Tennessee Senate Bill SB1102

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/5/25

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, relative to criminal offenses.

Summary

SB1102 amends Tennessee’s criminal code provisions governing vapor products and related tobacco/vaping offenses. The bill specifically revises the penalty for selling a vapor product to a person under 21, making that offense a Class C misdemeanor but limiting punishment to a maximum fine of $500, notwithstanding the general misdemeanor sentencing statute. It also provides that violations of several existing vapor-product provisions remain Class C misdemeanors. The bill applies prospectively to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2025. In practical terms, it updates Tennessee Code Annotated Title 39, Chapter 17 by narrowing the punishment for underage vapor-product sales while preserving misdemeanor treatment for other violations of the state’s vapor-product restrictions.

Impact

SB1102 changes the penalty structure for certain vapor-product offenses under Tennessee law, particularly reducing the practical punishment for selling vapor products to minors by capping the fine at $500. It leaves the underlying offense classification as a Class C misdemeanor and continues to treat other violations of the vapor-product statutes as Class C misdemeanors. The bill affects retailers, sellers, and others subject to Tennessee’s vaping and tobacco age-restriction laws, and it applies only to offenses occurring on or after July 1, 2025.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of committee debate or recorded votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be a straightforward criminal-code update with no documented controversy in the record supplied. The bill’s structure suggests a targeted, technical adjustment rather than a broad policy shift, and there is no available evidence here of organized support or opposition from committee discussion.

Contention

No committee transcripts or vote history were provided, so no specific points of contention can be identified from the record. The only apparent policy issue is whether penalties for selling vapor products to individuals under 21 should be capped at a relatively low fine, which could be viewed as either a proportional enforcement measure or a weakening of deterrence. Any disagreement would likely center on youth access to vaping products, retailer compliance, and the adequacy of misdemeanor penalties.