An Act To Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use with Adequate Funding and by Raising the Tax on Tobacco Products

Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §4365,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 457, Pt. AA, §1 and affected by §8, is further amended to read:

§ 4365. Rate of tax

A tax is imposed on all cigarettes imported into this State or held in this State by any person for sale at the rate of 100 175 mills for each cigarette. Payment of the tax is evidenced by the affixing of stamps to the packages containing the cigarettes.

Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §4365-F,  as enacted by PL 2005, c. 457, Pt. AA, §3 and affected by §8, is repealed.

Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §4365-G  is enacted to read:

§ 4365-G.  Application of cigarette tax rate increase effective November 1, 2019

The following provisions apply to cigarettes held for resale on November 1, 2019.

Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §4366-A, sub-§2, ¶D,  as amended by PL 2007, c. 438, §93, is further amended to read:

Sec. 5. 36 MRSA §4401, sub-§9,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 627, §4, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

Sec. 6. 36 MRSA §4403, sub-§1,  as repealed and replaced by PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. H, §1 and affected by §3, is repealed.

Sec. 7. 36 MRSA §4403, sub-§2,  as amended by PL 2005, c. 627, §8, is further amended to read:

Sec. 8. 36 MRSA §4403, sub-§5  is enacted to read:

Sec. 9. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.

ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE

Human Services Division 0696

Initiative: Appropriates funds for tobacco enforcement activities.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21
All Other	$250,000	$250,000
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$250,000	$250,000

ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE
DEPARTMENT TOTALS	2019-20	2020-21
GENERAL FUND	$250,000	$250,000
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	$250,000	$250,000

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention 0143

Initiative: Appropriates funds for tobacco use prevention and cessation.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21
All Other	$11,100,000	$11,100,000
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$11,100,000	$11,100,000

Medical Care - Payments to Providers 0147

Initiative: Appropriates funds for tobacco use cessation medications and counseling provided to MaineCare members.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21
All Other	$1,000,000	$750,000
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$1,000,000	$750,000

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS	2019-20	2020-21
GENERAL FUND	$12,100,000	$11,850,000
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	$12,100,000	$11,850,000

SECTION TOTALS	2019-20	2020-21
GENERAL FUND	$12,350,000	$12,100,000
SECTION TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	$12,350,000	$12,100,000

Sec. 10. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that amend the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 4365, section 4366-A, subsection 2, paragraph D and section 4403, subsection 2; that repeal Title 36, section 4365-F and section 4403, subsection 1; that enact Title 36, section 4365-G and section 4403, subsection 5; and that repeal and replace Title 36, section 4401, subsection 9 take effect November 1, 2019.

SUMMARY

This bill increases the cigarette tax from $2.00 to $3.50 per pack of 20 cigarettes and increases the tax on all other tobacco products including electronic cigarettes to 81% of the wholesale sales price, beginning November 1, 2019. The bill provides that, if the tax on cigarettes is increased on or after November 1, 2019, the tax on all other tobacco products will be adjusted by a rate that is equivalent to the percentage change in the tax rate for one cigarette. The bill provides ongoing funding, $11,100,000 per year, to the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention for tobacco use prevention and cessation in order to align with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. The bill also provides $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $750,000 thereafter for MaineCare members for tobacco use cessation medications and counseling. Finally, the bill provides $250,000 per year in ongoing funding to the Attorney General's office for increased tobacco enforcement activities.