challenges vaping faces from lawmakers, regulators, and brokers of disinformation. I’m a member of the CASAA board, but my opinions aren’t necessarily CASAA’s, and vice versa. You can find me on Twitter @whycherrywhy
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