STAND. COM. REP. NO. 881-04

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2004

RE: S.B. No. 2841

S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2841, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOBACCO,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish permit requirements to regulate the retail sale of tobacco products. Among other things, this bill:

(1) Requires every retailer engaged in the retail sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to obtain a retail tobacco permit;

(2) Establishes criminal sanctions to be imposed for sales made without a retail tobacco permit;

(3) Establishes new definitions to clarify terms incorporated into the retail permit requirements; and

(4) Provides a mechanism to suspend or revoke a wholesaler or dealer license.

The Department of the Attorney General, Department of Health, American Heart Association of Hawaii, American Lung Association of Hawaii, American Cancer Society, Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, Sestak Rehabilitation Services, and numerous concerned individuals testified in support of this measure. The Hawaii Food Industry Association supported the intent of this measure.

Your Committee finds that there is a need to establish permitting procedures and penalties to ensure the collection of tobacco tax revenues.

Enforcing compliance by retailers of the tobacco tax law has been difficult, and legitimate retailers face unfair competition by unlicensed sellers and illegally imported cigarettes that do not have the appropriate tax stamps on the packaging. Your Committee also finds that 40 states have some form of retail tobacco permit requirement and that this measure will help address the issue of access to tobacco products by our youth.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2841, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

 

____________________________

DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair