Statewide ban on e-cigarettes indoors in New York starts today

© 2017 Advance Media New York:

A statewide ban on using e-cigarettes indoors in New York takes effect today.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a new law last month adding e-cigarettes to the state's Clean Indoor Air Act... Vaping is now banned in the workplace, on public transportation, indoors at all public and private colleges and in other areas.

It is also now banned in outdoor areas where smoking is also forbidden.

More on the new law here and here.

Seneca and Cayuga Indians lose federal cigarette tax case

From the New York Law Journal:

State laws that tax tobacco sales by Native American vendors to non-Native Americans do not infringe on tribal sovereignty or other constitutional rights, a federal judge ruled.

The Seneca and Cayuga tribes challenged amendments to state law that imposed taxes on wholesale purchases of tobacco products that were ultimately sold to non-Native Americans….

Western District Judge Michael Telesca ruled against the … tribes [holding] that the tax statute does not target tax-exempt Indian sales to other residents of tribal lands, only sales of tobacco "on an Indian reservation to non-members of the Indian nation or tribe."

Telesca rejected arguments from the Indian nations that the tax law amendments violate the Constitution's interstate commerce clause and the Internet Tax Freedom Act. On both counts, Telesca said state law sets up an alternative way for the Seneca and Cayuga vendors to report tax-exempt sales to Native Americans outside of New York.

Local governments have long been seeking to enforce the collection of sales taxes on non-Native Americans, citing lost revenue and unfair competition with other local businesses. In addition, as noted in the above article:

New York state estimated in 2010 it could capture about $110 million a year if sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products from Native American vendors to non-Native Americans were properly taxed. The tax does not apply to sales to qualified Native Americans for their own use on reservations.

The complete decision can be found here.

New laws for the New Year

Nationwide, more than two hundred new laws will take effect January 1, according to Ovid Attorney Steven Getman.

In some states, the new laws include legalization of gay marriages and marijuana usage.

In New York State, the new laws include:

A new sales tax exemption designed to encourage solar energy use;

A law to provide new protections for domestic violence;

Laws to help craft brewers distribute their products;

A prohibition on the sale of e-cigarettes to minors;

New ways for colleges to provide health insurance for students.

According to Getman, residents with questions about their states' laws should contact a competent attorney of their own choosing in that state to make sure they understand their rights and responsibilities.