SB 648 - Summary of the hearing in the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization

Yesterday my wife and I headed out to Sacramento and met up with other vapers and vendors to attend the Senate Governmental Organization Committee hearing on SB 648. The short version is that the hearing went well.

In case you aren't up on the details of SB 648 it was introduced by Senator Ellen Corbett last year. As originally written it would have banned the use of electronic cigarettes anywhere that smoking is banned. The bill languished in the Governmental Organizations committee for months. Until last week. Corbett removed much of the bill, leaving it as a prohibition against selling electronic cigarettes in vending machines. This is something we can all support, unfortunately the bill also contained language that would define an electronic cigarette as a “cigarette”. Or at least it did until late Tuesday when it was amended to remove the problematic language.

There was some very real concern that the latest amendment might be removed under pressure from the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, and the American Lung Association. The result was that when we arrived at the capitol building we still didn't know if we would be supporting or opposing the bill. But confirmation came just before the hearing, the amendment was in, the definition of electronic cigarettes as “cigarettes” was out, and we would be supporting SB 648.

The hearing itself started out the way these things normally do. Corbett addressed the committee, talked about the bill… yadda yadda yadda. Then the lobbyists for NJOY and VMR testified in support of the bill as amended. Followed by public testimony. Us. And this was the first bit of true amusement. As our small group of Northern California vapers and vendors approached to testify the committee chairman blurts out “Wait, this is testimony in support of the bill.”

Yes Mister Chairman it is, and yes, we’re supporting this bill, and yes, we know you’re confused, but just go with it…

So we all gave our support to SB 648 “as proposed amended”. Then came the oppositions turn. The very people who had been pushing for this bill were now going to testify against it. Why? because even though the bill does exactly what they claim to want, namely to keep electronic cigarettes out of the hands of minors, they didn't want to lose the language that would have defined e-cigs as cigarettes, they didn't want to lose the leverage that it would have given them to regulate and tax e-cigs as cigarettes. After all the opposition speakers were done GO Chair
Isadore Hall criticized them by saying “I am stricken that they would oppose a bill that would keep kids from getting e-cigarettes” and that “If they are against this bill they are for kids smoking.”

Schadenfreude!
It’s not often that we get to see our opponents treated this way. And it’s not every day that the ANTZ get pushed off of their self proclaimed moral high ground, toppled from their pedestal, and publicly disparaged. 

This was a victory for California vapers. Maybe a small victory, but one with big implications as it leaves electronic cigarettes as separate from the definition of a “cigarette” or a “tobacco product” and leaves open the path for being legally treated a different class of product. The ayes have it, the bill passed the committee, and now… well, now we wait and watch and prepare to fight again in the event that future amendments change the impact of this bill before it reaches the governor’s desk.

Call To Action - SB648 Wednesday 6-25 @ 1:30 PM in Sacramento, CA.

CA SB648 IS ALIVE AND BACK! Be part of fighting this bill, Wednesday 1:30pm in Sacramento, CA! If you can't make it, contact the committee members!

WHERE:

Capitol Building room 4202
Sacramento, CA

WHEN:

The hearing is at 1:30pm so we aim to gather at the front steps of the capitol building at 1pm.
SB648 is first on the agenda so that’s nice.

DETAILS:

A threat that had been dormant in California has come back from the dead. The threat is CA Bill SB648. Last time around it was quite an interesting hearing with lots of great testimonies but it was also a struggle which resulted in the bill becoming dormant. Well, not any more it isn't.

Corbett has made amendments to the bill that took out most of the items in there. It leaves a bit about vending machines and protecting kids from access, which we are all in agreement on of course. However, it also has wording in the bill that sets the foundation and definition of e-cigarette = cigarette. This is a highly dangerous precedent that we can’t allow to slip by because that definition would equate vapor with smoke and everything else that applies to smoke would soon follow. This could be taxation (perhaps even an equivalency tax), licensing for stores, etc.

In its current form the bill itself does not look like it is important but we believe this to be deceptive. If this bill, in its current form, passes the G.O. committee and goes up the stack it gets gradually harder to kill the bill or get amendments made. All the while, Corbett will be able to add things back into the bill or even add new amendments to it, again making it harder at each step for us to deal with it.

It is therefore imperative that we try and either get an amendment on the wording in this bill or, if that is not possible, aim to completely defeat it.

You can find the bill text here.

Details on the committee hearing this Wednesday here.

For those of you who can’t join us. Please contact the Governmental Organization committee members and let them know why defining an e-cigarette as a traditional combustable cigarette is a bad idea even though you agree (which I presume you do) that kids should not have easy access to e-cigarattes. The contact details for the committee are here: