Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SB0926 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	HOUSE BILL 1008
3	3	By Raper
4	4
5	5	SENATE BILL 926
6	6	By Gardenhire
7	7
8	8
9	9	SB0926
10	10	002755
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13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
14	14	Chapter 17, Part 15 and Title 62, relative to the
15	15	sale of vapor products.
16	16
17	17	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
18	18	SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-1510, is amended by
19	19	designating the existing language as subsection (a) and adding the following as a new
20	20	subsection (b):
21	21	Notwithstanding subsection (a), a person who sells or distributes a vapor product
22	22	to an individual under twenty-one (21) years of age in violation of § 39-17-1504(a) or §
23	23	39-17-1507(b) commits a Class A misdemeanor.
24	24	SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 62, Chapter 76, Part 1, is amended by
25	25	adding the following as a new section:
26	26	(a) As used in this section:
27	27	(1) "Accessory" means any product that is intended or reasonably
28	28	expected to be used for the human consumption of a vapor product;
29	29	(2) "Age-restricted vapor product business" means any business that:
30	30	(A) Requires persons to be twenty-one (21) years of age or older
31	31	to enter the premises of the business;
32	32	(B) Determines the age of the customer through authentication
33	33	and verification of the purchaser's photo identification; and
34	34	(C) Derives no less than seventy-five percent (75%) of its gross
35	35	sales from the sale of vapor products and accessories;
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40	40	(3) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of commerce and
41	41	insurance;
42	42	(4) "Department" means the department of commerce and insurance;
43	43	(5) "Retailer" means a person who sells vapor products to a consumer for
44	44	any purpose other than resale; and
45	45	(6) "Vapor product" means a noncombustible product that employs a
46	46	heating element, battery, power source, electronic circuit, or other electronic,
47	47	chemical, or mechanical means, regardless of shape or size and including the
48	48	component parts and accessories thereto, that can be used to deliver vaporized
49	49	nicotine or other substances to users inhaling from the device. "Vapor product"
50	50	includes, but is not limited to, any device deemed to be an electronic nicotine
51	51	delivery system by the United States food and drug administration, any electronic
52	52	cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, or similar product
53	53	or device and every variation thereof, regardless of whether marketed as such,
54	54	and any vapor cartridge or other container of a liquid solution or other material
55	55	that is intended to be used with or in an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar,
56	56	electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, or other similar product or device.
57	57	(b)
58	58	(1) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary and except as provided in
59	59	subdivision (b)(2), beginning December 1, 2025, no person, firm, or corporation
60	60	shall:
61	61	(A) Operate as a retailer selling vapor products in this state
62	62	without first obtaining a vapor product business license issued by the
63	63	department; or
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68	68	(B) Sell, at retail, a vapor product to a customer except through a
69	69	face-to-face sales transaction at a licensed, age-restricted vapor product
70	70	business.
71	71	(2) Persons engaged in display, exhibition, or sale of vapor products,
72	72	including flavored vapor products, at trade shows or exhibitions are not required
73	73	to obtain a vapor products business license; provided, that:
74	74	(A) Access to the portion of the trade show's venue where vapor
75	75	products are displayed, offered for sale, or sold is restricted to persons
76	76	who are twenty-one (21) years of age or older;
77	77	(B) Each attendee of the trade show, as a condition of admission
78	78	to the venue, presents a photo identification to verify age; and
79	79	(C) Manufacturers, distributors, or retailers whose vapor products
80	80	are displayed, offered for sale, or sold at the venue shall conduct a
81	81	secondary age authentication and verification prior to commencing the
82	82	retail sale transaction for any vapor product.
83	83	(c)
84	84	(1) Each application for a vapor products business license must be made
85	85	in a form prescribed by the department, along with the license fee, and any
86	86	supporting documentation required by the department. The license may be
87	87	renewed annually. The vapor products business license must be posted in a
88	88	conspicuous place on the premises of the business where vapor products are
89	89	sold.
90	90	(2) The license shall remain in full force and effect from the date of
91	91	issuance until the next occurring January 1 unless it is surrendered by the
92	92	licensee, suspended, or revoked.
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97	97	(3) The fee for each license is two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per year
98	98	for each licensed premises, and the fee is payable to the department.
99	99	(4) The license is not transferable from one (1) person to another or from
100	100	one (1) location to another location. A new license is required whenever a
101	101	retailer has a change in ownership.
102	102	(d)
103	103	(1) The commissioner shall approve or deny every application for a
104	104	license within sixty (60) days from the receipt of a completed application.
105	105	(2) If the application is denied, the:
106	106	(A) License is not issued;
107	107	(B) License fee is returned to the applicant;
108	108	(C) Applicant must be notified of the commissioner's denial, which
109	109	must include the reason for the denial; and
110	110	(D) Applicant may appeal the denial and request an
111	111	administrative hearing on the matter in accordance with the Uniform
112	112	Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
113	113	(3) If the commissioner permanently revokes a license pursuant to
114	114	subsection (e), the commissioner shall:
115	115	(A) Notify the applicant within ten (10) days of the decision to
116	116	revoke the license;
117	117	(B) Commence a hearing on the license revocation in
118	118	accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in
119	119	title 4, chapter 5; and
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124	124	(C) Issue a final order explaining the decision and facts
125	125	supporting the license revocation. A final order of the commissioner is
126	126	appealable to the chancery court in the jurisdiction of the licensee.
127	127	(4) The department shall promulgate rules in accordance with the
128	128	Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, to
129	129	implement this section, including establishing a procedure for administering
130	130	citations, issuing orders, and filing appeals under this section.
131	131	(e)
132	132	(1) The department shall:
133	133	(A) Investigate the information provided in each vapor product
134	134	business licensure application; and
135	135	(B) If the license is approved, conduct random inspections or
136	136	compliance checks of the licensee not less than once annually during
137	137	normal business hours or as deemed appropriate by the commissioner.
138	138	(2) Any violation found during a compliance check shall be rechecked by
139	139	the department's enforcement division:
140	140	(A) Not earlier than one (1) month nor later than three (3) months
141	141	after a notice of violation is issued to the licensee; or
142	142	(B) As soon as the commissioner deems practicable.
143	143	(3) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary and in addition to any
144	144	other fines or penalties that may apply, a retailer who violates subdivision (b)(1)
145	145	is subject to a civil penalty of:
146	146	(A) Five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the first violation;
147	147	(B) Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for the second violation within
148	148	three (3) years;
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153	153	(C) Twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) and a fifteen-day
154	154	suspension of the vapor license for a third or subsequent violation within
155	155	three (3) years; and
156	156	(D) Revocation of the license shall occur upon the fourth violation
157	157	within three (3) years.
158	158	SECTION 3. For purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming a
159	159	law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect July 1, 2025, the
160	160	public welfare requiring it.