The following article was contributed by the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO)
The 2022 state legislative year is rapidly coming to a close and only a few state legislatures have passed bills to raise cigarette/tobacco/vape taxes or ban flavored tobacco products.
At this time, most state legislatures have adjourned for the year. These include Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
There are a few states that are still in session including Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. All special sessions have now wrapped up and have adjourned.
During this year’s state legislative cycle, many states looked into bills to increase cigarette/OTP taxes. A total of 25 states introduced tax legislation in 2022. Those states included Alaska, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
Through the lengthy legislative process including committee meetings and public testimony, only one state, Indiana, passed a new tobacco-related tax of $.40 per ounce on alternative nicotine products and reduced to 15 percent the tax on the wholesale price of closed electronic nicotine vapor products. There is a bill still in committee in Michigan’s ongoing session.
