Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 2840 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to prohibit the distribution of untaxed cigarettes via telephone, mail order, the Internet, or other on-line sources.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Attorney General, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Hawaii Food Industry Association, and Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawaii.

Your Committee finds that due to this State's high cost of cigarettes, smokers are gravitating toward telephone, mail, Internet, and other on-line cigarette purchases. These unregulated sources for cigarettes are resulting in a loss of revenue to the State and a source for minors to purchase cigarettes.

Your Committee believes that this measure will help in preventing further revenue loss and underage purchases by:

Your Committee has amended this measure by changing the effective date for this measure to July 1, 2004 and making other technical, non-substantive changes.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2840, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2840, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.