IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1676 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 1, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To prevent tobacco smuggling, to ensure the collection of 

all tobacco taxes, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS; PURPOSES. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009’’ or 

4 ‘‘PACT Act’’. 

5 (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

6 (1) the sale of illegal cigarettes and smokeless 

7 tobacco products significantly reduces Federal, 

8 State, and local government revenues, with Internet 

9 sales alone accounting for billions of dollars of lost 

10 Federal, State, and local tobacco tax revenue each 

11 year; 

12 (2) Hezbollah, Hamas, al Qaeda, and other ter13 rorist organizations have profited from trafficking in 

14 illegal cigarettes or counterfeit cigarette tax stamps; 

15 (3) terrorist involvement in illicit cigarette traf16 ficking will continue to grow because of the large 

17 profits such organizations can earn; 

18 (4) the sale of illegal cigarettes and smokeless 

19 tobacco over the Internet, and through mail, fax, or 

20 phone orders, makes it cheaper and easier for chil21 dren to obtain tobacco products; 

22 (5) the majority of Internet and other remote 

23 sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are being 

24 made without adequate precautions to protect 

25 against sales to children, without the payment of ap26 plicable taxes, and without complying with the nomiVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:01 Jun 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1676.RFS H1676

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1 nal registration and reporting requirements in exist2 ing Federal law; 

3 (6) unfair competition from illegal sales of ciga4 rettes and smokeless tobacco is taking billions of dol5 lars of sales away from law-abiding retailers 

6 throughout the United States; 

7 (7) with rising State and local tobacco tax 

8 rates, the incentives for the illegal sale of cigarettes 

9 and smokeless tobacco have increased; 

10 (8) the number of active tobacco investigations 

11 being conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

12 Firearms, and Explosives rose to 452 in 2005; 

13 (9) the number of Internet vendors in the 

14 United States and in foreign countries that sell ciga15 rettes and smokeless tobacco to buyers in the United 

16 States increased from only about 40 in 2000 to 

17 more than 500 in 2005; and 

18 (10) the intrastate sale of illegal cigarettes and 

19 smokeless tobacco over the Internet has a substan20 tial effect on interstate commerce. 

21 (c) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this Act to— 

22 (1) require Internet and other remote sellers of 

23 cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to comply with the 

24 same laws that apply to law-abiding tobacco retail25 ers; 


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1 (2) create strong disincentives to illegal smug2 gling of tobacco products; 

3 (3) provide government enforcement officials 

4 with more effective enforcement tools to combat to5 bacco smuggling; 

6 (4) make it more difficult for cigarette and 

7 smokeless tobacco traffickers to engage in and profit 

8 from their illegal activities; 

9 (5) increase collections of Federal, State, and 

10 local excise taxes on cigarettes and smokeless to11 bacco; and 

12 (6) prevent and reduce youth access to inexpen13 sive cigarettes and smokeless tobacco through illegal 

14 Internet or contraband sales. 

15 SEC. 2. COLLECTION OF STATE CIGARETTE AND SMOKE16 LESS TOBACCO TAXES. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—The Act of October 19, 1949 (15 

18 U.S.C. 375 et seq.; commonly referred to as the ‘‘Jenkins 

19 Act’’) (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Jenkins Act’’), is 

20 amended by striking the first section and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. 

23 ‘‘As used in this Act, the following definitions apply: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘Attor2 ney General’ means the Attorney General of the 

3 United States. 

4 ‘‘(2) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘attorney 

5 general’, with respect to a State, means the attorney 

6 general or other chief law enforcement officer of the 

7 State. 

8 ‘‘(3) CIGARETTE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

10 Act, the term ‘cigarette’ shall— 

11 ‘‘(i) have the same meaning given that 

12 term in section 2341 of title 18, United 

13 States Code; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) include ‘roll-your-own tobacco’ 

15 (as that term is defined in section 5702 of 

16 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—For purposes of this 

18 Act, the term ‘cigarette’ does not include a 

19 ‘cigar’, as that term is defined in section 5702 

20 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

21 ‘‘(4) COMMON CARRIER.—The term ‘common 

22 carrier’ means any person (other than a local mes23 senger service or the United States Postal Service) 

24 that holds itself out to the general public as a pro25 vider for hire of the transportation by water, land, 


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1 or air of merchandise, whether or not the person ac2 tually operates the vessel, vehicle, or aircraft by 

3 which the transportation is provided, between a port 

4 or place and a port or place in the United States. 

5 ‘‘(5) CONSUMER.—The term ‘consumer’ means 

6 any person that purchases cigarettes or smokeless 

7 tobacco, but does not include any person lawfully op8 erating as a manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, 

9 or retailer of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. 

10 ‘‘(6) DELIVERY SALE.—The term ‘delivery sale’ 

11 means any sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to 

12 a consumer if— 

13 ‘‘(A) the consumer submits the order for 

14 such sale by means of a telephone or other 

15 method of voice transmission, the mails, or the 

16 Internet or other online service, or the seller is 

17 otherwise not in the physical presence of the 

18 buyer when the request for purchase or order is 

19 made; or 

20 ‘‘(B) the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco 

21 are delivered to the buyer by common carrier, 

22 private delivery service, or other method of

23 remote delivery, or the seller is not in the phys24 ical presence of the buyer when the buyer obVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:01 Jun 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1676.RFS H1676

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1 tains possession of the cigarettes or smokeless 

2 tobacco. 

