1-1     By:  Armbrister                                       S.B. No. 1122
 1-2           (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 1999; March 11, 1999, read
 1-3     first time and referred to Committee on Human Services;
 1-4     April 6, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 5,
 1-5     Nays 0; April 6, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to circumstances in which cigarettes may not be affixed
 1-9     with stamps or sold; providing penalties.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 154, Tax Code, is amended
1-12     by adding Section 154.0415 to read as follows:
1-13           Sec. 154.0415.  CIGARETTES TO WHICH STAMPS MAY NOT BE
1-14     AFFIXED.  A person may not affix a stamp to a package of cigarettes
1-15     if the package:
1-16                 (1)  does not comply with the Cigarette Labeling and
1-17     Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1331 et seq.) for the placement
1-18     of labels, warnings, or any other information for a package of
1-19     cigarettes to be sold within the United States;
1-20                 (2)  is labeled "For Export Only," "U.S. Tax Exempt,"
1-21     "For Use Outside U.S.," or other wording indicating that the
1-22     manufacturer did not intend that the product be sold in the United
1-23     States;
1-24                 (3)  has been altered by adding or deleting wording,
1-25     labels, or warnings described in Subdivision (1) or (2);
1-26                 (4)  has been imported into the United States after
1-27     January 1, 2000, in violation of 26 U.S.C. Section 5754; or
1-28                 (5)  in any way violates federal trademark or copyright
1-29     laws.
1-30           SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 154.4045, Tax Code, is
1-31     amended to read as follows:
1-32           (b)  If the seized cigarettes are in a salable condition, the
1-33     comptroller may:
1-34                 (1)  sell the cigarettes, return the cigarettes to the
1-35     manufacturer for credit, or destroy or dispose of the cigarettes;
1-36     or
1-37                 (2)  if the seized cigarettes are in packages described
1-38     by Section 154.0415 or stamped in violation of that section, the
1-39     comptroller may not sell the cigarettes but may destroy or dispose
1-40     of the cigarettes or return the cigarettes, solely for the purpose
1-41     of export, to the manufacturer for credit.
1-42           SECTION 3.  Subchapter H, Chapter 154, Tax Code, is amended
1-43     by adding Section 154.4095 to read as follows:
1-44           Sec. 154.4095.  DECEPTIVE TRADE PRACTICE.  Selling a package
1-45     of cigarettes described by Section 154.0415, with or without a
1-46     stamp, is a deceptive trade practice for the purpose of Subchapter
1-47     E, Chapter 17, Business & Commerce Code.
1-48           SECTION 4.  Subchapter I, Chapter 154, Tax Code, is amended
1-49     by adding Section 154.5025 to read as follows:
1-50           Sec. 154.5025.  AFFIXING STAMPS TO CERTAIN CIGARETTES.  A
1-51     person commits an offense if the person affixes stamps to
1-52     cigarettes in violation of Section 154.0415.
1-53           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-54     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-55     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-56     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-57     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
1-58     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
1-59     passage, and it is so enacted.
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