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Lawmakers Rewrite Vaping Regulations After Inadvertent Monopoly

Lawmakers debated legislation well into Friday night on the House floor.
Brandon Smith/IPB
Lawmakers debated legislation well into Friday night on the House floor.

Legislation is headed to the governor that eliminates many of the state’s monopoly-creating, vaping regulations.

While the legislation deletes several rules, it installs new regulations, including certain packaging and labeling requirements and a mandate that manufacturers disclose their ingredient list with state regulators.

It does not prohibit online sales.

But Sen. Greg Taylor (D-Indianapolis) says the bill relies significantly on potential federal regulations that aren’t yet in place. He says he doesn’t want to count on the federal government.

“So we’re just going to have a free-for-all now with people coming here, getting this vape … kids are going to be smoking it,” Taylor says.

But Sen. Randy Head (R-Logansport) notes a federal court ruling earlier this year invalidated Indiana’s existing rules.

“If we don’t implement Senate Bill 1, there will be no regulations. And it will be easier for people who want to do bad things to put illegal substances in e-liquid and ship it here, there, and anywhere else,” Head says.

The Senate approved the bill 45-5. The House approved it 83-14.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state.
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