The following bills were recently introduced in state legislatures:

Arizona: Senate Bill 1516 extends the state smoking ban to include use of e-cigarettes. Senate Bill 1517 imposes a new excise tax on e-cigarettes of 95% of the wholesale price. House Bill 2335 increases the age for purchase, use and possession of tobacco products (including e-cigarettes) to 21 and extends the smoking ban to include e-cigarettes.

Connecticut: House Bill 6359 increases the cigarette tax by $1.49 per pack with a floor tax of $.075 per cigarette. House Bill 6368 establishes a uniform method of taxation for all tobacco products. House Bill 6491 requires cigarette purchases to be made by persons 21 years of age and older.

Hawaii: House Bill 246 imposes a new excise tax of 70% of the wholesale price on e-cigarettes and related products, effective January 1, 2018 19. House Bills 247 and Senate Bill 291 increase the excise tax on large cigars from 50% to 70% of the wholesale price. House Bills 769 and 1332 and Senate Bill 871 change the excise tax on large cigars (currently 50% of the wholesale price) to the lesser of 50% of the wholesale price or 50 cents. Senate Bill 404 imposes an excise tax of 70% of the wholesale price on e-cigarettes and related items, requires retailers that only sell e-cigarettes to obtain a retail tobacco permit, and increases the annual retail tobacco permit fee from $20 to $50 per location. Senate Bill 1055 prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes that contain nicotine.

Indiana: House Bill 1578 increases the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and raises the minimum age to 21 for the purchase and possession of tobacco products. House Bill 1634 raises the penalty from a Class C (up to a $500 fine) to a Class B infraction (up to a $1,000 fine) for selling tobacco or an electronic cigarette to persons under age 18.

Kansas: Governor Sam Brownback introduced his budget proposal that includes a $1.00 per pack tax increase on cigarettes, as well as a new tax on OTP that doubles the tax rate from 10% to 20%. House Bill 2231 increases the state cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and increases the tax on other tobacco products from 10% to 65% of the wholesale price.

Maryland: House Bill 523 (cross-filed with Senate Bill 119) requires a license to act as an electronic nicotine delivery system manufacturer, retailer, storage warehouse, vape shop vendor or wholesaler. House Bill 354 prohibits the use of e-cigarettes in indoor areas open to the public, indoor places of employment and certain designated private areas (excludes vapor retail stores).

Michigan: Senate Bill 37 prohibits sale of electronic cigarettes and other vapor products to minors. Senate Bill 74 increases fines on sales to minors from $50 per occurrence to $100 on the first occurrence and $500 for each subsequent occurrence.

Mississippi: House Bill 1310 and Senate Bill 2449 provide that for purposes of determining the cost to the retailer below which the retailer may not sell cigarettes, the presumed overhead of the retailer will be increased from the current 6% to 8% in July 2017, 10% in July 2018 and 12% in July 2019. House Bill 1312 and Senate Bill 2464 provide that if a retailer has not paid a tobacco wholesaler or distributor, the wholesaler or distributor is to notify the Commissioner of Revenue, who will in turn notify all tobacco wholesalers and distributors, and that future deliveries to the retailer may only be done on a C.O.D. basis until further order of the Commissioner. Senate Bill 2578 repeals the Unfair Cigarette Sales Law.

Montana: Senate Bill 147 revises the clean indoor air act to prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes where smoking is already prohibited.

New Hampshire: Senate Bill 207 changes the tax rate on chewing tobacco from 65.03% of wholesale to $1.55 per ounce.

New Mexico: House Bill 282 and Senate Bill 231 both propose to increase the state cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack, increase the tax on other tobacco products an additional 51% of the purchase price, and also include “electronic cigarettes” in the definition of “tobacco products” with the sole purpose of imposing a new tax on electronic cigarettes at rate of 76% of the purchase price.

New York: Assembly Bill 3009 (identical to Senate Bill 2009) imposes an excise tax on vapor products at the rate of 10 cents per fluid milliliter, increases the excise tax on cigars to 45 cents per cigar, prohibits the distribution of vapor products to minors and requires child-resistant packaging for vapor products. Assembly Bill 3829 redefines smoking to include the use of an e-cigarette for the purpose of prohibiting e-cigarette use where smoking is already prohibited (exempts retail e-cigarette stores). Assembly Bill 3978 raises the minimum sales age for tobacco products and vapor products from 18 to 21. Assembly Bill 2663 (same as SB157) increases the OTP tax rate to the higher of 95% of wholesale or the minimum rates specified for the following: moist snuff ($3.63 per ounce), single-unit tobacco products (same rate as cigarettes--$4.35 for a minimum pack size of 20 units), loose tobacco (same rate as cigarettes--$4.35 for a 0.65 ounces) and cigars (same rate as cigarettes--$4.35 for a minimum 5 pack).

North Dakota: Senate Bill 2328 requires a license to sell electronic cigarettes and prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors.

Ohio: The Governor’s Budget calls for a $.65 per pack increase in the cigarette tax, a 52% increase in the OTP tax, a floor tax, and creating a vapor tax of 69% of the wholesale price.

Oregon: House Bill 2024 increases the legal age to purchase and possess tobacco products and inhalant delivery systems to 21 years of age. House Bill 2024 imposes a tax on e-liquid nicotine at 90% of the wholesale price. House Bill 2037 increases the tax on cigarettes by $.90 per pack. House Bill 2056 increases the tax on cigarettes by $.50 per pack, increases the tax on tobacco products from 65% to 90% of the wholesale price, and imposes a tax on vapor products at the rate of $.05 per milligram per milliliter of nicotine. House Bill 2062 imposes a tax on inhalant-form nicotine at the following rates: 95% of the wholesale price of inhalant form nicotine that is sold separately from an inhalant delivery system or sold in a disposable cartridge used in an inhalant delivery system; 70% of the wholesale price of an inhalant delivery system that is sold containing inhalant form nicotine and does not require any additional components for use. House Bill 2119 increases the tax on cigarettes by $2.00 per pack. House Bill 2406 increases the tax on cigarettes by $1.69 per pack. House Bill 2662 increases the tax on cigarettes by $1.60 per pack. Senate Bill 235 prohibits retailers may not sell or distribute tobacco products or inhalant delivery systems unless licensed by the state. Senate Bill 180 imposes a tax on inhalant-form nicotine at 95% of the wholesale price.

Rhode Island: Senate Bill 113 redefines "tobacco" to include vapor products for the purpose of imposing the 7% sales and use tax.

Texas: House Bill 1411 imposes a tax on vapor products at the rate of $.05 per milliliter of vapor product sold. House Bill 1279 prohibits any county or municipality from adopting or enforcing a smoking prohibition on the premises of a business that allows smoking and for which at least 20% of the business’s revenue is derived from the sale of cigars.

Vermont: House Bill 178 redefines other tobacco products to include vapor products, assessing the excise tax of 92% of the wholesale price on vapor products. House Bill 179 increases the excise tax on cigarettes by $1.25 per pack (from $3.08 per pack to $4.33 per pack), increases the excise tax on new smokeless tobacco by $1.04 per ounce (from $2.57 per ounce to $3.61 per ounce), and imposes a floor stock tax on cigarettes.