HOUSE BILL No. 5141

 

September 7, 2005, Introduced by Reps. Gaffney, Mortimer and Hune and referred to the Committee on Regulatory Reform.

 

     A bill to amend 1993 PA 327, entitled

 

"Tobacco products tax act,"

 

by amending section 11 (MCL 205.431), as amended by 2004 PA 474.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 11. (1) A person, either as principal or agent, shall not

 

sell or solicit a sale of a tobacco product to be shipped, mailed,

 

or otherwise sent or brought into the state, to a person not a

 

licensed manufacturer, licensed wholesaler, licensed secondary

 

wholesaler, licensed vending machine operator, licensed

 

unclassified acquirer, licensed transporter, or licensed

 

transportation company, unless the tobacco product is to be sold to

 

or through a licensed wholesaler.

 

     (2) All sales conducted through the internet, by telephone, or

 

in a mail-order transaction shall not be completed unless, before


 

each delivery of cigarettes is made, whether through the mail,

 

through a transportation company, or through any other delivery

 

system, the seller has obtained from the purchaser an affirmation

 

that includes a copy of a valid government-issued document that

 

confirms the purchaser's name, address, and date of birth showing

 

that the purchaser is at least the legal minimum age to purchase

 

cigarettes; that the cigarettes purchased are not intended for

 

consumption by an individual who is younger than the legal minimum

 

age to purchase cigarettes; and a written statement signed by the

 

purchaser that affirms the purchaser's address and that the

 

purchaser is at least the minimum legal age to purchase cigarettes.

 

The statement shall also confirm that the purchaser understands

 

that signing another person's name to the affirmation is illegal;

 

that the sale of cigarettes to individuals under the legal minimum

 

purchase age is illegal; and that the purchase of cigarettes by

 

individuals under the legal minimum purchase age is illegal under

 

the laws of the state of Michigan. The seller shall verify the

 

information contained in the affirmation provided by the purchaser

 

against a commercially available database of governmental records,

 

or obtain a photocopy, fax copy, or other image of the valid,

 

government-issued identification stating the date of birth or age

 

of the purchaser.

 

     (3) All invoices,  bills of lading,  sales receipts, or other

 

documents related to cigarette sales conducted through the

 

internet, by telephone, or in a mail-order transaction shall

 

contain the current seller's valid Michigan sales tax registration

 

number, business name and address of the seller, and a statement as


 

to whether all sales taxes and taxes levied under this act have

 

been paid. All packages of cigarettes shipped from a cigarette

 

seller to purchasers who reside in Michigan shall clearly print or

 

stamp the package with the word "CIGARETTES" on the outside of all

 

sides of the package so it is clearly visible to the shipper. In

 

addition, the package shall contain an externally visible and

 

clearly legible notice located on the same side of the package as

 

the address to which the package is delivered, as follows:

 

     "IF THESE CIGARETTES HAVE BEEN SHIPPED TO YOU FROM A SELLER

 

LOCATED OUTSIDE OF THE STATE IN WHICH YOU RESIDE, THE SELLER HAS

 

REPORTED UNDER FEDERAL LAW THE SALE OF THESE CIGARETTES TO OUR

 

STATE TAX COLLECTION AGENCY, INCLUDING YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS. YOU

 

ARE LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL APPLICABLE UNPAID STATE TAXES ON

 

THESE CIGARETTES."

 

     If an order is made as a result of advertisement over the

 

internet, the tobacco retailer shall request the electronic mail

 

address of the purchaser and shall receive payment by credit card

 

or check before shipping. This subsection and subsection (2) do not

 

apply to sales by wholesalers and unclassified acquirers.

 

     (4)  The  Any person who completes a sale of cigarettes

 

conducted through the internet, by telephone, or in a mail-order

 

transaction shall use a method of mailing, shipping, or delivery

 

that obligates the deliverer of the cigarettes  is required to

 

obtain proof from a valid government-issued document that the

 

person signing for the cigarettes is the purchaser  to require an

 

individual who is at least the minimum legal age to purchase

 

cigarettes to sign to accept delivery of the shipping container.


 

     (5) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Computer" means any connected, directly interoperable or

 

interactive device, equipment, or facility that uses a computer

 

program or other instructions to perform specific operations,

 

including logical, arithmetic, or memory functions with or on

 

computer data or a computer program, and that can store, retrieve,

 

alter, or communicate the results of the operations to a person,

 

computer program, computer, computer system, or computer network.

 

     (b) "Computer network" means the interconnection of hardwire

 

or wireless communication lines with a computer through remote

 

terminals or a complex consisting of 2 or more interconnected

 

computers.

 

     (c) "Computer program" means a series of internal or external

 

instructions communicated in a form acceptable to a computer that

 

directs the functioning of a computer, computer system, or computer

 

network in a manner designed to provide or produce products or

 

results from the computer, computer system, or computer network.

 

     (d) "Computer system" means related, connected or unconnected,

 

computer equipment, devices, software, or hardware.

 

     (e) "Credit card" means a card or device issued by a person

 

licensed under 1984 PA 379, MCL 493.101 to 493.114, or under the

 

consumer financial services act, 1988 PA 161, MCL 487.2051 to

 

487.2072, or issued by a depository financial institution as

 

defined in section 1a of the mortgage brokers, lenders, and

 

services licensing act, 1987 PA 173, MCL 445.1651a, under a credit

 

card arrangement.

 

     (f) "Device" includes, but is not limited to, an electronic,


 

magnetic, electrochemical, biochemical, hydraulic, optical, or

 

organic object that performs input, output, or storage functions by

 

the manipulation of electronic, magnetic, or other impulses.

 

     (g) "Internet" means the connection to the world wide web

 

through the use of a computer, a computer network, or a computer

 

system.

 

     (h) "Sale conducted through the internet" means a sale of, a

 

solicitation to sell, a purchase of, or an offer to purchase

 

cigarettes conducted all or in part by accessing an internet

 

website.