CHAPTER 74
HOUSE BILL No. 2982*
An Act concerning the affixing of cigarette tax
stamps and meter impressions
and payment of tax on roll-your-own tobacco.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. (a) No person may affix,
or cause to be affixed, tax stamps
or meter impressions to individual packages of cigarettes or pay
the re-
quired tax on roll-your-own tobacco in accordance with K.S.A.
79-3371,
and amendments thereto, unless the tobacco product manufacturer
that
makes or sells such cigarettes or roll-your-own tobacco has:
(1) Become a participating manufacturer;
or
(2) made all required escrow
payments.
(b) Not later than July 1, 2002, the
attorney general shall develop a
list, to be posted on the attorney general's website, of all
tobacco product
manufacturers that have become participating manufacturers or made
all
required escrow payments. This list shall include the brand
families iden-
tified by each such tobacco product manufacturer under subsection
(c).
The list shall be updated as necessary. A person may rely upon the
attor-
ney general's list in affixing or causing to be affixed stamps or
meter
impressions to individual packages of cigarettes or paying the tax
on roll-
your-own tobacco as required by K.S.A. 79-3371, and amendments
thereto, of any brand family included on the list.
(c) In order to be included on the list
developed by the attorney
general under subsection (b), a tobacco product manufacturer shall
(1)
submit to the attorney general a list of brand families whose
cigarettes
are to be counted in calculating the participating manufacturer's
annual
payments under the master settlement agreement or required
escrow
payments whichever is applicable, (2) appoint a registered agent
for serv-
ice of process in the state and identify such registered agent to
the attor-
ney general, and (3) certify, under penalty of perjury, that all
escrow
payments have been made by all other tobacco product
manufacturers
that previously made or sold brand families identified under this
subsec-
tion or brand style included within such brand families, except
that, if the
brand family or brand style was made or sold by the manufacturer
before
the effective date of this act, such manufacturer shall be required
only to
identify such predecessor manufacturer or manufacturers. A
tobacco
product manufacturer may update the list to reflect changes.
(d) In addition to or in lieu of any
other civil or criminal penalty
provided by law, upon a finding that a licensee has violated
subsection
(a) or any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, the
director
may revoke or suspend the license of any licensee in the manner
provided
by K.S.A. 79-3309, and amendments thereto. The director may also
im-
pose a civil fine in an amount not to exceed the greater of 500% of
the
retail value of the cigarettes or roll-your-own tobacco involved or
$5,000
upon a finding of a violation of subsection (a) or any rules and
regulations
adopted pursuant thereto. Such fine shall be imposed in the
manner
provided by K.S.A. 79-3391, and amendments thereto.
(e) Any cigarettes or roll-your-own
tobacco that are stamped, to
which a meter impression is affixed or for which tax is paid as
required
by K.S.A. 79-3371, and amendments thereto, in violation of
subsection
(a) shall be deemed contraband under K.S.A. 79-3323, and
amendments
thereto, and shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided
therein
and in K.S.A. 79-3324a, and amendments thereto. All such cigarettes
and
roll-your-own tobacco seized and forfeited shall be destroyed. Such
cig-
arettes and roll-your-own tobacco shall be deemed contraband
whether
the violation of subsection (a) is knowing or otherwise.
(f) (1) The director may require
wholesale dealers and distributors
to submit such information as is necessary to enable the attorney
general
to determine whether a nonparticipating manufacturer has made the
re-
quired escrow payments.
(2) The attorney general may require
nonparticipating manufacturers
to submit such information as the attorney general may determine
is
necessary to enable the attorney general to determine whether a
non-
participating manufacturer has made the required escrow
payments.
(g) The attorney general may require a
nonparticipating manufac-
turer to make the required escrow payments in quarterly
installments
during the year in which the sales covered by such payments are
made
in order to be placed on the list developed by the attorney general
under
subsection (b).
(h) (1) It shall be unlawful for a
nonparticipating manufacturer, di-
rectly or indirectly, to falsely represent to any person in
Kansas:
(A) Any information about a brand family
pursuant to the list sub-
mitted pursuant to subsection (b);
(B) that it is a participating
manufacturer;
(C) that it has made all required escrow
payments; or
(D) that it has satisfied any other
requirements imposed pursuant to
this statute.
(2) Violation of this section is a class
A, nonperson misdemeanor.
(i) The director and the attorney general
may enter into a written
agreement authorizing the exchange of information reasonably
necessary
to the enforcement and administration of this section.
(j) As used in this section:
(1) ``Participating manufacturer'' has
the meaning ascribed thereto in
subsection (a) of K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 50-6a03, and amendments
thereto.
(2) ``Required escrow payments'' means
the amounts described in
subsection (b)(1) of K.S.A. 2001 Supp. 50-6a03, and amendments
thereto.
(3) ``Director'' means the director of
taxation.
Sec. 2. This act shall take effect
and be in force from and after its
publication in the Kansas register.
Approved April 17, 2002.
Published in the Kansas Register April 25, 2002.
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