Session Laws

Be it enacted by the People, and by their authority, as follows:

SECTION 1. Whereas tobacco use is the single most preventable cause of death and disease in America; and whereas an increase in the price of cigarettes has proven to prevent smoking among youth and reduce smoking prevalence among adults; and whereas youth smoking can be prevented by education; and whereas the harmful effects of parental smoking on infants and children can be prevented by education and assistance for pregnant women and parents; it is therefore in the best interests of all citizens of the Commonwealth that a Health Protection Fund be established, as provided in this Act.

SECTION 2. Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1990 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after section 2S the following new section:-

Section 2T. There shall be established and set up on the books of the Commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Health Protection Fund. There shall be credited to said Fund all amounts collected pursuant to section seven of chapter sixty-four C, together with any penalties, forfeitures, interest, costs of suits and fines collected in connection therewith, less all amounts refunded or abated in connection therewith, all as determined by the commissioner of revenue according to his best information and belief; any appropriation, grant, gift, or other contribution explicitly made to said Fund; and any income derived from the investment of amounts credited to said Fund.

Amounts credited to said Fund shall be expended, subject to appropriation, to supplement existing levels of funding for the following purposes:

(a) for comprehensive school health education programs, to be administered by the department of education; provided that such programs shall incorporate information relating to the hazards of tobacco use;

(b) for workplace-based and community smoking prevention and smoking cessation programs, for tobacco-related public service advertising and for drug education programs, to be administered by the department of public health;

(c) for the support of community health centers and their programs of prenatal and maternal care, under the supervision of said department of public health; provided that such prenatal and maternal care programs incorporate smoking cessation assistance and guidance regarding the harmful effects of smoking on fetal development; and

(d) for ongoing activities, by said department of public health, relating to the monitoring of morbidity and mortality from cancer and other tobacco-related illnesses in the Commonwealth;

In conjunction with the preparation of the commonwealth's comprehensive annual financial report, the Comptroller shall prepare and issue an annual report detailing the revenues and expenditures of said Fund.

SECTION 3. Chapter 64C of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after section 6 the following new section:-

Section 7. (a) In addition to the excise imposed by section six, every licensee who is required to file a return under section sixteen of chapter sixty-two C shall, at the time of filing such return, pay to the commissioner an excise equal to twelve and one-half mills for each cigarette so sold during the calendar month covered by the return; provided, however, that cigarettes with respect to which the excise under this section has once been imposed and has not been refunded, if paid, shall not be subject upon a subsequent sale to the excise imposed by this section. In addition to the excise imposed by section six, each unclassified acquirer shall, at the time of filing a return required by said section sixteen of chapter sixty-two C, pay to the commissioner an excise equal to twelve and one-half mills for each cigarette so imported or acquired and held for sale or consumption, and cigarettes with respect to which such excise has been imposed and has not been refunded, if paid, shall not be subject, when subsequently sold, to any further excise under this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the excise imposed by this section shall equal twenty-five percent of the price paid by such licensee or unclassified acquirer to purchase smokeless tobacco so sold, imported, or acquired.

(b) Except as the provisions of this section expressly provide to the contrary, all of the provisions of this chapter and of chapter sixty-two C relative to the assessment, collection, payment, abatement, verification, and administration of taxes, including penalties, shall, so far as pertinent, be applicable to the excise imposed by this section.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of section twenty-eight, all revenues received pursuant to this section, together with any penalties, forfeitures, interest, costs of suits and fines collected in connection therewith, less all amounts refunded or abated in connection therewith, all as determined by the commissioner of revenue according to his best information and belief, shall be credited to the Health Protection Fund, established pursuant to section two T of chapter twenty-nine.

SECTION 4. Section 6 of said chapter 64C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the word "chapter" as it appears in lines 7, 9, 17, and 29, and by inserting in its place the word:- section.

SECTION 5. Section 28 of said chapter 64C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking the first three lines of said section and inserting in place thereof the following:- Except as provided in section seven, all sums received pursuant to the excise imposed by this chapter, together with any penalties, forfeitures, interest, costs of suits and fines collected in connection therewith, less all amounts refunded or abated in connection therewith, shall be credited as follows:.

SECTION 6. Every manufacturer, wholesaler, vending machine operator, unclassified acquirer or retailer, as defined in section one of chapter sixty-four C of the General Laws, who, at the commencement of business on January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three, has on hand any cigarettes for sale or any unused adhesive or meter stamps, shall make and file with the commissioner of revenue within twenty days thereafter a return, subscribed under the penalties of perjury, showing a complete inventory of such cigarettes and stamps, and shall, at the time he is required to file such return, pay an additional excise at the rate of twelve and one-half mills per cigarette on all cigarettes and all unused adhesive and meter stamps upon which only the excise imposed pursuant to section six of said chapter sixty-four C has previously been paid; provided that the additional excise imposed by this section shall equal twenty-five percent of the price paid by such manufacturer, wholesaler, vending machine operator, unclassified acquirer or retailer to purchase smokeless tobacco on hand on said date. All provisions of chapters sixty-two C and sixty-four C of the General Laws, relative to the assessment, collection, payment, abatement, verification, and administration of taxes, including penalties, shall, so far as pertinent, be applicable to the excise imposed by this section.

SECTION 7. If any provision of this Act, or any part thereof, is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions shall not be affected thereby but will remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 8. The provisions of this Act shall take effect upon January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three. `t+99