CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP. NO. 112
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: S.B. No. 682
S.D. 2
H.D. 3
C.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Conference on the disagreeing vote of the Senate to the amendments proposed by the House of Representatives in S.B. No. 682, S.D. 2, H.D. 3, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO TOBACCO,"
having met, and after full and free discussion, has agreed to recommend and does recommend to the respective Houses the final passage of this bill in an amended form.
The purpose of this bill is to improve tobacco regulation by:
(1) Requiring businesses engaged in the retail sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to obtain a retail tobacco permit from the Department of Taxation;
(2) Requiring the payment of a fee for each retail tobacco permit;
(3) Establishing criminal offenses for the retail sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products without a valid retail tobacco permit;
(4) Providing that any cigarette or tobacco product unlawfully sold, possessed, kept, stored, acquired, distributed, or transported may be seized and ordered forfeited; and
(5) Specifying that of the moneys collected from the issuance of retail tobacco permits that exceed the costs of administering the permit requirements:
(A) Fifty percent shall be appropriated to the John A. Burns School of Medicine; and
(B) Fifty percent shall be appropriated to the Department of Human Services for the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Your Committee on Conference has amended this measure by:
(1) Changing the date that the tobacco retail permit is required from July 1, 2006 to December 1, 2006, and providing that the permit shall be valid from December 1 to November 30, renewable thereafter for the same period;
(2) Establishing the permit fee amount to be $20;
(3) Changing the documentation that a permittee shall be required to keep to verify the accuracy of the payment of taxes imposed by the chapter;
(4) Expanding the Department's authority to include the authority to renew the retail tobacco permit or license, or rescind an order of revocation after a hearing;
(5) Including lesser penalties for the criminal offenses for the retail sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products without a valid retail tobacco permit;
(6) Designating what determinations the Department shall make after a hearing;
(7) Deleting the disposition of revenues amendment and including an appropriation from the tobacco enforcement special fund for the Department up to $130,953 for fiscal year 2006-2007 to establish and administer the licensing and permitting of tobacco and cigarette sales, including the establishment of three additional permanent full-time positions; and
(8) Making the effective date of the measure effective upon its approval and repealed on July 1, 2009, with appropriate reenactment language; provided that the appropriation sections shall take effect on July 1, 2006.
Your Committee on Conference requests that the 2006 Legislature consider adjusting the wholesale license fees in accordance with the amount being charged for the retail permits.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the managers of your Committee on Conference that is attached to this report, your Committee on Conference is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 682, S.D. 2, H.D. 3, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Final Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 682, S.D. 2, H.D. 3, C.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the managers:
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ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE |
ON THE PART OF THE SENATE |
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____________________________ Dennis A. Arakaki, Co-Chair |
____________________________ Rosalyn H. Baker, Chair |
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____________________________ Blake K. Oshiro, Co-Chair |
____________________________ Suzanne Chun Oakland, Co-Chair |
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____________________________ Bertha C. Kawakami, Co-Chair |
____________________________ Shan S. Tsutsui, Co-Chair |
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