What's happening
This bill requires vendors selling electronic cigarettes or liquid nicotine in New York to register with the state.
Why it matters
Expands oversight of e-cigarette and liquid nicotine vendors. By requiring all sellers not already registered to sell tobacco products to register specifically for e-cigarette and liquid nicotine sales, the bill closes regulatory gaps and brings more businesses under state supervision.
Creates a framework for vendor standards. The bill mandates that the commissioner develop regulations around how registration is issued, renewed, or revoked, potentially setting clear standards for vendor conduct and compliance—helping ensure only responsible businesses operate in this space.
Enhances enforcement and public health protections. With new registration requirements and compliance mechanisms, state authorities will have better tools to monitor, inspect, and, if needed, penalize vendors who violate laws or regulations, supporting efforts to curb underage sales and unsafe products.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Register All Vape Retailers
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to investigations and government operations
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8285
IN SENATE
April 26, 2018
Introduced by Sen. HANNON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to the registration of vendors of electronic cigarettes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The tax law is amended by adding a new article 20-C to read as follows:
ARTICLE 20-C
VENDORS OF ELECTRONIC
CIGARETTES Section 492. Registration to vendors of electronic cigarettes.
§ 492. Registration to vendors of electronic cigarettes. Any person selling or offering for sale electronic cigarettes, as defined in subdivision thirteen of section thirteen hundred ninety-nine-aa of the public health law, or liquid nicotine, as defined in paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section thirteen hundred ninety-nine-cc of the public health law, that is not otherwise registered with the department to sell tobacco products as required by article twenty of this chapter and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto, shall register with the department pursuant to this section. The commissioner shall adopt regulations for the establishment of such registration including standards for issuance, renewal and revocation of such registration, and ensuring compliance with the provisions of this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect the first day of the month commencing after the one hundred eightieth day after this act shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03152-04-8
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to the regis- tration of vendors of electronic cigarettes
Purpose
To ensure all sellers of electronic cigarettes are registered and subject to compliance checks
Summary of provisions
Section one adds a new Article 20-C to the Tax Law, requiring any person selling or offering for sale electronic cigarettes or liquid nicotine, who that is not registered with the Department of Taxation and Finance to sell tobacco products, to register under this section. The Commis- sioner shall adopt regulations to establish the registration requirement and ensure compliance.
Section two provides the effective date.
Justification
In 2012, the state banned the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors under the age of 18. Despite enactment of this ban to minors in New York and a number of other states, the CDC reports the use of electronic cigarettes among middle school and high school students has more than doubled from 2011 to 2012. Recognizing that the health effects of elec- tronic cigarettes remain unknown, the FDA issued regulations on elec- tronic cigarettes, which includes a nationwide ban of the sale to minors in 2016. Given their use among minors, the FDA recently announced the Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan to investigate and crack down on access to minors. Since they are unregulated, electronic cigarette packages are not required to include health warnings and they can contain flavored electronic nicotine, which can often entice minors.
Although banned to minors in this state for several years, enforcement of this provision has been problematic. Chapter 448 of 2012 included electronic cigarettes in the Public Health Law provisions banning sale to minors. Chapter 542 of 2014 expressly included liquid nicotine in the ban to minors. Since these changes did not add electronic cigarettes or liquid nicotine to the definition of a "tobacco product" under the Tax Law, retailer's that sell only these products and not traditional tobac- co products do not need a tobacco registration from the Department of Taxation and Finance. As a result, when electronic cigarettes are sold in stores that do not sell traditional tobacco products, these retailers are not registered and there is no way for the Department of Health's Enforcement Unit to know they are selling electronic cigarettes and to conduct compliance checks to ensure they are not selling to minors. By requiring retailers that are not registered under Article 20, to regis- ter under this new article the bill ensures that State and localities can conduct compliance checks to confirm adherence to existing law.
This bill also seeks to address the point raised by the Governor's Veto message in 2016, claiming the bill would create a significant burden on the Department of Health. Given the Department of Tax and Finance already registers tobacco retailers, simply adding these retailers
pursuant to regulations established by the Department, should not be an onerous new burden.
Legislative history
2017: S.2542-A - Veto 186 2016: S.6003 - Veto 275 2015: S.6003 - Passed Senate, died in Assembly 2014: S.7139 - Passed Senate, died in Assembly
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Effective the first day of the month commencing after the 180th day after enactment; provided addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for implementation is effective immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.