S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  2117

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 15, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Mental Health

AN  ACT  to  amend the tax law, in relation to the form of tax stamps on
  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 472 of the tax law, as amended by
chapter 629 of the laws of 1996 and as further amended by section 104 of
part A of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
  1. The commissioner shall [prescribe,] prepare and furnish  stamps  of
such denominations and quantities as may be necessary for the payment of
the tax on cigarettes imposed by this article, and may from time to time
and  as  often as he deems advisable provide for the issuance and exclu-
sive use of stamps of a new design and forbid the use of stamps  of  any
other  design, in the manner and with the effect provided in section two
hundred seventy-four of this chapter.  SUCH  STAMPS  SHALL  MEASURE  TWO
INCHES  BY  TWO  INCHES  AND  BE AFFIXED TO THE PACKAGE OVERWRAP ON BOTH
SIDES OF A PACKAGE OF TWENTY CIGARETTES. EACH STAMP SHALL BEAR  A  COLOR
GRAPHIC  DEPICTING AN ADVERSE EFFECT OF CIGARETTE USE AND INCLUDE A TOLL
FREE TELEPHONE NUMBER WHICH CALLERS MAY ACCESS FOR INFORMATION ON  SMOK-
ING  CESSATION.  The  commissioner shall make provisions for the sale of
such stamps at such places and at such times as he  may  deem  necessary
and  may  license  agents for such purpose. The commissioner may license
dealers in cigarettes, who maintain separate warehousing facilities  for
the  purpose  of  receiving  and  distributing cigarettes and conducting
their business, who have received commitments from at  least  two  ciga-
rette  manufacturers  whose  aggregate  market  share  is at least forty
percent of the New York state cigarette market, and importers, exporters
and manufacturers of cigarettes, and other persons within or without the
state as agents to buy or affix stamps to be  used  in  paying  the  tax
herein  imposed,  but  an  agent  shall  at  all times have the right to

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06308-01-5
              

A. 2117                             2

appoint the person in his employ who is to affix the stamps to any ciga-
rettes under the agent's control. The fee for  filing  such  application
for  an  agent's  license  shall  be  one thousand five hundred dollars,
unless  such  fee  has  been paid during the preceding twelve months, in
which case, the fee for a new license shall be one thousand dollars. All
of the provisions of section four hundred eighty OF THIS ARTICLE  relat-
ing  to wholesale dealers' licenses, including the procedure for suspen-
sion, revocation, refusal to license and for hearings, except for  para-
graphs  (c)  and  (g)  of  subdivision  one  of  such  section, shall be
applicable to agents' licenses applied for or granted pursuant  to  this
section, as if such provisions had been set forth in full in this subdi-
vision  and  had  expressly referred to the applicant for, or the holder
of, an agent's license. Whenever the commissioner shall sell and deliver
to any such agent any such stamps,  such  agent  shall  be  entitled  to
receive  as  compensation for his services and expenses as such agent in
selling or affixing such stamps, and to retain out of the moneys  to  be
paid  by him for such stamps, a commission on the par value thereof. The
commissioner is hereby authorized to prescribe  a  schedule  of  commis-
sions, not exceeding five per centum, allowable to such agent for buying
and affixing such stamps. Such schedule shall be uniform with respect to
the different types of stamps used, and may be on a graduated scale with
respect  to the number of stamps purchased. The commissioner may, in his
discretion, permit an agent to pay for such stamps  within  thirty  days
after  the  date of purchase and may require any such agent to file with
the department [of taxation and finance]  a  bond  issued  by  a  surety
company  approved  by  the  superintendent  of  financial services as to
solvency and responsibility and authorized to transact business  in  the
state  or  other security acceptable to the commissioner, in such amount
as the commissioner may fix, to secure the payment of any sums due  from
such  agent  pursuant  to  this  article. If securities are deposited as
security under this subdivision, such securities shall be  kept  in  the
custody  of  the  commissioner and may be sold by the commissioner if it
becomes necessary so to do in order to recover any sums  due  from  such
agent  pursuant  to  this  article,  but no such sale shall be had until
after such agent shall have had opportunity to litigate the validity  of
any  tax if it elects so to do. Upon any such sale, the surplus, if any,
above the sums due under this article shall be returned to such agent.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
it shall have become a law.