Some 30 states have either adopted new laws classifying the operators of commercial roll-your-own (RYO) machines as manufacturers or imposing other regulations on the operation of these RYO machines, introduced legislation to regulate operators of RYO machines as manufacturers or filed regulatory notices to administratively regulate RYO machine operators.
The following is a state-by-state breakdown of the status of commercial RYO legislation and regulations:
- Bills Enacted into Law: Arkansas, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.
- Bills Introduced and Pending: Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.
- Both Bills Introduced and Regulatory Notices Filed: Idaho, Illinois, Michigan and West Virginia.
- Regulatory Notices Filed: Alabama, Connecticut, Kansas, New Hampshire and Wisconsin.
- Bills Not Passed: Indiana (referred to a legislative study committee) and Florida.
On March 7, 2012, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) issued a letter to all state fire marshals regarding the "proliferation of 'roll your own' cigarette machines" in a number of states. The letter goes onto state that "NFPA feels strongly that stores with roll-your-own machines fall under the fire-safe cigarette laws, which were passed in all 50 states." James Shannon, the President of NFPA, says in this letter that the state fire safe cigarette laws define the term manufacturer as "any entity that manufactures or otherwise produces cigarettes or causes cigarettes to be manufactured" and that this language allows fire marshals to enforce the current fire safe laws with regards to operators of commercial RYO machines.
Also, a bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives as bill number H.R. 4134 that would include in the definition of a tobacco manufacturer "any person who for commercial purposes makes available for consumer use a machine capable of producing tobacco products." A number of state and national retail and wholesale associations have signed onto a letter to members of Congress urging them to support this legislation including six national trade associations (NATO is one of those associations), twenty-three major retail store chains, and 50 state retail trade associations.
Finally, an amendment was passed to a transportation bill in the U.S. Senate that would include operators of commercial RYO machines in the definition of "tobacco manufacturer" for federal cigarette tax purposes.
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