House Committee Changes, Advances Vaping Regulations Bill

Stakeholders in Indiana’s vaping industry say they’re happier with legislation regulating e-liquids after more changes in a House committee.

The Senate’s version of a bill rewriting Indiana vaping regulations largely eliminated many of the existing rules, aiming to undo controversy over current law and its creation of a de facto monopoly.

But some House lawmakers don’t want to go that far, so they amended the bill Tuesday to add rules back in. Those changes drew criticism and concern from many in the industry, so the committee made more alterations Wednesday.

An example is a labeling rule, which Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne) says previously would have required a specific bar code.

“[We're] changing that to ‘an identifying and traceable code.’ We’re trying to make it as broad as possible; we want to make sure we know what is the product and where it’s at, where it is in the market,” Lehman says.

Evan McMahon is chair of Hoosier Vapers, representing vaping manufacturers and consumers. He says the bill is in much better shape after the latest changes, creating a more level playing field.

“[It] doesn’t add a whole bunch of new regulations on businesses that are going to be trying to move back to Indiana,” McMahon says.

The committee unanimously approved the bill, sending it to the House floor.