HB 174-MIN. AGE TO POSSESS NICOTINE/ECIG PRODUCT  1:27:19 PM CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the next order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 174, "An Act raising the minimum age to purchase, sell, exchange, or possess a product containing nicotine or an electronic smoking product; and providing for an effective date." [Before the committee was CSHB 174(CRA).] 1:27:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE GARY KNOPP, Alaska State Legislature, as prime sponsor, introduced HB 174. He stated that in the past year the federal government had raised [the age requirement for purchasing tobacco and products containing nicotine] to 21 years, from 18 or 19 years of age. He remarked that the proposed legislation would simply raise the age in Alaska to bring Alaska's statute into compliance with what the federal government has done. He explained that the reason for this is because, if left as is, there would be discrepancies: If someone sold to individuals under 21 years of age, then only federal penalties would apply; but if sold to someone under 19 years of age, then state penalties would apply. He said that there is an ambiguity between the ages as to which laws would apply, and the state penalties are slightly harsher than what the federal guidelines are. He summarized that the proposed legislation would bring Alaska into compliance by raising the age to 21; it would change nothing else. 1:29:32 PM REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked why it is so important to have Alaska's tobacco laws in compliance, when there are marijuana laws that are clearly not in compliance with federal laws, and she said, "We seem to be living through that." REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP answered that it is "apples to oranges," as the federal government does not regulate or allow marijuana whatsoever. He said that age limits for the sale of tobacco products exist in state and federal law, and it is important to avoid a conflict between law enforcement and the judicial system, as it "keeps it clean." He stated that "important" would be a matter of opinion for some people, and he thinks it is important in the judiciary process penalty phase to be consistent in what is adopted. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX commented that this is a difference of opinion. 1:30:48 PM KERRY CROCKER, Staff, Representative Gary Knopp, Alaska State Legislature, presented HB 174 on behalf of Representative Gary Knopp, prime sponsor. He stated that he could answer Representative Ledoux's question more extensively. He said that one of the important parts of the proposed legislation is that there is approximately $2.8 million dollars of federal substance abuse grant money tied to the age change. He said that it is important for the state to realize that down the road, if it doesn't change the age, there will be a risk of losing some of those federal substance abuse grants. MR. CROCKER stated that HB 174 would change Alaska's statute to match the recently implemented federal guidelines for sale of tobacco products, would raise the legal age from 19 to 21, and would end discrepancies in both statute and enforcement in both state and federal laws. He said that according to the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), smoking costs Alaska around $575 million in direct medical expenses and kills around 700 people annually. He stated that the deaths of Alaskans from smoking costs the state approximately $261 million annually in lost productivity, and according to the Alaska Youth Survey, 12 percent of male youth and 9 percent of female youth use tobacco products. He explained that the use of tobacco products becomes more prevalent the higher the grade level, starting around 6 percent in Ninth Grade, and getting to around 16 percent in Twelfth Grade. He stated that this increase in the number of youth tobacco users, between the freshmen and senior years, highlights how access to tobacco products leads to tobacco use, and by raising the legal age of tobacco use from 19 to 21, access would be further removed. He said that 89 percent of students who smoke get tobacco products from a peer. He summarized that it is important to match Alaska's smoking statutes with federal guidelines, in order to allow state law enforcement personnel to prevent sales to underage consumers and enforce [penalties for noncompliance]. He indicated that is the intent of CSHB 174(CRA). 1:33:42 PM REPRESENTATIVE STUTES remarked that she has heard that there are a lot of hours wasted by employees who smoke during office hours, and she asked Mr. Crocker whether he had any idea how much time is expended by working smokers. 1:34:09 PM MR. CROCKER replied that he did not have that information, but he believes it exists. REPRESENTATIVE STUTES remarked that it does, and said, "You can watch it here." 1:34:27 PM REPRESENTATIVE KOPP asked Representative Knopp whether there would be any change to the penalties or only to the age eligibility. 1:34:41 PM REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP replied that he appreciated the question as it was a point he wanted to make. He said that his office looked hard at the penalty to see whether there was anything that should be changed, and it was determined that it should stay the same. He explained that the penalties were adopted over many years, by many legislators and lawmakers; they seem to be appropriate and are that to which the public and industry are accustomed. 