HF 2912

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to commerce; prohibiting certain deliveries 
  1.3             of tobacco products; prescribing criminal penalties; 
  1.4             proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, 
  1.5             chapter 325F.  
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [325F.781] [UNLAWFUL SHIPMENT OR TRANSPORT OF 
  1.8   TOBACCO PRODUCTS.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [PROHIBITIONS.] (a) It shall be unlawful 
  1.10  for any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco 
  1.11  products to deliver or cause to be delivered any tobacco 
  1.12  products to any person in this state except in a face-to-face 
  1.13  transaction at the time of purchase, unless the delivery of 
  1.14  tobacco products is made to one of the following persons for 
  1.15  purposes other than personal consumption by the recipient: 
  1.16     (1) a person licensed by the state as a cigarette 
  1.17  distributor or subjobber or tobacco products distributor or 
  1.18  subjobber under chapter 297F or a commercial retail seller of 
  1.19  tobacco products; 
  1.20     (2) a manufacturer or importer of tobacco products or an 
  1.21  export warehouse proprietor with a federal permit to do business 
  1.22  pursuant to United States Code, title 26, section 5712, or an 
  1.23  operator of a federally designated customs bonded warehouse 
  1.24  pursuant to United States Code, title 19, section 1311 or 1555; 
  1.25  or 
  2.1      (3) a person who is an officer, employee, or agent of the 
  2.2   United States government, this state, or a department, agency, 
  2.3   instrumentality, or political subdivision of the United States 
  2.4   or this state, when such person is acting in accordance with 
  2.5   that person's official duties.  
  2.6      (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), it shall be unlawful for 
  2.7   any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco products 
  2.8   to deliver or cause to be delivered any tobacco products to a 
  2.9   home or residence. 
  2.10     (c) It shall be unlawful for any person engaged in the 
  2.11  business of selling tobacco products to deliver or cause to be 
  2.12  delivered any tobacco products to any person in this state 
  2.13  except in a container or wrapping plainly and visibly marked 
  2.14  with the words "tobacco products." 
  2.15     (d) It shall be unlawful for any person within the 
  2.16  jurisdiction of this state's laws, including all commercial 
  2.17  delivery services, to knowingly transport any tobacco products 
  2.18  to any person in this state other than a person described in 
  2.19  paragraph (a), clause (1), (2), or (3).  Notwithstanding the 
  2.20  previous sentence, it shall be unlawful for any person within 
  2.21  the jurisdiction of this state's laws, including all commercial 
  2.22  delivery services, to knowingly transport any tobacco products 
  2.23  to a home or residence.  
  2.24     Subd. 2.  [PUBLICATION.] The department of revenue shall 
  2.25  make public, by posting on the Internet and by other means, a 
  2.26  list of all persons who are currently licensed or registered by 
  2.27  the state, as described in subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause 
  2.28  (1). 
  2.29     Subd. 3.  [PENALTIES.] (a) Any person who violates the 
  2.30  provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and 
  2.31  for a second or subsequent violation shall be guilty of a felony.
  2.32     (b) The public and private remedies of section 8.31 apply 
  2.33  to violations of this section. 
  2.34     (c) Any tobacco products sold or attempted to be sold in 
  2.35  this state in a manner that does not meet the requirements of 
  2.36  this section shall be forfeited to the state. 
  3.1      (d) The attorney general shall make public, by posting on 
  3.2   the Internet and other means, a list of all actions taken to 
  3.3   enforce this section and a list of all persons found to have 
  3.4   violated this section, including those persons' names, 
  3.5   addresses, and any other information the attorney general 
  3.6   believes may be useful to other jurisdictions enforcing laws 
  3.7   prohibiting or restricting tobacco product sales for personal 
  3.8   consumption in which the seller and buyer do not initiate and 
  3.9   complete the entire transaction when in each other's physical 
  3.10  presence.