A measure that would differentiate heated tobacco products (HTPs) from traditional cigarettes is on the move in the House, clearing the House Industries and Professional Activities Committee by a 12-2 vote.

The bill (HB 785) from Rep. Chase Tramont would exclude HTPs from the definition of “cigarette” and include HTPs in the definition of “tobacco products,” setting up a taxing structure different from that of traditional cigarettes.

The bill cleared with one person speaking in favor — Parkview Institute President John Elliot — and one speaking against — Florida For All Legislative Director Jackson Oberlink. A handful of groups, including the Florida Retail Federation, waived in support of the measure.

The Parkview Institute is a free-market advocacy nonprofit, while Florida For All is a progressive group that supports, among other things, electing people of color to office.

Elliot touted the measure as an opportunity to use the tax system as an incentive — not a barrier — to alternatives to smoking.

“It would send the correct message to the public that these products are less harmful alternatives,” he said, adding that the bill maintains a “limited government approach” while employing what he sees as the purpose behind taxes, to “tax what you want less of.”

Oberlink, meanwhile, blasted the proposed legislation as a “pay-to-play” handout to Big Tobacco, and lamented that HTPs, much like criticism against vape products, appeal to teens by marketing special flavors, specifically mentioning “tropical menthol.”

While the bill does not specifically block flavored tobacco as part of the heated tobacco definition, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently authorized Philip Morris International’s IQOS products in flavors mimicking those of existing cigarette flavors. There are products advertised as “tropical menthol” for the IQOS product, but such products have only limited availability in the U.S.

The FDA is reviewing an R.J. Reynolds product called Eclipse, and it is expected to come to market soon. Altria is also taking steps to commercialize HTPs.

While HTPs still contain nicotine and still present possible risks, they are a less harmful alternative to traditional tobacco products, according to various reports on the issue. Dominic Calabro, President and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, recently penned an op-ed in this publication noting the harms of cigarettes — more than 32,000 Floridians die from smoking each year — and pointing to HTPs as a less harmful and less expensive option.

With the cost of health care from smoking-related illness estimated at more than $10 billion annually in Florida alone, Florida TaxWatch is advocating for incentives to move smokers away from cigarettes and, if they can’t or won’t quit, toward less harmful products. The group is supporting a “different tax treatment” for HTPs that would make them more affordable than cigarettes, which are taxed at about $1.33 per pack.

Tramont’s bill heads next to the Commerce Committee. It previously cleared the Ways and Means Committee.

Sen. Nick DiCeglie is carrying the measure (SB 1418) in the upper chamber. It easily cleared its first committee stop, and is awaiting hearings in Finance and Tax and Appropriations committees before hitting the Senate floor.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis is beginning April with some sharp words for the supermajority Republican Legislature.

“They ran under the banner of the Florida model and the Florida success. They all asked for my endorsement. They put pictures of me and them in their literature, and they’ve attained power using the good will that voters have to our successes, and they’re trying to weaponize that power against the interests of the people that sent them there,” DeSantis told radio host Jenna Ellis.

“That is unacceptable. And so we’re not going to let it happen.”

The Governor also previewed a press conference to be held later Tuesday, skewering “petty” legislators for considering a proposal that could take an office in the Capitol away from U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, who wants to fill a spot previously occupied by former Senator and House Speaker Marco Rubio.

“Rubio had this office for 15 years. I appointed Senator Moody when Marco became Secretary of State. They kicked her out of the House of Representatives and tried to kick her out of the office because she opposed the House’s amnesty legislation,” DeSantis vented.

“I called for strong immigration legislation, the House rejected that. They tried to do an amnesty that ended all Governor (directed) immigration efforts in Florida, and gave exclusive authority to the Commissioner of Agriculture. It was a total debacle and a total farce, and ultimately the blowback was so severe that they had to come to the table and do a strong bill.”

“Because she spoke out against that, they’re now taking away this and they’re trying to create legislation to where they’re able to regulate parking spaces and office spaces in the Capitol,” he added.

The issue here is in a proposed committee bill (SAB 25-02) that would, among other things, reallocate space on the 21st floor Rubio enjoyed, with the Legislature having “first right of refusal” for usage.

Additionally, DeSantis also objected to the consideration of a “carbon sequestration” bill (HB 1063) filed by Democratic state Rep. Lindsay Cross that is slated for its first committee hearing Tuesday. It is the companion of Senate legislation from Republican state Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez.

While the bill is limited, seeking a $350,000 appropriation for a task force to be housed in the Department of Environmental Protection, DeSantis sees that as more evidence of legislators selling out the Right.

“This is a total scam. They pump the carbon in the ground or even in the ocean floor. A lot of people make money. It’s a boondoggle. It grew out of Biden’s Green New Deal, which Congress should repeal. And it’s a Democrat who’s running this bill. So how are we in a situation with this massive Republican supermajority that we’re devolving into doing things like carbon sequestration?” DeSantis asked.

Finally, DeSantis spoke out against a series of veto overrides again on local projects passed in 2024 but cut from the final budget.

“Republican members of the Florida House joined with Democrats to undo spending cuts that I instituted last June. Every single Democrat voted with them to add pork into the budget in this fiscal year, which we only have about three months left on that. How is that conservative? That is not what these guys campaigned on.”

Those projects are:

— $2.5 million for Rockledge Advanced Water Treatment Phase 1 sponsored by former state Rep. Thad Altman, an Indialantic Republican. The money would be spent lowering nutrient loads on the Indian River Lagoon and removing 29,106 pounds of nitrogen per year.

— $1.53 million for the Baldwin Sanitary Sewer System Rehabilitation and Water Main Replacement on Main Street sponsored by state Rep. Dean Black, a Jacksonville Republican. “This vital project will make critical improvements to the Town’s aged and deteriorated water and sewer systems,” the appropriations request said.

— $1 million to fund the Corrections Department’s automated staffing, time management and scheduling system.

— $360,000 for Florida Senior Veterans in Crisis Fund sponsored by former state Rep. Sam Killebrew, a Winter Haven Republican. The money would be spent to “keep our senior veterans off the street and in a protected environment by obtaining the VA Pension Plus Aid and Attendance benefit for Wartime Veterans,” the appropriations request said.

The Governor and First Lady Casey DeSantis, both of whom will be at Tuesday morning’s press conference, have warned voters about “Republican-lite squishes” during policy and political disputes of late. Clearly, the underlying dynamic remains toxic, given the Governor’s dry run for his high-profile presser in the Capitol later Tuesday.

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