Vape products: household hazardous waste: advertising

The law targets vape products designed to hide their nature from adults or appeal to minors while creating a safer disposal pathway for battery- and nicotine-containing devices taken from students.

What the law does ​

• Prohibits marketing, selling, distributing, or advertising vape products that imitate food, school supplies, clothing, accessories, or other non-vape products to conceal their nature from adults.
• Prohibits vape products with interactive videogame capabilities.
• Allows state and local enforcement, including product seizure and forfeiture, civil penalties, and criminal fines of up to $500 for violations.
• Subjects retailers to $50-per-package penalties, license suspension after a second seizure, and license revocation after a third seizure for prohibited vape products.
• Allows schools to transport student-confiscated vape pens and devices to household hazardous waste collection facilities without hazardous-waste transporter registration or manifests, subject to shipping-paper and safe-container requirements.
• Requires the Department of Toxic Substances Control to evaluate safer and more convenient disposal options for school-confiscated vape devices through January 1, 2030.

Who it affects ​

• Vape product manufacturers, marketers, distributors, and retailers.
• Schools that confiscate vape pens and devices from students.
• Household hazardous waste collection facilities and public agencies or contractors transporting confiscated devices.
• State and local enforcement agencies.

Breakdown ​

School Disposal of Confiscated Vape Devices ​

The bill creates rules to help schools safely dispose of vape pens and devices confiscated from students. Until January 1, 2030, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control must evaluate ways to make disposal safer and more convenient and identify recommendations that may need future legislation. Schools may transport confiscated vape devices without hazardous-waste transporter registration or manifests, while other transporters must follow specified handling rules.

Key takeaways

• The Department of Toxic Substances Control must evaluate ways to improve the safety and convenience of managing and disposing of vape pens confiscated by schools until January 1, 2030.
• The department must identify any recommended changes that would require future legislation.
• Schools can transport vape pens and devices confiscated from students without registering as hazardous-waste transporters or carrying hazardous-waste manifests.
• Public agencies, their contractors, and registered hazardous-waste transporters moving confiscated vape devices from schools must meet hazardous-waste transport conditions.
• Confiscated vape pens and devices must be transported in closed containers clearly marked with the school’s Environmental Protection Agency identification number.
• The bill sets rules for counting vape pens and devices toward household hazardous waste collection facility weight limits, and violations can be crimes.

Ban on Disguised and Gaming Vape Products ​

The bill bans the sale, advertising, and distribution of vape products that are designed to look like non-vape products to hide their nature from adults. It also bans vape products with interactive videogame capabilities. State and local governments may enforce these rules through civil penalties, and violations can also be charged as infractions.

Key takeaways

• The bill prohibits marketing, selling, distributing, or advertising vape products that imitate non-vape products to conceal that they are vape products from parents, teachers, or other adults.
• The bill also prohibits vape products that include interactive videogame capabilities.
• Cities, counties, city and county governments, and the state may enforce the bans and seek civil penalties.
• Civil fines include $1,000 for a first violation, while distributors may face fines of $50,000 per violation.
• Penalties collected go to the government office that brings the case, and the Attorney General may use collected penalties for enforcement if the Legislature appropriates the funds.
• A violation is also an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $500, in addition to other available legal remedies.

Enforcement Against Illegal Vape Sales ​

The bill extends existing enforcement tools for illegal flavored tobacco sales to certain vape-product violations. Retailers that unlawfully possess, store, own, or sell covered vape products can have those products seized and forfeited and may face civil penalties. It also allows authorized officers to inspect places where evidence of these vape-product violations may be found.

Key takeaways

• The bill applies seizure, forfeiture, and civil-penalty rules to retailers that violate the covered vape-product restrictions.
• Covered vape products may be seized from a retail location or another location where they are held.
• Seized vape products are forfeited to the state under the same framework used for illegally sold flavored tobacco products.
• Authorized peace officers and qualifying department employees may inspect places where evidence of covered vape-product violations may be found.

Coordinating Changes With AB 762 ​

This part coordinates AB 2667 with AB 762 if both bills become law. The additional changes to Business and Professions Code Section 22974.2 proposed by AB 762 apply only if AB 2667 is enacted after AB 762.

Key takeaways

• The bill includes additional changes to Section 22974.2 that are tied to AB 762.
• Those coordinated changes take effect only if both AB 2667 and AB 762 are enacted.
• AB 2667 must be enacted last for the additional changes to become operative.

No State Reimbursement Required ​

The bill states that the state does not have to reimburse local agencies or school districts for costs caused by this act. It relies on a specified reason stated in the bill to make that determination.

Key takeaways

• The bill says no state reimbursement is required for costs imposed by this act.
• Local agencies and school districts will not receive reimbursement under the state mandate reimbursement process for this act.
• The bill bases the no-reimbursement determination on a specified reason.