SJC to hear Baker vaping ban case
Governor's action challenged as executive overreach
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE
THE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT has agreed to hear arguments related to Gov. Charlie Baker’s emergency ban on vaping products, elevating to the state’s highest court a legal argument brought by the Vapor Technology Association against the administration’s ban.
The SJC will hear arguments in the case during its December sitting, the court announced in an order issued Monday. The governor’s administration must file its brief with the court by Nov. 13, and the plaintiffs and interveners must file theirs by Nov. 25. The arguments are scheduled for Monday, Dec. 9, according to the case’s SJC docket.
The SJC transferred the governor’s appeal of an Oct. 21 Superior Court order denying a stay and requiring the administration to go through the emergency regulation process to keep its ban on the sale of vaping products in place. The governor’s appeal had been pending before the Appeals Court.
The administration is planning a Nov. 22 public hearing on the ban as it works to comply with a court order that it go through the usual emergency regulation process.