[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2824 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2824

 To revise and reform the Act commonly called the Jenkins Act, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 23, 2003

Mr. Green of Wisconsin (for himself, Mr. Meehan, Ms. Pryce of Ohio, Mr. 
 Feeney, Mr. Pence, Ms. Lofgren, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Isakson, 
 Mr. Conyers, Mr. Shuster, Mr. Carter, and Mrs. Blackburn) introduced 
    the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To revise and reform the Act commonly called the Jenkins Act, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Internet Tobacco Sales Enforcement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. REVISION OF ACT OF OCTOBER 19, 1949.

    The Act of October 19, 1949, entitled ``An Act to assist States in 
collecting sales and use taxes on cigarettes'' (15 U.S.C. 375 et seq.) 
is amended by striking ``That for the purposes of this Act'' and all 
that follows through the end of the Act and inserting the following:

``SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    ``This Act may be cited as the `Jenkins Act'.

``SEC. 2. INTERSTATE SALES OF CIGARETTES AND SMOKELESS TOBACCO.

    ``(a) Compliance With Laws.--
            ``(1) Each person who engages in an interstate sale of 
        cigarettes or smokeless tobacco or in an interstate 
        distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco shall comply 
        with all the excise, sales, and use tax laws applicable to the 
        sale or other transfer of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco in 
        the State and place in which the cigarettes or smokeless 
        tobacco are delivered as though the person were physically 
        located in that State or place.
            ``(2) Unless the law of the State and place in which 
        cigarettes or smokeless tobacco are delivered pursuant to an 
        interstate sale requires otherwise for the payment of an excise 
        tax imposed on that sale, the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco 
        may not be delivered to the buyer unless in advance of the 
        delivery--
                    ``(A) the excise tax has been paid; and
                    ``(B) any required stamps or other indicia that the 
                excise tax has been paid are properly affixed or 
                applied to the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.
            ``(3)(A) Each State may compile a list of interstate 
        sellers of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco who are in 
        compliance with this Act with respect to that State. If a State 
        posts a list pursuant to this subsection, no person may 
        knowingly make an interstate distribution of cigarettes or 
        smokeless tobacco into that State other than to a person 
        engaged in the business of manufacturing, distributing or 
        selling cigarettes or smokeless tobacco unless the person 
        initiating or ordering the delivery is on the list at the time 
        of delivery.
            ``(B) Each State may also compile a list of interstate 
        sellers of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco who are not in 
        compliance with this Act with respect to that State. If a State 
        posts a list pursuant to this subsection, no person make an 
        interstate distribution of any item into that State for a 
        person on the list unless--
                    ``(i) the person in good faith determines that the 
                item does not include cigarettes or smokeless tobacco; 
                or
                    ``(ii) the delivery is made to a person engaged in 
                the business of manufacturing, distributing or selling 
                cigarettes or smokeless tobacco.
    ``(b) Recordkeeping and Reporting.--Each person who engages in an 
interstate sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, or who advertises, 
or offers to engage in, such a sale, shall--
            ``(1) first file with the tobacco tax administrator of the 
        State and place in which the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco 
        are to be offered, advertised, or delivered, a statement 
        setting forth the person's name and trade name (if any), and 
        the address of that person's principal place of business and 
        any other place of business, as well as telephone numbers for 
        each place of business, a principal electronic mail address, 
        any website addresses, and the name, address and telephone 
        number of an agent authorized to accept service on behalf of 
        that person;
            ``(2) not later than the 10th day of each calendar month, 
        file with that tobacco tax administrator a memorandum or copy 
        of the invoice covering each and every interstate sale of 
        cigarettes or smokeless tobacco by the filer into that State or 
        place, and each interstate distribution of cigarettes or 
        smokeless tobacco pursuant to that sale, during the previous 
        calendar month, and such memorandum or invoice shall include 
        the name and address of the person to whom the cigarettes or 
        smokeless tobacco are delivered, the brand, and the type, the 
        quantity delivered, and the name, address, and phone number of 
        the person delivering; and
            ``(3) maintain records, including the information specified 
        in paragraph (2), for not less than 5 years after the date of 
        an interstate sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco and of 
        each interstate distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco 
        pursuant to that sale, and make those records available for 
        inspection upon the lawful demand of the Attorney General of 
        the United States, an Attorney General of a State, the 
        Commissioner of Internal Revenue, or the chief tax collection 
        official of a State.
    ``(c) Deeming Rule.--For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) an interstate sale or delivery of cigarettes or 
        smokeless tobacco shall be deemed to have occurred in the State 
        and place where the buyer obtains personal possession of the 
        cigarettes or smokeless tobacco; and
            ``(2) a delivery pursuant to an interstate sale is deemed 
        to have been initiated or ordered by the seller.

