Montgomery City Council Imposes 90 Day Moratorium on New Convenience, Vape, Liquor Stores and Gas Stations

On Tuesday, June 3, the Montgomery City Council approved a 90-day moratorium on issuing new permits for convenience stores, gas stations, vape shops, and package stores. The decision addresses the Council’s concerns about youth access to vaping products.

Montgomery joins Millbrook, Prattville and Pike Road in pausing new construction of these businesses, as a direct consequence of Alabama’s new anti-vape law. HB8, sponsored by State Representative Barbara Drummond (D-Mobile) was passed during the 2025 legislative session and signed by Governor Ivey. The new law became effective on June 1.

Council members supporting the moratorium believe it will help limit the availability of vape products to minors. District 5 Councilman CC Calhoun stated, "Just trying to encourage people, young people, not to vape. So a moratorium on it to try and see how we can come in to help our young people not get these illegal purchases."

“I’m not really somebody who’s in favor of shutting off entire industries here in our city,” District 7 Councilman Andrew Szymanski said. “I think it’s something that we could have a little more nuance, on a case-by-case basis, but moving this thing forward is the will of the Council.” Despite this hesitancy by some on the Council to take such sweeping measures, the moratorium passed.

Despite these municipal actions, the Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of Alabama (P&CMA) believes these moratoriums may not effectively address the issue. P&CMA represents over 200 petroleum marketers and convenience store operators across Alabama.

"The convenience store compliance track record is far, far better at selling age-restricted products than many other businesses," Bart Fletcher, President of P&CMA, said in a June 5 statement. "The most recently available data from the Center for Disease Control pinpoints the real source of the problem, and it isn't convenience stores."

Fletcher highlighted data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicating that a majority of minors obtain vape products through social sources rather than retail outlets.

According to the 2021 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, among high school students who reported vaping in the past 30 days:

• 54.1% obtained vape products from a friend, family member, or someone else
• 12.4% purchased them from a vape or tobacco shop
• 6.8% bought them from a convenience store or gas station

These actions by River Region cities are in addition to the restrictions imposed by HB8, which limits the sale of vape products to specialty retailers and imposes severe penalties for noncompliance.

HB8 has faced legal challenges from industry groups, including P&CMA, who argue that the restrictions could harm convenience store revenues and may be preempted by federal law. (aldailynews.com, alreporter.com)

As previously reported, the P&CMA and Young Oil Inc. filed suit against the Alabama Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC) Board, asking for a temporary restraining order to block the enforcement of HB8 as of June 1. On May 29, P&CMA, the ABC Board and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) signed a Joint Stipulation that withdrew P&MCA’s request for a temporary restraining order against the enforcement of HB8, and stating that the parties “preliminarily agree” that the Code of Alabama allows the sale of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) by retailers with appropriate FDA marketing orders. The Joint Stipulation also allows the lawsuit to proceed.

As the 90-day moratorium proceeds, Montgomery officials plan to reassess permitting practices and consider additional steps to address youth vaping.

The June 3 Montgomery City Council working session may be viewed on Citizen Portal HERE.

A summary of HB8 may be found HERE. The full text of HB8 is HERE.