Overview of Montana Bill No. 293 – ID Scanning For Tobacco & Vape Sales
The Montana House of Representatives is debating two bills similar to the Nevada AB360 Law, which requires ID scanning for tobacco sales.
Montana House Bill 300
The first is House Bill No. 300, is a bill that reclassifies “alternative nicotine products” such as eCigarettes and vape pens under the same legal umbrella as tobacco products. These products are already age-restricted, and purchase is only allowed for individuals over 18 years of age. Vaping products, such as the controversial Juul, had previously operated in a legal grey area which resulted in frequent usage by minors. So this reclassification of these products into the bucket of “tobacco products” simply ensures a standard framework for distribution of these items.
Montana House Bill 293
Montana bill 293 sets PII regulations around ID scanning of driver’s license or tribal IDs for tobacco sales.
If the seller scans a person’s government or tribal-issued identification, the seller shall handle data and metadata from the scan in accordance with Montana Code 16-3-313. The language from this PII-related law is as follows:
Periodic Government Or Tribal-Issued Identification Data Destruction
16-3-313. Periodic government or tribal-issued identification data destruction. (1) A business that scans a person’s government or tribal-issued identification to determine the person’s age solely for the sale of age-restricted items:
(a) shall use data or metadata from the scan only to determine the person’s age;
(b) may not transfer or sell that data or metadata to another party; and
(c) shall permanently delete any data or metadata from the scan within 180 days.
(2) Nothing in this section may be construed to limit the collection and preservation of information required by federal law for the sale of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine.
