Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2692 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R20828 ADM-F
2	2	By: Wray H.B. No. 2692
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2692:
4	4	By: Murr C.S.H.B. No. 2692
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to taxes and fees imposed on cigarettes and other tobacco
10	10	products, including an exemption to the cigarette tax, related
11	11	administrative matters, and the elements of certain related
12	12	offenses.
13	13	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	14	SECTION 1. Section 161.604, Health and Safety Code, is
15	15	amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to
16	16	read as follows:
17	17	(b) Beginning in January 2014, and in January of each
18	18	subsequent year, the comptroller shall adjust [compute] the rate of
19	19	the fee [applicable during that calendar year] by increasing the
20	20	rate in effect on the date the adjustment is made [for the preceding
21	21	calendar year] by the greater of:
22	22	(1) three percent; or
23	23	(2) the actual total percentage change in the Consumer
24	24	Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), as published by the
25	25	Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
26	26	Labor, during the preceding calendar year, calculated by comparing
27	27	the CPI-U for December of the preceding calendar year with the CPI-U
28	28	for December a year earlier.
29	29	(b-1) The adjusted rate of the fee determined under
30	30	Subsection (b) takes effect on February 1 of the year in which the
31	31	adjusted rate is determined and remains in effect until January 31
32	32	of the following year.
33	33	SECTION 2. Section 161.605(e), Health and Safety Code, is
34	34	amended to read as follows:
35	35	(e) Notwithstanding any other law, a distributor that
36	36	remits a monthly fee under this section is [, subject to Section
37	37	154.051, Tax Code,] entitled to a stamping allowance of three
38	38	percent of the face value of all stamps purchased under Section
39	39	154.041, Tax Code, for providing the service of affixing stamps to
40	40	cigarette packages.
41	41	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 154, Tax Code, is amended
42	42	by adding Section 154.026 to read as follows:
43	43	Sec. 154.026. CIGARETTES USED EXCLUSIVELY FOR RESEARCH
44	44	PURPOSES. (a) Cigarettes are exempt from the tax imposed by
45	45	Section 154.021 if the cigarettes are:
46	46	(1) contained in a package labeled with "Experimental
47	47	Use Only," "Reference Cigarettes," or other similar wording
48	48	indicating that the manufacturer intends for the product to be used
49	49	exclusively for experimental purposes in compliance with 27 C.F.R.
50	50	Section 40.232;
51	51	(2) sold directly by a manufacturer to a research
52	52	facility in this state, including:
53	53	(A) a laboratory, hospital, medical center,
54	54	college, or university; or
55	55	(B) a facility designated as a Tobacco Center of
56	56	Regulatory Science by the National Institutes of Health;
57	57	(3) used by the research facility exclusively for
58	58	experimental purposes; and
59	59	(4) not resold by the research facility.
60	60	(b) Sections 154.041, 154.302, 154.502, 154.503, and
61	61	154.515 do not apply to cigarettes exempted by Subsection (a).
62	62	SECTION 4. Section 154.210(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
63	63	as follows:
64	64	(a) A distributor shall deliver to the comptroller, on or
65	65	before the 25th [last] day of each month, a report for the preceding
66	66	month.
67	67	SECTION 5. Section 154.502, Tax Code, is amended to read as
68	68	follows:
69	69	Sec. 154.502. UNSTAMPED CIGARETTES. Except as provided by
70	70	Section 154.026(b), a [A] person commits an offense if the person:
71	71	(1) makes a first sale of unstamped cigarettes;
72	72	(2) sells, offers for sale, or presents as a prize or
73	73	gift unstamped cigarettes; or
74	74	(3) knowingly consumes, uses, or smokes cigarettes
75	75	taxed under this chapter without a stamp affixed to each individual
76	76	package.
77	77	SECTION 6. Section 154.503(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
78	78	as follows:
79	79	(a) Except as provided by Sections 154.026(b) and [Section]
80	80	154.042 [of this code], a person commits an offense if the person
81	81	possesses unstamped cigarettes in quantities less than 10,000.
82	82	SECTION 7. Section 154.515(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
83	83	as follows:
84	84	(a) Except as provided by Sections 154.026(b) and [Section]
85	85	154.042 [of this code], a person commits an offense if the person
86	86	possesses unstamped cigarettes in quantities of 10,000 or more.
87	87	SECTION 8. Section 155.111(a), Tax Code, is amended to read
88	88	as follows:
89	89	(a) A distributor shall file with the comptroller on or
90	90	before the 25th [last] day of each month[,] a report for the
91	91	preceding month.
92	92	SECTION 9. (a) The changes in law made by this Act do not
93	93	affect taxes and fees imposed before the effective date of this Act,
94	94	and the law in effect before the effective date of this Act is
95	95	continued in effect for purposes of the liability for and
96	96	collection of those taxes and fees.
97	97	(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 154.210
98	98	and 155.111, Tax Code, apply only to a distributor's report
99	99	originally due on or after the effective date of this Act. A
100	100	distributor's report originally due before that date is governed by
101	101	the law in effect on the date the report was due, and the former law
102	102	is continued in effect for that purpose.
103	103	(c) The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 154.502,
104	104	154.503, and 154.515, Tax Code, apply only to an offense committed
105	105	on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed
106	106	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
107	107	effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
108	108	continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this
109	109	subsection, an offense was committed before the effective date of
110	110	this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.
111	111	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.