Senate Bill sb2112

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112

    By Senator Dockery





    15-1157B-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to nonsettling-manufacturer

  3         cigarettes; creating s. 210.0205, F.S.;

  4         providing definitions; imposing a fee on

  5         certain cigarettes; providing payment

  6         requirements; requiring reporting of the number

  7         and denominations of stamps affixed to

  8         individual packages of certain cigarettes by

  9         manufacturer and brand family; authorizing

10         rulemaking regarding such reports; requiring

11         registration with the Division of Alcoholic

12         Beverages and Tobacco of the Department of

13         Business and Professional Regulation of

14         nonsettling manufacturers of cigarettes;

15         requiring development, maintenance, and

16         publication by the division of a list of

17         nonsettling manufacturers of cigarettes which

18         have certified their compliance with this act;

19         treating cigarettes of certain manufacturers

20         that have not paid the fee imposed by this act

21         or that have not complied with reporting

22         requirements as cigarettes for which the tax

23         imposed by s. 210.02, F.S., has not been paid;

24         prohibiting the stamping of certain cigarettes

25         for which the fee imposed by this act has not

26         been paid in full or the nonsettling

27         manufacturer of which has not complied with

28         reporting requirements; creating s. 210.0207,

29         F.S.; prohibiting the transport of certain

30         unstamped cigarettes across state lines under

31         certain circumstances; prohibiting the affixing

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112
    15-1157B-04




 1         of certain stamps to certain cigarettes or

 2         paying certain excise taxes prohibited by

 3         another state under certain circumstances;

 4         providing for reports on the transport of

 5         stamped cigarettes across state lines;

 6         providing a definition; providing an effective

 7         date.

 8  

 9         WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Legislature to prevent

10  nonsettling manufacturers from undermining the state's policy

11  of reducing underage smoking by offering their cigarettes for

12  sale substantially below the price of cigarettes of other

13  manufacturers; to protect the tobacco settlement agreement and

14  funding, which is reduced as a result of the growth of

15  nonsettling-manufacturer cigarette sales, for programs funded

16  in whole or in part by payments to the state under the tobacco

17  settlement agreement and to recoup for the state

18  settlement-payment revenue lost to the state as a result of

19  nonsettling-manufacturer cigarette sales; to fund enforcement

20  and administration of nonsettling-manufacturer legislation and

21  the fee imposed in this act, including reasonable

22  administrative costs incurred by wholesale dealers complying

23  with any additional reporting requirements necessitated by

24  this act; and to fund such other purposes as the Legislature

25  determines, NOW, THEREFORE,

26  

27  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

28  

29         Section 1.  Section 210.0205, Florida Statutes, is

30  created to read:

31         210.0205  Nonsettling-manufacturer fee.--

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112
    15-1157B-04




 1         (1)  As used in this section, the term:

 2         (a)  "Brand family" means all styles of cigarettes sold

 3  under the same trademark and differentiated from one another

 4  by means of additional modifiers or descriptors, including,

 5  but not limited to, "menthol," "lights," "kings," and "100s."

 6  The term includes any brand name, alone or in conjunction with

 7  any other word; trademark; logo; symbol; motto; selling

 8  message; recognizable pattern of colors; or other indicia of

 9  product identification identical or similar to, or

10  identifiable with, a previously known brand of cigarettes.

11         (b)  "Consumer Price Index" means the Consumer Price

12  Index for All Urban Consumers as published by the Bureau of

13  Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.

14         (c)  "Manufacturer" means a person or entity who

15  manufactures, fabricates, or assembles cigarettes. The term

16  includes an entity that is the first importer into the United

17  States of cigarettes manufactured abroad.

18         (d)  "Nonsettling manufacturer" means any tobacco

19  product manufacturer that has not entered into the tobacco

20  settlement agreement defined in s. 215.56005(1)(f) or into the

21  Attorneys General Settlement Agreement with Brooke Group,

22  Ltd., Liggett & Myers, Inc., and Liggett Group, Inc., dated

23  March 15, 1996.

24         (e)  "Nonsettling-manufacturer cigarettes" means

25  cigarettes manufactured by a nonsettling manufacturer, except

26  when payments on such cigarettes are due to be made by a

27  settling manufacturer pursuant to a tobacco settlement

28  agreement described in paragraph (d).

