STAND. COM. REP. NO. 410-04
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2004
RE: H.B. No. 2366
H.D. 1
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Second State Legislature
Regular Session of 2004
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Judiciary, to which was referred H.B. No. 2366 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOBACCO,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to regulate the retail sale of tobacco products. Specifically, this bill:
(1) Requires every retailer engaged in the retail sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to obtain a retail tobacco permit;
(2) Establishes criminal sanctions to be imposed for sales conducted without a retail tobacco permit;
(3) Establishes new definitions to clarify terms incorporated into the retail tobacco permit requirements; and
(4) Provides a mechanism to suspend or revoke a wholesaler or dealer license.
The Department of the Attorney General, the American Heart Association, and the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii testified in support of this measure. The Hawaii Food Industry Association supported the intent of this measure.
Enforcement of tobacco tax laws may improve through increased regulation of retailers of tobacco products. Although your Committee is mindful of the need to regulate tobacco sales, the creation of a class C felony offense for the unlicensed retailing of cigarettes is disproportionately severe.
Accordingly, your Committee has amended this bill by:
(1) Making the offense of unlawful tobacco retailing in the first degree a misdemeanor rather than a class C felony;
(2) Making the offense of unlawful tobacco retailing in the second degree a petty misdemeanor rather than a misdemeanor;
(3) Inserting language that ensures that this bill does not affect the rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date;
(4) Changing the effective dates to December 34, 2525, and July 34, 2525, to facilitate further discussion; and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for clarity, consistency, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2366, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2366, H.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary,
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____________________________ ERIC G. HAMAKAWA, Chair |