1:35:15 PM REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND remarked that she had heard Mr. Crocker say that smoking costs the state $261 million annually in lost productivity, but that information appears to be related to the deaths of Alaskans, whom she said she assumes were productive people prior to their deaths, "even though they may have spent a lot of time leaving the building to smoke." She commented that the states and the federal government coordinated the age level for liquor consumption 40 or 50 years ago in relation to highway safety maintenance and construction funds. She said that it is about time for that change with tobacco and thanked the bill sponsor for bringing the proposed legislation forward. 1:36:23 PM REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked whether the proposed legislation would prevent someone under the age of 21 from selling tobacco as well. 1:36:45 PM REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP confirmed that was correct. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked whether there would be any kind of grandfather clause, as there are a lot of "kids who are working in, you know, one-person quick-stops and so forth, so they're all going to get fired?" REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP answered no, they would retain their jobs, and just like the restaurant business where wait staff can bring water and food but there needs to be someone over the legal age to bring alcoholic beverages, the same would apply where tobacco products are sold. REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX remarked that sometimes there is only one person working at these stores and asked how these people would be taken care of if they lose their jobs. REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP replied that no one would lose their jobs, but during that period there would be no tobacco sales by under aged individuals. He said that store owners are aware of this and would need to make provisions accordingly. 1:37:34 PM REPRESENTATIVE KOPP remarked that the proposed legislation has an effective date of January 1, 2021, and he asked whether this was to provide time for public education regarding the change under the proposed legislation. 1:37:47 PM MR. CROCKER answered that this would allow the public time to deal with the question raised by Representative LeDoux and allow for time to adjust to the change under the new statute. 1:38:16 PM CHAIR CLAMAN opened public testimony on HB 174. 1:38:42 PM JON BERRIER, Senior Director, Public Affairs, Juul Labs, testified in support of HB 174. He stated that Juul Labs had submitted written testimony for the record in strong support of the proposed legislation to increase the minimum age for purchase of tobacco and vapor products to 21, in line with the recent federal law passed by Congress and signed by the President [hard copy included in the committee packet.] He reiterated Juul Labs' support for HB 174 and urged the committee and legislature to pass a clean "tobacco 21 bill." He stated that Juul Labs is a leading manufacturer of vaping products as an alternative to combustible cigarettes. He said that progress in reducing youth use of these products will depend on states ensuring that underage sales are halted, and for the new federal law to work appropriately, states should still pass and enforce laws to ensure that retailers sell only to those aged 21 and over. He opined this is the right policy to pass, and, as incentive, reminded the committee that states that do not adopt strategies to enforce retailers selling to underage individuals risk losing a portion of their federal block grant funding for substance abuse. MR. BERRIER stated that the mission at Juul Labs is to transition the world's one billion adult smokers away from combustible cigarettes, and it pursues this mission while actively combatting underage use of its products. He said that Juul Labs believes that raising the minimum age is a critical step in combatting underage use of cigarettes, other tobacco products, and vapor products. He pointed out that nearly 94 percent of smokers started before the age of 21, and approximately 80 percent of underage users access vapor products through social sourcing, which is attaining vapor or tobacco products from legal age adults, usually a friend or sibling. He stated that underage use is antithetical to Juul Labs' mission, and it has taken definitive actions in restricting it, including voluntarily discontinuing some of its flavored products other than tobacco and menthol, restricting sales on its e-commerce platform through industry leading age verification technology, suspending all advertising and promotion of products through broadcast media, print, and digital channels, and instituting a three-strikes policy as part of its secret-shopper program to prohibit retailers from selling Juul products for at least a year if they incur three violations. MR. BERRIER summarized that he thinks Juul Labs shares a common goal with everyone that is in the policy maker, regulator, and parent realm, in that it wants to prevent the underage use of these products; therefore, Juul Labs respectfully urges the committee and the Alaska State Legislature to pass HB 174, as a clean tobacco 21 bill. 1:41:29 PM ALEX MCDONALD testified in opposition to HB 174. He stated that young adults are currently taking a huge hit in Alaska. He explained that college students were ordered out of their dorms without an option of a place to live and no word on refunds for meal plans or housing, and he said that a lot of the students will be without jobs with the restaurant closures; he remarked that he had worked as a cook through college. He stated that half of the troops currently in Iraq are from Fort Wainwright and questioned whether their stay over there might be extended due to the new travel bans. MR. MCDONALD expressed that these young adults are fighting for this country, and the legislature should be hearing legislation on how to help them, instead of restricting their freedoms and job opportunities during this time. He asked what store would hire a 20-year-old that could not perform all the duties at a gas station. He expressed that there are "bigger fish to fry," and said that Idaho had just voted down similar legislation, stating that there are many dangerous things in life, with war being one of them. He said that it is not questioned when 18- to 20-year-olds are sent to war and asked to maintain aircrafts, machinery, and weapons. He expressed that these are adults who should be allowed to make adult choices. He asked that the legislature please stay focused on the issues that currently face the state, and he said that the proposed legislation is not a major issue. He pointed out that people would soon be out of jobs, tourism would be taking a hit, and ConocoPhillips just announced curtailing activities on the North Slope. He added that businesses are facing uncertainty as to whether they would be able to open tomorrow, and Alaskans need reassurance that things are going to continue as normal. He summarized that restricting peoples' freedoms in a time like this was backwards, and he said that people should be able to live their lives. 1:44:14 PM SHAUN D'SYLVA, Business Owner, Fat Boy Vapors, testified in support of HB 174. He stated that he has adult vapor stores located in Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Wasilla. He said that the federal age was changed recently, and many states are working on legislation to move that forward. He remarked that as someone who has been on the frontlines of helping adults stop smoking by using vapor products, he is concerned about youth access and said that many underage users have been getting products through social circles, including friends and family of legal age to purchase, which in Alaska is 19 years old. He said that his business is very supportive of switching that age to 21, to ensure that youth do not have easy access and to not create more of a problem in the future. He expressed that as a business owner in Alaska, who has many customers that have stopped smoking, who had begun prior to the age of 21, some as young as 12 or 13 years old, he thinks that this would be a tremendous step in ensuring that there are not underage users. He strongly encouraged passage of HB 174. 1:46:03 PM MARGE STONEKING, Executive Director, American Lung Association, testified in support of HB 174. She expressed thanks to the committee for continuing to serve Alaskans while keeping themselves and the public safe through public health practices. She stated that Alaska is facing a current youth e-cigarette epidemic, as is the nation, which was identified by the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She said that raising the minimum age for tobacco products to 21 can help save lives and [prevent] economic damages caused by tobacco use in Alaska. She stated that youths are especially vulnerable to the impacts of vaping, including nicotine addiction, dangers to developing lungs by inhaling harmful ultra-fine particles, heavy metals and chemicals, and negative brain development impacts of nicotine. She said that HB 174 offers one strategy to safeguard lung health by increasing the state's tobacco use age. She stated that the American Lung Association urges support of HB 174. MS. STONEKING stated that when President Trump signed "the spending bill" on December 20, 2019, which included raising the legal age of purchase of tobacco products nationwide from 18 to 21, this was a major accomplishment for public health, and the American Lung Association and its other public health partners cheered this on. She said that at that time, the FDA had announced that "tobacco 21" took effect when the President signed the bill. She said there were no exemptions, including for military personnel anywhere in the U.S. or on tribal lands. She stated that enforcement is handled primarily at the state level, particularly in Alaska. She said that in 2013 state law was strengthened and Alaska has maintained compliance with the requirement that keeps it in compliance for mental health funding; in fact, it has exceeded the requirement with only 5 percent of endorsement license holders not passing compliance checks. MS. STONEKING summarized that the underage enforcement program works effectively, and the age needs to be updated from 19 to 21 to reflect the new federal law. 1:48:59 PM REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND remarked that she was unclear on what the Synar Amendment is. MS. STONEKING replied that the Synar Amendment was named after a former member of Congress, and it is the mandate for maintaining a certain level of compliance with federal checks, in order to maintain critical federal mental health and substance abuse grant funds, as mentioned previously. 1:49:40 PM EMILY NENON, Alaska Government Relations Director, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, testified in support of HB 174. She expressed gratitude to Chair Claman, members of the committee, and colleagues and staff for maintaining and continuing the work of the state during some very challenging times. She stated that the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network supports the regulatory update, in order to match the federal regulation. She expressed that Alaska is proud of a very successful compliance check program, including vendor education. She said that Joe Darnell, who heads up that program was on the line if anyone wanted more details about that program, and she said that there is a model program across the state. 1:50:42 PM CHAIR CLAMAN, after ascertaining that there was no one else who wished to testify, closed public testimony on CSHB 174(CRA). 1:50:55 PM The committee took an at-ease from 1:51 p.m. to 1:52 p.m. 1:52:05 PM CHAIR CLAMAN stated that while off record a brief conversation took place among the members of the committee to see if anyone had any amendments they were planning to offer, and it did not appear that there were any. He stated that as chair, he was exercising his authority to waive the second hearing of CSHB 174(CRA), and he invited committee comment. 