29         (2)  A fee, in addition to all other taxes or fees of

30  every kind imposed by law, is imposed upon the sale, receipt,

31  purchase, possession, consumption, handling, distribution, and

                                  3

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112
    15-1157B-04




 1  use in this state of nonsettling-manufactuer cigarettes to the

 2  package of which an agent affixes a stamp or stamp insignia as

 3  required by law or which are sold or purchased in the state

 4  but are not required to bear a stamp or stamp insignia of this

 5  state. The fee is in the amount of 25 mills per cigarette, to

 6  be adjusted upward annually by the division each January 1 by

 7  the greater of 3 percent or the Consumer Price Index, applied

 8  each year for the previous year, beginning with the year of

 9  the effective date of this act.

10         (3)  The division shall collect the fee once each month

11  from each nonsettling manufacturer based on information

12  received pursuant to subsection (6). The division shall mail

13  to each nonsettling manufacturer not later than the 15th day

14  of each month a notice of the fee due from that manufacturer

15  for sales of its cigarettes made in the preceding month. Each

16  such nonsettling manufacturer shall ensure that the division

17  has received payment of the fee in full no later than the last

18  day of the month in which the notice was mailed. Except as

19  otherwise provided in this section, the fee shall be imposed,

20  collected, paid, administered, and enforced in the same manner

21  as the tax on cigarettes imposed by s. 210.02.

22         (4)  A nonsettling manufacturer selling cigarettes in

23  this state on the effective date of this act shall provide to

24  the division the information described in subsections (7) and

25  (8) and pay the fee imposed by subsection (2) within 30 days

26  after the effective date of this act. If a nonsettling

27  manufacturer is not selling cigarettes in this state on the

28  effective date of this act, before commencing sales of

29  cigarettes in this state, the nonsettling manufacturer shall

30  prepay the fee imposed by subsection (2). The prepayment

31  amount shall be a sum determined by multiplying by 25 mills

                                  4

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112
    15-1157B-04




 1  the number of cigarettes the division reasonably projects that

 2  the nonsettling manufacturer will sell in this state in the

 3  first calendar month or $50,000, whichever is more. The

 4  division may require a nonsettling manufacturer to provide any

 5  information reasonably necessary to determine the amount of

 6  the prepayment fee and, in the case of prepayment, shall

 7  establish procedures for providing reimbursement to

 8  nonsettling manufacturers if actual sales are less than sales

 9  projected by the division and for additional payment by

10  nonsettling manufacturers if actual sales are greater than

11  sales projected by the division. As used in this subsection,

12  the term "cigarettes" refers only to nonsettling-manufacturer

13  cigarettes.

14         (5)  The purposes of the fee are to:

15         (a)  Prevent nonsettling manufacturers from undermining

16  the state's policy of reducing underage smoking by offering

17  cigarettes for sale substantially below the price of

18  cigarettes of other manufacturers.

19         (b)1.  Protect the tobacco settlement agreement, as

20  defined in s. 215.56005(1)(f), and funding, which is reduced

21  as a result of the growth of nonsettling-manufacturer

22  cigarette sales, for programs funded in whole or in part by

23  payments to the state under the tobacco settlement agreement;

24  and

25         2.  Recoup for the state settlement-payment revenue

26  lost to the state as a result of nonsettling-manufacturer

27  cigarette sales.

28         (c)  Fund enforcement and administration of

29  nonsettling-manufacturer legislation and the fee imposed by

30  this section, including reasonable administrative costs

31  

                                  5

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112
    15-1157B-04




 1  incurred by wholesale dealers complying with any additional

 2  reporting requirements necessitated by this section.

 3         (d)  Fund such other purposes as the Legislature

 4  determines; however, 20 percent of proceeds received under

 5  this act shall be provided quarterly to the Department of

 6  Health, Division of Health Awareness and Tobacco, for the

 7  purpose of implementing a statewide anti-smoking marketing and

 8  advertising campaign to reduce youth tobacco use, including

 9  Truth brand advertisements.

10         (6)  Monthly reports shall be made to the division

11  pursuant to s. 210.09(2) by each agent and wholesaler. Such

12  reports shall state the number and denominations of stamps or

13  stamp insignia affixed to individual packages of

14  nonsettling-manufacturer cigarettes and the number of

15  individual packages of nonsettling-manufacturer cigarettes

16  otherwise sold or purchased in this state or otherwise handled

17  or distributed in this state for sale in another state,

18  commonwealth, or territory of the United States, by

19  manufacturer and brand family, sold for each place of business

20  in the month preceding the month in which the report is made.