``SEC. 3. CIVIL ACTION.

    ``(a) In General.--In addition to any other remedies available 
under other Federal or State or local law, the Attorney General of a 
State may in a civil action obtain any appropriate relief, including 
money damages where appropriate, against--
            ``(1) any person who violates, or is about to engage in a 
        violation of, section 2; or
            ``(2) any person who knowingly assists or participates, or 
        knowingly is about to engage, in such a violation.
    ``(b) Notice.--It is the sense of Congress that, if the Attorney 
General of a State commences a civil action under subsection (a), that 
Attorney General should inform the Attorney General of the United 
States, and that the Attorney General of the United States should make 
information about the case publicly available, through posting the 
information on the Internet and through other means.

``SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTY.

    ``Whoever violates section 2 is subject to a civil penalty not to 
exceed $5,000 in the case of a first violation, and not to exceed 
$10,000 in any other case.

``SEC. 5. CRIMINAL PENALTY.

    ``Whoever violates section 2 shall be fined under title 18, United 
States Code, or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both.

``SEC. 6. NONPREEMPTION.

    ``This Act does not limit the remedies provided by State or Federal 
law with respect to alleged violations of State or Federal law relating 
to a sale or distribution of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, in 
connection with an interstate sale or distribution of cigarettes or 
smokeless tobacco.

``SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    ``As used in this Act--
            ``(1) the term `Attorney General', with respect to a State, 
        means the chief law enforcement officer of that State, or the 
        designee of that officer;
            ``(2) the term `cigarette' means--
                    ``(A) any roll of tobacco wrapped in paper or in 
                any substance not containing tobacco which is to be 
                burned;
                    ``(B) any roll of tobacco wrapped in any substance 
                containing tobacco that, because of its appearance, the 
                type of tobacco used in the filler, or its packaging or 
                labeling is likely to be offered to, or purchased by 
                consumers as a cigarette described in subparagraph (A);
                    ``(C) any roll of tobacco wrapped in any substance 
                that because of its appearance, the type of tobacco 
                used in the filler, or its packaging or labeling is 
                likely to be offered to, or purchased by consumers as a 
                cigarette; or
                    ``(D) loose rolling tobacco that, because of its 
                appearance, type, packaging, or labeling, is likely to 
                be offered to, or purchased by, consumers as tobacco 
                for making cigarettes;
            ``(3) the term `smokeless tobacco' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 9 of the Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco 
        Health Education Act of 1986 (15 U.S.C. 4408);
            ``(4) the term `interstate sale of cigarettes or smokeless 
        tobacco' means any sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco in 
        interstate or foreign commerce to a person, other than a person 
        licensed as a distributor in the State where the cigarettes or 
        smokeless tobacco is delivered, in which the buyer is either 
        not in the seller's physical presence at the time the request 
        for purchase is made or not in the seller's physical presence 
        at the time the buyer obtains personal possession of the 
        cigarettes or smokeless tobacco;
            ``(5) the term `interstate or foreign commerce' means 
        commerce between a State and any place outside that State, 
        commerce between a State and any Indian lands in that State, or 
        commerce between points in the same State but through any place 
        outside that State;
            ``(6) the term `interstate distribution of cigarettes or 
        smokeless tobacco' means a delivery or other distribution of 
        cigarettes or smokeless tobacco pursuant to an interstate sale 
        of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco;
            ``(7) the term `State' means a State of the United States, 
        the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or 
        any territory or possession of the United States;
            ``(8) the term `person' means an individual, a corporation, 
        company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock 
        company, an Indian tribal organization, or an Indian tribal 
        government;
            ``(9) the term `tribal organization' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 
        Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b); and
            ``(10) the term `Indian lands' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 3 of the Archaeological Resources Protection 
        Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb).''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendment made by this Act shall take effect on the first day 
of the first month beginning on or after 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
                                 <all>