The following bills had action recently by state legislatures:

Indiana: House Bill 1578, which increases the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and raises the purchase age to 21, will be heard in the House Ways & Means Committee on February 20, 2017.

Kansas: Governor Brownback’s tax increase proposals (House Bill 2315 and Senate Bill 175) on cigarettes and tobacco products were considered in hearings on February 16, 2017. HB2315 was considered in the House Taxation Committee and SB175 was considered in the Senate Assessments and Taxation Committee. Both bills increase the tax on cigarettes by $1.00 per pack (from $1.29 per pack to $2.29 per pack) and also double the tax on tobacco products from 10% to 20% of the wholesale price.

New Hampshire: House Bill 318, which taxes premium cigars at 15% of the wholesale sales price, died in the House on a motion of “inexpedient to legislate” on February 16, 2017. House Bill 333, which removes the current exemption for premium cigars from the OTP tax rate of 65.03% of wholesale, died in the House on a motion of “inexpedient to legislate” on February 16, 2017.

North Dakota: Senate Bill 2328, which requires retail dealers and distributors of e-cigarettes and e-liquid to obtain a distributor’s license, passed the Senate and moved to the House on February 14, 2017.

Oklahoma: House Bill 1841 increases the tax on cigarettes by $1.50 per pack, received a “Do Pass as Substituted” recommendation from the House Appropriations and Budget Committee on February 14, 2017.

Virginia: The Virginia legislature did not pass House Bill 1925 or Senate Bill 1329 that would have authorized counties to assess an excise tax on cigarette sales.

Wyoming: The Senate Revenue Committee defeated House Bill 151 that would have increased the state cigarette tax rate by $.30/pack to a new rate of $.90 per pack.