Confirmed FBI Investigation into Indiana Vape Law
After months of speculation, the it’s finally announced that the FBI are investigating the creation of Indiana's eliquid monopoly.
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by Dave Cross
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There was uproar when Indiana passed new legislation to force eliquid manufacturers to apply for a five-year permit to produce juices. The issue went beyond the cost as most companies were locked out of the market because Mulhaupt’s (the single company appointed) can reject without explanation.
We covered the story of how the new law has resulted in a situation where the single private company has been given a monopoly on deciding who gets to do business and places a barrier on any new entrant to market. By September, the firm had only given out six permits.
State Representative Phil Boots confirmed to the Indianapolis Star that he had been questioned as to whether anybody had benefited financially from the legislation, known as House Bill 1432. State Senator Vaneta Becker also confirmed that she had been interviewed.
Hoosier Vapers has been fighting this bill since 2015. Their owner said: “At every committee meeting hearing, if you go to the Statehouse, outside the rooms there’s a railing. And that’s where the lobbyists are. It’s something I encourage all Hoosiers to see. You see what happens in the hearings, but what you don’t see is who is in the hallways coaching these legislators. What the FBI wanted to know was who the lobbyists and companies were who were out there pushing this bill.”
What makes this activity all the more topical is that the House Bill 1432 was signed into law by Governor Mike Pence, who just happens to be Donald Trump’s running mate in the U.S. Presidential election.
Doug Mulhaupt, owner of the company under investigation, said: “Mulhaupt’s Inc. follows all guidelines established by the Indiana General Assembly regarding vape security services. Our company works tirelessly to ensure e-liquid products are safe for consumers, continuing Mulhaupt’s 140-year tradition of protecting Hoosiers.”
The International Doors Association is quick to distance itself from the process. The managing director commented: “The only thing I want the people of Indiana to know, is that we were not involved with this bill, had we been aware, we would have opposed this monopoly. We want more public safety, not less, and this does not do anything to increase safety in our industry. There's no incentive for public safety and there is nothing in the bill that supports more rolling steel fire door use safety.”
A representative of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association said: “the only way something like this happens is when there's corruption.”
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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