1:52:35 PM REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX remarked that this is a society in which 18- and 19-year-olds can go to war, get married and divorced, can probably take flying lessons and skydive, be part of the commercial fishing industry - which she said is probably the most dangerous industry in the world - join circuses on the trapeze, horseback ride, and all sorts of things. She expressed that the idea that the laws need to change to conform to the federal regulation, with which she disagrees, while the state is not concerned with having laws in sync to the federal government regarding marijuana, is hard for her to understand. She said she thinks much of the testimony on CSHB 174(CRA) came from individuals who would really like to say that there should be a law that no one can smoke at all, whether they be 19 or 91. She remarked, "As I say, I can count, so you're going to do what you're going to do." 1:54:17 PM REPRESENTATIVE KOPP commented that he appreciated the bill sponsor bringing the proposed legislation forward and noted that "this body unanimously passed a joint resolution in 2018 with the Senate, calling on Congress to align federal and state penalties, with respect to marijuana use." He said that he thinks this gets at what the bill sponsor was driving at, which is that enforcement is a real issue. He said that a licensed premise, selling both cigarettes and alcohol, could run into issues in the enforcement of checking licenses for individuals buying products, when the minimum age for alcohol is 21, and the minimum age for cigarettes is 19. Sometimes staff make mistakes when checking identification all day, and uniformity always makes enforcement easier. He expressed that he thinks an under- 21 general standard would be a good policy. REPRESENTATIVE KOPP, referencing a comment made by Representative LeDoux, stated that he was very sympathetic to impingement on freedoms, but the one thing different from other risk-taking activities that is addressed by the proposed legislation, is the public health crisis surrounding tobacco use. He explained that over 700 Alaskans die annually from smoking related deaths, which costs the state over $500 million. He said that the data points in the statewide smoking ban bill from a few years prior sound accurate to him. He stated that there are many behaviors of risktakers where the risk is only to them; however, smoking is a behavior that affects everyone around them. He expressed that no right or freedom is absolute, and this is a right that directly impinges on other people's quality of health, and in light of the current public health crisis, he said that he sees the proposed legislation as an on- point public health bill that the industry supports, including the people selling vapes. He said that overall he thinks it would be a good policy, and he thanked Representative Knopp for bringing it forward. 1:57:14 PM REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND reiterated that she thinks it is about time the state got coordinated, as liquor laws were brought to the same age limits across the nation decades ago. She stated that tobacco and vaping products contain highly addictive drugs, as well as highly damaging components, which she said she knows will contribute to illness in many people as "this wave of Coronavirus hits us." She opined that the earlier the public health can be protected, by keeping children from getting addicted until they are older and can make these decisions with a clear head, the better off everyone will be. 1:58:40 PM REPRESENTATIVE STUTES commented that she found it refreshing to see the letter from Juul Labs, which is a provider of some of the "smoking paraphernalia," support the proposed legislation, as usually the providers and manufacturers are "screaming bloody murder, don't do it, don't do it!" She said that this really speaks volumes to her, and she is delighted to see support from the industry for the proposed legislation. 1:59:24 PM CHAIR CLAMAN commented that he appreciated the question Representative LeDoux raised regarding alcohol. He remarked that when he was in college in Texas many years ago, beer and liquor could be purchased at the age of 18, and when he went to college in Colorado "3.2 beer," which was 3.2 percent alcohol, could be purchased at 18, but anything else could not be purchased until 21. He expressed that he grew up in a time when alcohol could be accessed at the age of 18, and he said that he had friends and colleagues who joined the military, and the age was raised and people could go to war but not drink alcohol, which he expressed he always thought was absurd at some level; however, he said that he also saw some of the reasons that the public liked the change. He stated that he sees tobacco in the same light as alcohol, in that they are both public health problems. He said that he thinks a good civil Libertarian argument could be made that the age should be the same for alcohol and tobacco sales, but that the damage done by both products as a result of not restricting access can be seen; therefore, he said that he leans more willingly towards making the limits than he did when he was 18 or 19. He expressed that a critical part of the issue is that Alaska has significant substance abuse issues in its communities, and by changing the age, it could allow for accesses to additional federal funds for rehabilitation and treatment, and he said that he has a hard time not taking steps that would support that, which is the biggest factor in his support for the proposed legislation. 2:01:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE KOPP moved to report CSHB 174(CRA) out of committee with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB 174(CRA) was reported from the House Judiciary Standing Committee.