On Tuesday, the Alabama House of Representatives voted in favor of legislation to make it illegal to smoke or vape with a child present in the vehicle.
House Bill 3 (HB3) was sponsored by State Rep. Rolanda Hollis.
Hollis said, “This is about protecting kids.”
According to the synopsis, “Existing law does not prohibit smoking or vaping in a motor vehicle when a child is present. This bill would prohibit smoking or vaping in a motor vehicle when a child under 14 years of age is present.”
Hollis said that the law would apply whenever a child was in the car, whether the window was open or not, whether or not the vehicle was moving, and even if the door was open.
Rep. Matt Simpson said, “Thank you for bringing this bill. How long have you been working on this?”
Hollis said, “Seven years.”
Simpson asked why marijuana was not included in the legislation.
“It is illegal,” Hollis explained. “We will add it if it becomes legal.”
Hollis explained that there are 67 toxins found in cigarette smoke and that vaping can be just as dangerous.
Simpson said that with vaping, “We don’t know if there are illegal drugs in there or not. We don’t know if there is marijuana. We don’t know if there is fentanyl.”
Rep. Barbara Drummond said, “I am going to be bringing several bills on vaping.”
“A violation of this section is punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for each violation,” the legislation states. “A violation of this section may be investigated and charged only as a secondary violation following the lawful stop of a motor vehicle based on probable cause of a separate violation of law, and the issuance of a citation or warrant of arrest for that violation.”
Rep. Juandalynn Givan said that she was concerned that this would give police more of an opportunity to pull over motorists just for holding a vape.
The legislation passed the House on an 84 to 15 vote.
According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Children are particularly at risk for the effects of second-hand smoke because their bodies are still growing and they breathe at a faster rate than adults.”
A study revealed that second-hand smoke/passive smoking among children leads to acute respiratory illness in children as pneumonia, bronchitis, middle ear problem, cough & wheeze.
HB3 now goes to the Alabama Senate for their consideration. The Senate is where this legislation has gotten held up in previous sessions.
Tuesday was the Fifth Legislative Day of the 2023 Alabama Regular Legislative Session.
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