STAND. COM. REP. NO.238-02
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2002
RE: H.B. No. 2741
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-First State Legislature
Regular Session of 2002
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 2741 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE CIGARETTE AND TOBACCO TAX,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to increase the excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco products from:
(1) Five cents to ten cents for each cigarette sold, used, or possessed by a wholesaler or dealer after June 30, 2002; and
(2) Forty percent to fifty percent of the wholesale price of each article or item of tobacco products sold by the wholesaler or dealer after June 30, 2002.
The American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii testified in support of this measure.
Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation opposed this measure. The Department of Taxation and Tax Foundation of Hawaii submitted comments.
Your Committee finds that increasing taxes on tobacco products may encourage smokers to quit, particularly low-income individuals, including young adults who are prone to nicotine addiction. Your Committee's intent is to make Hawaii a healthier place by discouraging tobacco use, particularly in the youth population. This will not only reduce tobacco-related health problems in smokers, but also in those who are indirectly affected through secondhand smoke, or an unborn child whose mother smokes.
Your Committee has amended this bill by:
(1) Allocating $5,000,000 annually to the Hawaii Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund from the taxes collected;
(2) Allocating an amount to be determined to the Department of Health annually to start-up and maintain the tobacco regulation process proposed in H.B. No. 2219; and
(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for purposes of clarity and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2741, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2741, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,
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____________________________ DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair |
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