CALL TO ACTION: Oppose CA Bills ABX2-6, ABX2-16 & SBX2-13
We Need YOUR Help! Oppose CA Bills ABX2-6, ABX2-16 & SBX2-13
In a few short weeks California’s legislative session will draw to a close. But right now there are still three major vaping bills on the table that are threatening the rights of vapers. We need your help!
Even if you aren’t a Californian, the vaping community as a whole will still benefit from your support. The vaping community is urging you to act, make a quick phone call, send an email and even write your state representatives and tell them that you OPPOSE bills ABX2-6, ABX2-16 and SBX2-13.
Bill Summaries:
ABX2-6:
Is an assembly bill that will classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products. In turn, it will then apply all current and existing tobacco laws and regulations to everything that is vaping related.
ABX2-16:
Also an assembly bill, ABX2-16 will expand the definition of tobacco products for the purposes of the Cigarette & Tobacco Products Licensing Act to include e-cigarettes. This will effectively subject manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers of vaping products to the same licensing requirements that have already been placed on the importers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers of tobacco products.
SBX2-13:
A Senate bill, SBX2-13 like ABX2-16 is set to widen the definition of tobacco products for the purposes of the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act to include e-cigarettes in order to place the manufacturers, wholesalers, importers, distributors and retailers of electronic cigarettes to the same licensing that tobacco product retailers, manufacturers, importers and distributors already face.
This bill will also place a tax on the distribution of vaping products, as defined, on the wholesale cost, at a rate that will be determined annually that is equal to the tobacco cigarette tax rate. Currently that tax rate is $2.87 per pack of 20 cigarettes. If SBX2-13 is passed, this tax will be placed on e-cigarettes in about 90 days after the bill has gone into effect.
Take Action Now:
Use CASAA’s Online Form Now to contact your State Representatives.
Find Your State Representative
Read more about California’s Special Session via NotBlowingSmoke.Org
Make your opinion known; don’t think that what you believe doesn’t count because it does! Spread the word to your friends, family and coworkers, as we need all the help that we can get. The vaping community needs to take a stand against bills like these because losing this battle would mean the loss of businesses and jobs. It would also mark a moment in time when our government, without public opinion, be given the ability to impose ridiculous taxes that would make vaping expensive and no longer the affordable option that we’ve come to know.