A bill to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco and nicotine delivery products in Washington state continues to move forward, but a few changes have been made since it was introduced in January. After clearing the House Committee on Health Care & Wellness by a 12-3 vote in mid-February, the bill went to the House Committee on Finance, where it was met by a pair of important changes. First, the proposed age was dropped from 21 to 19, and an effective date of July 1, 2019 was added, with the bill then passed by a 9-7 vote by that committee. Following that, an amendment was filed to change it the effective date to July 1, 2015, meaning that if it passed the full House of Representatives as well as the Senate, the change would go into effect this summer. Earlier today, the bill was scheduled for a second floor reading by the Rules Committee, with the possibility it could still be considered by the end of the day.
↧