SALT LAKE CITY (Legal Newsline) - Smoke and vape shops are suing the state of Utah and eight cities, including Salt Lake City, over legislation that strips them of their Retail Tobacco Specialty Businesses licenses.
The plaintiffs say they had been granted grandfathered status in a series of laws passed over the last 10 years to strictly regulate tobacco retailers. Senate Bill 189 takes this status away on July 1, a lawsuit filed June 16 says.
Revocation of their business permits will occur without Plaintiffs having a meaningful opportunity to be heard and without evidence showing that they have in any way contributed to the harms the Legislature claimed it was attempting to address: use of vape and tobacco products by underage individuals," the suit says.
"In fact, the State's actions, if motivated by a desire to address youth tobacco use, are not rational because the actions they are taking have the effect of harming complaint businesses who have been partners in combatting youth tobacco use by taking away their ability to run businesses in their location."
The State has been unwilling to work with the tobacco retailers through the years to prevent youth access, the suit says.