[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to preventing cigarette stamps from being affixed to packages containing cigarettes manufactured by nonparticipating tobacco product manufacturers that are not making required escrow payments; and amending RCW 82.24.035.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 82.24.035 and 1999 c 193 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) No stamp may be affixed to, or made upon, any container or package of cigarettes if:

(a) The container or package differs in any respect with the requirements of the federal cigarette labeling and advertising act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1331 et seq.) for the placement of labels, warnings, or any other information upon a package of cigarettes that is to be sold within the United States;

(b) The container or package has been imported into the United States after January 1, 2000, in violation of 26 U.S.C. Sec. 5754;

(c) The container or package, including a container of individually stamped containers or packages, is labeled "For Export Only," "U.S. Tax Exempt," "For Use Outside U.S.," or similar wording indicating that the manufacturer did not intend that the product be sold in the United States; or

(d) The container or package has been altered by adding or deleting the wording, labels, or warnings described in (a) or (c) of this subsection.

(2) No stamp may be affixed to, or made upon, any container or package of cigarettes and no tax may be paid under chapter 82.26 RCW on roll-your-own tobacco, unless the tobacco product manufacturer who makes or sells those cigarettes or roll-your-own tobacco has:

(a) Become a participating manufacturer as defined in RCW 70.157.020(a); or

(b) Made all escrow payments required by RCW 70.157.020(b), as determined by the attorney general, pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.

(3) The attorney general shall annually, not later than May 15th of each year, post on the attorney general's web site and transmit to all wholesalers, retailers that affix stamps, and distributors that pay the tax under chapter 82.26 RCW, a list of tobacco product manufacturers determined by the attorney general to have made all escrow payments required by RCW 70.157.020(b). The department of revenue and the attorney general may require wholesalers, retailers, or distributors under chapter 82.26 RCW and nonparticipating tobacco product manufacturers to submit information the attorney general may determine is necessary to determine whether a nonparticipating manufacturer has made the escrow payments required by RCW 70.157.020(b). Any nonparticipating manufacturer excluded or removed from the list may challenge the decision of the attorney general within sixty days of any decision by the attorney general to exclude or remove a nonparticipating manufacturer from the list. The attorney general shall include the nonparticipating tobacco product manufacturer on the list provisionally, pending the conclusion of a hearing by the attorney general of the challenge and the attorney general's final decision, if the manufacturer posts a bond in an amount equal to the amount of the escrow payments that the attorney general has determined that RCW 70.157.020(b) required the manufacturer to make with respect to cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco sold during the period of the manufacturer's noncompliance as determined by the attorney general. Any final decision of the attorney general may be appealed in a court of competent jurisdiction.

(4) To promote compliance with RCW 70.157.020(b), the attorney general may require nonparticipating manufacturers to make the escrow payments required by RCW 70.157.020(b) in quarterly installments during the year in which the sales covered by the payments are made.

(5) The department of revenue and the attorney general may enter into a written agreement authorizing the exchange of information reasonably necessary to the enforcement and administration of subsections (2) and (3) of this section.

(6) In addition to the penalty and forfeiture provisions otherwise provided for in this chapter, a violation of this section is a deceptive act or practice under the consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW.