HB 766

Retail Tobacco Businesses and Establishment of a Premium Cigar Lounge Alcoholic Beverages License (Maryland Premium Cigar Lounge Act of 2026)

Sponsor: Andre V. Johnson, Jr. (District 34A)Committee: Government, Labor, and ElectionsSubject: Business RegulationStatus: Hearing 2/23 at 1:00 p.m. (as of Sep 4, 2026)

What this bill does

Official synopsis

Establishing a Class C-PCL (premium cigar lounge) alcoholic beverages license for use in conjunction with a certain tobacco products retailer license; authorizing a local licensing board to issue the license; prohibiting a county clerk from issuing a certain tobacco products retailer license if the location is adjacent to a health care facility or a child care facility; exempting a holder of a certain tobacco products retailer license from the Clean Indoor Air Act; providing an annual license fee of $100; etc.

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Testimony (18)

MGA witness list

FAV 4FavorableFWA 3Favorable with amendmentsUNF 9UnfavorableINFO 2Information only

Position	Witness	Organization	Testimony
FAV	Bohle, Matthew	RWL	Oral + Written (PDF)
FAV	Helmuth, Finnie	The Humidour Cigar Shoppe	Oral
FAV	Singh, Raj	Tinder Box Waldorf	Oral
FAV	Delegate Johnson, A., Delegate Johnson, A.legislator	Individual	Oral
UNF	Kilpatrick, Lancelobbyist	ACS-CAN	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Debnam, Charles	African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council	Written (PDF)
UNF	Hale, Lauralobbyist	American Heart Association	Oral + Written (PDF)
UNF	Jimison, Kristin	Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids	Oral
UNF	Feeley, Kathryn	Legal Resource Center for Public Health Policy	Written (PDF)
UNF	Kennedy, Anita	National Alliance of Medication Assisted Recovery, Inc.	Written (PDF)
UNF	Thompson, Melvinlobbyist	Restaurant Association of Maryland	Written (PDF)
UNF	Billings, Paul	Individual	Oral
UNF	Casper, Alekslobbyist	Individual	Written (PDF)
FWA	Moritz, Heather	MD Conference of Environmental Directors & MACHO	Written (PDF)
FWA	Milani, Jack	Md State Licensed Beverage Association	Oral
FWA	Wise, Steve	Individual	Oral
INFO	Akras, Thomas	Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Administration	Written (PDF)
INFO	Lynch, Meghan	Maryland Department of Health	Written (PDF)

Organizations on record

ACS-CANUNF 1

African American Tobacco Control Leadership CouncilUNF 1

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis AdministrationINFO 1

American Heart AssociationUNF 1

Campaign for Tobacco Free KidsUNF 1

Legal Resource Center for Public Health PolicyUNF 1

Maryland Department of HealthINFO 1

MD Conference of Environmental Directors & MACHOFWA 1

Md State Licensed Beverage AssociationFWA 1

National Alliance of Medication Assisted Recovery, Inc.UNF 1

Restaurant Association of MarylandUNF 1

RWLFAV 1

The Humidour Cigar ShoppeFAV 1

Tinder Box WaldorfFAV 1

Registered lobbyists who testified

UNFKilpatrick, LanceACS-CANRegistered for: American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network

UNFHale, LauraAmerican Heart AssociationRegistered for: American Heart Association

UNFThompson, MelvinRestaurant Association of MarylandRegistered for: Restaurant Association of Maryland

UNFCasper, AleksRegistered for: American Lung Association