SC Senate passes ban on local tobacco sales restrictions, adds measures to crack down on sales to minors

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – Proper now, cities and counties in South Carolina are free to enact their very own restrictions on tobacco and vape gross sales.

However a invoice which will quickly be on Gov. Henry McMaster’s desk would ban them from imposing these native guidelines.

H.3681 would make it unlawful for native governments to implement native guidelines on cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vape, and different tobacco and nicotine product gross sales, together with banning merchandise with sure flavors or substances from being offered inside a metropolis or county.

Supporters argue uniform tobacco laws are wanted statewide for companies that function in a number of locations.

“With inconsistent guidelines, it’s unattainable for companies to remain afloat. It’s robust sufficient as it’s, however these small companies want this assist,” Sen. Billy Garrett, R – McCormick, mentioned.

Native legal guidelines and ordinances put in place earlier than 2021 can be grandfathered in beneath this invoice.

It additionally wouldn’t stop cities and counties from enacting no-smoking areas or zoning ordinances to ban smoke or vape gross sales in sure locations, like shut to varsities.

The Home of Representatives handed this invoice earlier this 12 months. Senators amended it of their debate this week to additionally embody language from a invoice sponsored by Senate Minority Chief Brad Hutto, D – Orangeburg, designed to crack down on shops illegally promoting nicotine merchandise to minors.

“Proper now, they simply get a slap on the wrist. This can arrange a course of that in the event that they preserve doing it, they may lose their proper to promote nicotine merchandise throughout the board, and I feel folks will reply to that,” Hutto mentioned.

Hutto’s modification bans minors from even getting into shops that primarily promote tobacco and nicotine merchandise, like smoke and vape retailers, however it will not prohibit youngsters from going into shops that promote tobacco and nicotine merchandise however primarily promote different gadgets, like grocery shops.

It will create a brand new tobacco retail gross sales license and require shops that promote tobacco and nicotine merchandise, together with vape and e-cigarette merchandise, to have one. In accordance with the CDC, South Carolina is one in all 10 states that don’t have such a license requirement at the moment in impact.

The state Division of Income, which might regulate these licenses, would make not less than one unannounced go to yearly to all of these retailers.

The measure additionally will increase the penalties for retailers caught illegally promoting to minors, together with suspending their license for every week after two offenses inside a three-year interval.

If a retailer is in violation 4 or extra occasions inside a three-year interval, they’d face a minimal $1,200 tremendous and wouldn’t be allowed to promote tobacco and nicotine merchandise for 3 years.

“There are going to be folks watching you. There are going to be penalties in case you’re promoting to youngsters. So if you’re, cease it,” Hutto mentioned.

The American Most cancers Society opposes this ban on native governments imposing their very own tobacco guidelines, saying South Carolina wants native legal guidelines to guard children, not state interference.

The group reviews over 1 / 4 of South Carolina highschool college students use tobacco merchandise, together with e-cigarettes.

“Immediately’s vote will do nothing greater than worsen the youth tobacco epidemic by tying the arms of our native elected officers to behave,” Beth Johnson, the South Carolina authorities relations director for the American Most cancers Society Most cancers Motion Community, mentioned in an announcement. “South Carolinians have lengthy valued freedom and liberty. Lawmakers right this moment voted exterior our state’s strongest values by permitting particular curiosity teams like Huge Tobacco and their allies to remove our freedoms and put our household’s pocketbooks and well being in danger.”

All Democratic senators however Hutto voted in opposition to the invoice, which the Senate handed in a 26-16 vote.

“It’s exhausting to reconcile as we speak about youngsters that we might be in favor of rolling again one of the crucial highly effective instruments that native authorities has,” Sen. Marlon Kimpson, D – Charleston, mentioned.

The invoice will subsequent return to the Home, which might want to determine earlier than the legislative session ends on Might 11 if it is going to agree with the Senate’s adjustments and ship the invoice to the governor, or if it is going to attempt to work out a compromise between their variations of the laws.

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