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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to taxes and fees imposed on cigarettes and other tobacco |
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products, including an exemption to the cigarette tax, related |
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administrative matters, and the elements of certain related |
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offenses. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 161.604(b), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(b) Beginning in January 2014, and in February [January] of |
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each subsequent year, the comptroller shall compute the rate of the |
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fee applicable during that calendar year by increasing the rate for |
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the preceding calendar year by the greater of: |
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(1) three percent; or |
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(2) the actual total percentage change in the Consumer |
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Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), as published by the |
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Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of |
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Labor, during the preceding calendar year, calculated by comparing |
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the CPI-U for December of the preceding calendar year with the CPI-U |
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for December a year earlier. |
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SECTION 2. Section 161.605(e), Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(e) Notwithstanding any other law, a distributor that |
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remits a monthly fee under this section is [, subject to Section
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154.051, Tax Code,] entitled to a stamping allowance of three |
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percent of the face value of all stamps purchased under Section |
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154.041, Tax Code, for providing the service of affixing stamps to |
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cigarette packages. |
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SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 154, Tax Code, is amended |
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by adding Section 154.026 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 154.026. CIGARETTES USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR RESEARCH |
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PURPOSES. (a) Cigarettes are exempt from the tax imposed by |
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Section 154.021 if the cigarettes are: |
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(1) contained in a package labeled with "Experimental |
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Use Only," "Reference Cigarettes," or other similar wording |
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indicating that the manufacturer intends for the product to be used |
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exclusively for experimental purposes in compliance with 27 C.F.R. |
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Section 40.232; |
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(2) sold directly by a manufacturer to a research |
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facility in this state, including: |
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(A) a laboratory, hospital, medical center, |
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college, or university; or |
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(B) a facility designated as a Tobacco Center of |
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Regulatory Science by the National Institutes of Health; |
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(3) used by the research facility exclusively for |
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experimental purposes; and |
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(4) not resold by the research facility. |
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(b) Sections 154.041, 154.302, 154.502, 154.503, and |
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154.515 do not apply to cigarettes exempted by Subsection (a). |
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SECTION 4. Section 154.210(a), Tax Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) A distributor shall deliver to the comptroller, on or |
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before the 25th [last] day of each month, a report for the preceding |
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month. |
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SECTION 5. Section 154.502, Tax Code, is amended to read as |
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follows: |
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Sec. 154.502. UNSTAMPED CIGARETTES. Except as provided by |
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Section 154.026(b), a [A] person commits an offense if the person: |
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(1) makes a first sale of unstamped cigarettes; |
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(2) sells, offers for sale, or presents as a prize or |
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gift unstamped cigarettes; or |
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(3) knowingly consumes, uses, or smokes cigarettes |
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taxed under this chapter without a stamp affixed to each individual |
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package. |
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SECTION 6. Section 154.503(a), Tax Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) Except as provided by Sections 154.026(b) and [Section] |
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154.042 [of this code], a person commits an offense if the person |
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possesses unstamped cigarettes in quantities less than 10,000. |
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SECTION 7. Section 154.515(a), Tax Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) Except as provided by Sections 154.026(b) and [Section] |
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154.042 [of this code], a person commits an offense if the person |
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possesses unstamped cigarettes in quantities of 10,000 or more. |
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SECTION 8. Section 155.111(a), Tax Code, is amended to read |
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as follows: |
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(a) A distributor shall file with the comptroller on or |
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before the 25th [last] day of each month[,] a report for the |
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preceding month. |
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SECTION 9. (a) The changes in law made by this Act do not |
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affect taxes and fees imposed before the effective date of this Act, |
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and the law in effect before the effective date of this Act is |
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continued in effect for purposes of the liability for and |
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collection of those taxes and fees. |
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(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 154.210 |
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and 155.111, Tax Code, apply only to a distributor's report |
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originally due on or after the effective date of this Act. A |
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distributor's report originally due before that date is governed by |
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the law in effect on the date the report was due, and the former law |
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is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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(c) The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 154.502, |
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154.503, and 154.515, Tax Code, apply only to an offense committed |
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on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed |
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before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in |
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effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is |
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continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this |
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subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of |
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this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |