Assembly Bill A11503

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  11503

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 17, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Dinowitz) --
  read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

AN  ACT  to  amend the public health law, in relation to the shipment of
  cigarettes

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 1399-ll of the public health law,
as added by chapter 262 of the laws of  2000,  is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  1.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for any person engaged in the business of
selling cigarettes to ship or cause to be shipped any cigarettes to  any
person  in  this  state who is not: (a) a person licensed as a cigarette
tax agent or wholesale dealer under article twenty of  the  tax  law  or
registered  retail dealer under section four hundred eighty-a of the tax
law; (b) an export warehouse proprietor pursuant to chapter  52  of  the
internal  revenue  code  or  an  operator  of a customs bonded warehouse
pursuant to section 1311 or 1555 of title 19 of the United States  Code;
or  (c)  a  person  who  is  an officer, employee or agent of the United
States government, this state or a department,  agency,  instrumentality
or political subdivision of the United States or this state AND PRESENTS
HIMSELF  OR  HERSELF  AS  SUCH, when such person is acting in accordance
with his or her official duties. For purposes  of  this  subdivision,  a
person  is  a  licensed or registered agent or dealer described in para-
graph (a) of this subdivision if his or her name appears on  a  list  of
licensed  or registered agents or dealers published by the department of
taxation and finance, or if such person is licensed or registered as  an
agent or dealer under article twenty of the tax law.
  S  2.  Subdivision  2  of section 1399-ll of the public health law, as
added by chapter 262 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
  2. It shall be unlawful for any common or contract carrier to knowing-
ly transport cigarettes to any person in this state reasonably  believed
by  such  carrier  to be other than a person described in paragraph (a),
(b) or (c) of subdivision one of  this  section.  For  purposes  of  the
preceding  sentence,  if  cigarettes  are transported to a home or resi-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                           LBD17764-01-0

A. 11503                            2

dence, it shall be presumed that the common  or  contract  carrier  knew
that such person was not a person described in paragraph (a), (b) or (c)
of  subdivision  one of this section. It shall be unlawful for any other
person  to  knowingly  transport cigarettes to any person in this state,
other than to a person described in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of  subdi-
vision  one  of  this  section.  Nothing  in  this  subdivision shall be
construed to prohibit a [person other than a] common or contract carrier
OR A REGISTERED RETAIL DEALER UNDER SECTION FOUR HUNDRED EIGHTY-A OF THE
TAX LAW from transporting not more than eight hundred cigarettes at  any
one time to any person in this state.
  S  3.  Subdivision  5  of section 1399-ll of the public health law, as
added by chapter 262 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
  5. Any person who violates the provisions of subdivision one or two of
this section shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and for  a  second
or subsequent violation shall be guilty of a class E felony. In addition
to  the criminal penalty, [the commissioner may impose a civil fine] ANY
PERSON WHO VIOLATES THE PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE, TWO OR  THREE  OF
THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE  SUBJECT  TO  A CIVIL PENALTY not to exceed THE
GREATER OF (A) five thousand dollars for each  such  violation  [on  any
person  who violates subdivision one or two of this section. The commis-
sioner may impose a civil fine not to exceed five thousand  dollars  for
each  violation  of  subdivision  three  of  this  section on any person
engaged in the business of selling cigarettes who ships or causes to  be
shipped  any  such  cigarettes  to any person in this state]; OR (B) ONE
HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR EACH  PACK  OF  CIGARETTES  SHIPPED,  CAUSED  TO  BE
SHIPPED OR TRANSPORTED IN VIOLATION OF SUCH SUBDIVISION.
  S 4. Section 1399-ll of the public health law, as added by chapter 262
of the laws of 2000, is amended by adding a new subdivision 6 to read as
follows:
  6.  THE  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  MAY  BRING  AN ACTION TO RECOVER THE CIVIL
PENALTIES PROVIDED BY SUBDIVISION FIVE OF  THIS  SECTION  AND  FOR  SUCH
OTHER  RELIEF  AS  MAY BE DEEMED NECESSARY. IN ADDITION, THE CORPORATION
COUNSEL OF ANY POLITICAL SUBDIVISION THAT IMPOSES A  TAX  ON  CIGARETTES
MAY  BRING AN ACTION TO RECOVER THE CIVIL PENALTIES PROVIDED BY SUBDIVI-
SION FIVE OF THIS SECTION AND FOR SUCH OTHER RELIEF  AS  MAY  BE  DEEMED
NECESSARY  WITH  RESPECT TO ANY CIGARETTES SHIPPED, CAUSED TO BE SHIPPED
OR TRANSPORTED IN VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION TO ANY PERSON LOCATED WITHIN
SUCH POLITICAL SUBDIVISION. ALL CIVIL PENALTIES  OBTAINED  IN  ANY  SUCH
ACTION  SHALL BE RETAINED BY THE STATE OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION BRINGING
SUCH ACTION, PROVIDED THAT NO PERSON SHALL  BE  REQUIRED  TO  PAY  CIVIL
PENALTIES  TO BOTH THE STATE AND A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION WITH RESPECT TO
THE SAME VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION.
  S 5. This act shall take effect immediately.