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Read. Follow. Verify.Massachusetts bill exempts licensed hookah retailers from 2019 tobacco sales restrictions under strict compliance rules
Last action · December 18, 2025: Accompanied a new draft, see S2745Sponsors: Patrick O'Connor and 1 other
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What This Bill Would Do
Licensed tobacco retailers are exempt from Chapter 133 of the Acts of 2019 when selling shisha products, provided they enforce a strict minimum age of 21, use locked display cases, verify government-issued identification, record transactions with the Department of Public Health, and face $500 fines per violation for non-compliance.
Licensed retailers gain relief from prior tobacco sales restrictions, provided they implement mandatory age-verification, transaction-logging, and secure-storage protocols backed by a $500 penalty per violation.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
hookah tobacco retailers
Retailers are granted an exemption from prior tobacco sales restrictions provided they comply with mandatory locked-case storage, age verification, transaction logging, and licensing rules.
Department of Public Health
The Department is tasked with prescribing transaction-recording methods and promulgating rules and regulations to implement the act.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What conditions must a hookah retailer meet to qualify for the exemption?
What is the penalty for violating these new requirements?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
4 actions- Dec 18, 2025SenateAccompanied a new draft, see S2745
- Oct 10, 2025JointHearing scheduled for 10/20/2025 from 10:00 AM-01:00 PM in A-2
- Feb 27, 2025HouseHouse concurred
- Feb 27, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to the committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
malegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance45How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy35Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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