Signed by Governor Ted Kulongoski

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases the tax on moist snuff tobacco from 65 percent of the sales price to $1.78 per ounce based on the net weight, with a minimum tax of $2.14 per retail container, and imposes additional regulations on moist snuff tobacco manufacturers and retailers.

Highlights:

- Requires the Department of Revenue to recompute the tax rate on moist snuff tobacco each biennium according to the cost-of-living adjustment for the calendar year beginning July 1, 2019 (Sec. 2). - Prohibits the distribution of free samples of moist snuff tobacco to individuals under the age of 21, and classifies a violation of this statute as a class A misdemeanor (Sec. 13). - Authorizes the Department of Revenue to revoke or suspend the license of a distributor for distributing free samples of moist snuff tobacco to individuals under the age of 21 (Sec. 16). - Requires manufacturers selling moist snuff tobacco to do one of the following (Sec. 20):

- Comply with several requirements outlined in the Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998 (agreement between U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and state attorney generals), including, but not limited to, the following:
- Prohibition on youth targeting; - Prohibition on the use of cartoons; - Limitation of tobacco brand name sponsorship, including prohibitions on sponsorship of concerts, athletic events, and other events in which the intended audience is comprised of a significant percentage of youth; - Prohibition on outdoor advertising and transit advertisements; - Prohibition on payments related to tobacco products and media; - Prohibition on tobacco brand name merchandise; - Prohibition on youth access to free samples; - Prohibition on gifts to underage individuals based on proofs of purchase; - Limitation on third-party use of brand names; - Prohibition on non-tobacco brand names; - Prohibition on providing tobacco products to teams, including sports teams and entertainment groups; - Corporate culture commitments related to youth access and consumption; - Limitations on lobbying, including a prohibition on lobbying against local legislative proposals or administrative rules intended to reduce youth access to tobacco products; - Regulation and oversight of new tobacco-related trade associations; - Prohibition on agreements between manufacturers to suppress research of tobacco; and - Prohibition on material misrepresentations of fact regarding the health consequences of using any tobacco product; and - Prohibition on challenging the enforceability or constitutionality of state statutes, ordinances, and administrative rules related to underage use; or
- Deposit $0.40 per unit sold for 2010 or such amount adjusted for inflation each year thereafter into a qualified escrow account, of which appropriations may only be made for the following reasons:
- Pay a judgment or settlement for a claim brought against a tobacco manufacturer; - Refund a tobacco manufacturer upon establishing that the amount required to be deposited into the escrow account in a particular year was greater than the payments required under the Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998; or - Refund a manufacturer 25 years after the date in which the funds were deposited into the escrow account.

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that increases the tax on moist snuff tobacco from 65 percent of the sales price to $1.78 per ounce based on the net weight, with a minimum tax of $2.14 per retail container, and imposes additional regulations on moist snuff tobacco manufacturers and retailers.

Highlights:

- Requires the Department of Revenue to recompute the tax rate on moist snuff tobacco each biennium according to the cost-of-living adjustment for the calendar year beginning July 1, 2019 (Sec. 2). - Prohibits the distribution of free samples of moist snuff tobacco to individuals under the age of 21, and classifies a violation of this statute as a class A misdemeanor (Sec. 13). - Authorizes the Department of Revenue to revoke or suspend the license of a distributor for distributing free samples of moist snuff tobacco to individuals under the age of 21 (Sec. 16). - Requires manufacturers selling moist snuff tobacco to do one of the following (Sec. 20):

- Comply with several requirements outlined in the Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998 (agreement between U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and state attorney generals), including, but not limited to, the following:
- Prohibition on youth targeting; - Prohibition on the use of cartoons; - Limitation of tobacco brand name sponsorship, including prohibitions on sponsorship of concerts, athletic events, and other events in which the intended audience is comprised of a significant percentage of youth; - Prohibition on outdoor advertising and transit advertisements; - Prohibition on payments related to tobacco products and media; - Prohibition on tobacco brand name merchandise; - Prohibition on youth access to free samples; - Prohibition on gifts to underage individuals based on proofs of purchase; - Limitation on third-party use of brand names; - Prohibition on non-tobacco brand names; - Prohibition on providing tobacco products to teams, including sports teams and entertainment groups; - Corporate culture commitments related to youth access and consumption; - Limitations on lobbying, including a prohibition on lobbying against local legislative proposals or administrative rules intended to reduce youth access to tobacco products; - Regulation and oversight of new tobacco-related trade associations; - Prohibition on agreements between manufacturers to suppress research of tobacco; and - Prohibition on material misrepresentations of fact regarding the health consequences of using any tobacco product; and - Prohibition on challenging the enforceability or constitutionality of state statutes, ordinances, and administrative rules related to underage use; or
- Deposit $0.40 per unit sold for 2010 or such amount adjusted for inflation each year thereafter into a qualified escrow account, of which appropriations may only be made for the following reasons:
- Pay a judgment or settlement for a claim brought against a tobacco manufacturer; - Refund a tobacco manufacturer upon establishing that the amount required to be deposited into the escrow account in a particular year was greater than the payments required under the Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998; or - Refund a manufacturer 25 years after the date in which the funds were deposited into the escrow account.

Full Bill Text