Tony Cook

tony.cook@indystar.com

An effort to fix Indiana's controversial vaping law — which has drawn the attention of the FBI — will face a key committee vote Tuesday.

A panel of House lawmakers is expected to make changes to Senate Bill 1, which as it stands now would get rid of provisions of the law that effectively made a single company, Lafayette-based Mulhaupt's Inc., the gatekeeper of the industry in Indiana.

The vote comes after an IndyStar investigation published Sunday found that the law might have been written to pave the way for a monopoly on medical marijuana. That revelation has further fueled concerns among top lawmakers about the need to fix the law in the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

Gov. Eric Holcomb, who took office after the law was passed, said he supports a change that provides for a competitive market. "We must get this right,” he said in a written statement.

IndyStar investigation: What smells about Indiana's vaping law? Could it be marijuana?

The Senate voted in favor of the so-called "fix" and it is now pending before the House Public Policy Committee. Not a single person spoke against the bill during testimony before that panel last week.

But behind the scenes, lobbyists for Mulhaupt's and the few companies it has approved to manufacture e-liquid for electronic smoking devices in Indiana have been pushing for changes to the measure that they say would improve product safety.

Opponents of the existing law, however, say those changes are just another way to limit competition in the industry.

The current law, passed in 2015 and amended in 2016, forced scores of businesses to close or stop doing business in the state. Meanwhile, prices shot up and the FBI launched an investigation to determine if there was any wrongdoing associated with the law’s creation. The FBI has declined to comment on the status, scope or targets of that investigation.

Rep. Ben Smaltz, the Auburn Republican who leads the committee, plans to introduce an amendment that would set new insurance requirements for e-liquid manufacturers, distributors and retailers. It would also require more details about ingredients and a nicotine warning on e-liquid bottle labels.

The meeting begins at 9 a.m. in Statehouse Room 156-C.

Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.