BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 648
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 13, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                     SB 648 (Corbett) - As Amended:  July 2, 2014

          Policy Committee:                              Governmental  
          Organization Vote:                            16-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill prohibits the offer, sale, or distribution of  
          electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) from a vending machine or  
          other coin or token operated mechanical device or appliance,  
          unless that machine or appliance is located on a premises issued  
          an on-sale public license to sell alcoholic beverages and is at  
          least 15 feet from the entrance to that premises.

          The bill harmonizes vending machine restrictions for  
          e-cigarettes with those of cigarettes and other tobacco  
          products, and does not preempt any local standard that further  
          restricts the sale of e-cigarettes.  Violations result in civil  
          penalties from $400 to $600 for the first violation up to $5,000  
          to $6,000 for a fifth violation within a five-year period.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor and absorbable enforcement costs to the Department of  
          Alcoholic Beverage Control.

           COMMENTS 

          1)  Purpose.   According to the author, unattended vending machines  
            create an opportunity for minors to purchase e-cigarettes in  
            violation of state law.  The author contends e-cigarette use  
            by minors has increased significantly over the past few years,  
            and limiting access from vending machines will help restrain  
            that growth.

          2)  Trojan Horse?   Opponents, led by the American Heart, Lung, and  
            Stroke Associations, the American Cancer Society, and the  








                                                                  SB 648
                                                                  Page  2

            California Medical Association, argue the bill, while laudable  
            in its original policy aim, has been coopted by an effort to  
            establish e-cigarettes as distinct and separate from  
            cigarettes and tobacco products.  Opponents argue the bill  
            provides a dangerous precedent for systematic exemption of  
            e-cigarettes from public smoke-free laws.

          3)  Federal Ban Proposed.   On April 24, 2014, the US Food and Drug  
            Administration (FDA) proposed new rules on e-cigarettes that  
            include a more restrictive ban on vending machine sales of  
            e-cigarettes except for machines located in premises where  
            persons under 18 years old are prohibited from entering.  The  
            public comment period for the proposed rules has closed,  
            however the FDA has yet to issue any final rule.  If the FDA  
            rules are adopted as proposed, this bill would effectively be  
            preempted by the federal rule.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Joel Tashjian / APPR. / (916) 319-2081