21  The division may adopt rules requiring any agent, wholesaler,

22  wholesale dealer, or nonsettling manufacturer to provide in

23  the monthly report any information necessary or appropriate to

24  determing the fee due under subsection (2) or to enforcing

25  this act.

26         (7)  Before commencing sales of cigarettes in this

27  state or, if selling cigarettes in this state on the effective

28  date of this act, within 30 days after the effective date of

29  this act, a nonsettling manufacturer shall provide to the

30  division, on a form prescribed by the division:

31  

                                  6

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112
    15-1157B-04




 1         (a)  The complete name, address, and telephone number

 2  of the nonsettling manufacturer.

 3         (b)  The date the nonsettling manufacturer began or

 4  intends to begin selling cigarettes in this state.

 5         (c)  The names of the brand families of the cigarettes

 6  the nonsettling manufacturer is selling or will sell in this

 7  state.

 8         (d)  A statement of the nonsettling manufacturer's

 9  intention to comply with the obligations imposed by this

10  section.

11         (e)  The name, address, telephone number, and signature

12  of an officer of the nonsettling manufacturer attesting to all

13  of the information described in this subsection.

14         (8)  Each nonsettling manufacturer subject to the fee

15  imposed by subsection (2) shall certify to the division on the

16  first day of each month that the manufacturer is in compliance

17  with this section and has paid in full the fee imposed by

18  subsection (2). The division shall develop, maintain, and

19  publish on its Internet website a directory listing all

20  nonsettling manufacturers that have provided current,

21  accurate, and complete certifications. The division shall

22  provide a copy of the list to any person upon request.

23         (9)  Cigarettes of a nonsettling manufacturer that has

24  not paid a fee imposed by subsection (2), or that has not

25  complied with the reporting requirements of subsections (4),

26  (6), (7), and (8), shall be treated as cigarettes for which

27  the tax imposed by s. 210.02 has not been paid. A person shall

28  not affix to any package of nonsetttling-manufacturer

29  cigarettes the stamp required under s. 210.06, or otherwise

30  purchase or sell such cigarettes, after such person receives

31  notice from the division that the nonsettling manufacturer of

                                  7

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112
    15-1157B-04




 1  such cigarettes has not paid in full the fee imposed by

 2  subsection (2) or if the nonsettling manufacturer is not

 3  listed on the division's directory described in subsection

 4  (8).

 5         Section 2.  Section 210.0207, Florida Statutes, is

 6  created to read:

 7         210.0207  Cigarettes in interstate commerce.--

 8         (1)  A person may not transport or cause to be

 9  transported from this state cigarettes for sale in another

10  state without first affixing to each package of the cigarettes

11  the stamp required by the state in which the cigarettes are to

12  be sold or paying any other excise tax on the cigarettes

13  imposed by the state in which the cigarettes are to be sold.

14         (2)  A person may not affix to a package of cigarettes

15  the stamp required by another state or pay any other excise

16  tax on the cigarettes imposed by another state if the other

17  state prohibits stamps from being affixed to a package of the

18  cigarettes, prohibits the payment of any other excise tax on

19  the cigarettes, or prohibits the sale of the cigarettes.

20         (3)  On or before the 10th day of each month, a person

21  who transports or causes to be transported from this state

22  cigarettes for sale in another state shall submit to the

23  division a report identifying the quantity, brand family, and

24  style of each brand family of the cigarettes transported or

25  caused to be transported in the preceding calendar quarter and

26  the name and address of each recipient of the cigarettes.

27         (4)  For purposes of this section, the term "person"

28  means an individual, partnership, committee, association,

29  corporation, or other organization or group of persons. The

30  term does not include any common or contract carrier or public

31  

                                  8

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                                  SB 2112
    15-1157B-04




 1  warehouse that is not owned, in whole or in part, directly or

 2  indirectly by such person.

 3         Section 3.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

 4  law.

 5  

 6            *****************************************

 7                          SENATE SUMMARY

 8    Imposes fees on the sale, handling, etc. in this state of
      cigarettes of manufacturers not party to a described
 9    tobacco settlement agreement and provides procedures for
      implementing the collection of fees and for conducting
10    related procedural activities.

11  

12  

13  

14  

15  

16  

17  

18  

19  

20  

21  

22  

23  

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  9

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.