3 ‘‘(7) DELIVERY SELLER.—The term ‘delivery 

4 seller’ means a person who makes a delivery sale. 

5 ‘‘(8) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘Indian 

6 country’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) Indian country as defined in section 

8 1151 of title 18, United States Code, except 

9 that within the State of Alaska that term ap10 plies only to the Metlakatla Indian Community, 

11 Annette Island Reserve; and 

12 ‘‘(B) any other land held by the United 

13 States in trust or restricted status for one or 

14 more Indian tribes. 

15 ‘‘(9) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’, 

16 ‘tribe’, or ‘tribal’ refers to an Indian tribe as defined 

17 in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and 

18 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)) or as 

19 listed pursuant to section 104 of the Federally Rec20 ognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 

21 479a–1). 

22 ‘‘(10) INTERSTATE COMMERCE.—The term 

23 ‘interstate commerce’ means commerce between a 

24 State and any place outside the State, commerce be25 tween a State and any Indian country in the State, 


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1 or commerce between points in the same State but 

2 through any place outside the State or through any 

3 Indian country. 

4 ‘‘(11) INTO A STATE, PLACE, OR LOCALITY.—A 

5 sale, shipment, or transfer of cigarettes or smokeless 

6 tobacco that is made in interstate commerce, as de7 fined herein, shall be deemed to have been made into 

8 the State, place, or locality in which such cigarettes 

9 or smokeless tobacco are delivered. 

10 ‘‘(12) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means an 

11 individual, corporation, company, association, firm, 

12 partnership, society, State government, local govern13 ment, Indian tribal government, governmental orga14 nization of such government, or joint stock company. 

15 ‘‘(13) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

16 the several States of the United States, the District 

17 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or 

18 any territory or possession of the United States. 

19 ‘‘(14) SMOKELESS TOBACCO.—The term 

20 ‘smokeless tobacco’ means any finely cut, ground, 

21 powdered, or leaf tobacco, or other product con22 taining tobacco, that is intended to be placed in the 

23 oral or nasal cavity or otherwise consumed without 

24 being combusted. 


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1 ‘‘(15) TOBACCO TAX ADMINISTRATOR.—The 

2 term ‘tobacco tax administrator’ means the State, 

3 local, or tribal official duly authorized to collect the 

4 tobacco tax or administer the tax law of a State, lo5 cality, or tribe, respectively. 

6 ‘‘(16) TRIBAL ENTERPRISE.—The term ‘tribal 

7 enterprise’ means any business enterprise, incor8 porated or unincorporated under Federal or tribal 

9 law, of an Indian tribe or group of Indian tribe. 

10 ‘‘(17) USE.—The term ‘use’, in addition to its 

11 ordinary meaning, means the consumption, storage, 

12 handling, or disposal of cigarettes or smokeless to13 bacco.’’. 

14 (b) REPORTS TO STATE TOBACCO TAX ADMINISTRA15 TORS.—Section 2 of the Jenkins Act (15 U.S.C. 376) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘cigarettes’’ each place it ap18 pears and inserting ‘‘cigarettes or smokeless to19 bacco’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

22 (1)— 

23 (i) by inserting ‘‘CONTENTS.—’’ after 

24 ‘‘(a)’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘or transfers’’ and in2 serting ‘‘, transfers, or ships’’; 

3 (iii) by inserting ‘‘, locality, or Indian 

4 country of an Indian tribe’’ after ‘‘a 

5 State’’; 

6 (iv) by striking ‘‘to other than a dis7 tributor licensed by or located in such 

8 State,’’; and 

9 (v) by striking ‘‘or transfer and ship10 ment’’ and inserting ‘‘, transfer, or ship11 ment’’; 

12 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘with the tobacco tax 

14 administrator of the State’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘with the Attorney General and with the 

16 tobacco tax administrators of the State 

17 and place’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘; and’’ and inserting 

19 the following: ‘‘, as well as telephone num20 bers for each place of business, a principal 

21 electronic mail address, any website ad22 dresses, and the name, address, and tele23 phone number of an agent in the State au24 thorized to accept service on behalf of such 

25 person;’’; 


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1 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and the 

2 quantity thereof.’’ and inserting ‘‘the quantity 

3 thereof, and the name, address, and phone 

4 number of the person delivering the shipment to 

5 the recipient on behalf of the delivery seller, 

6 with all invoice or memoranda information re7 lating to specific customers to be organized by 

8 city or town and by zip code; and’’; and 

9 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(3) with respect to each memorandum or in11 voice filed with a State under paragraph (2), also 

12 file copies of such memorandum or invoice with the 

13 tobacco tax administrators and chief law enforce14 ment officers of the local governments and Indian 

15 tribes operating within the borders of the State that 

16 apply their own local or tribal taxes on cigarettes or 

17 smokeless tobacco.’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘PRESUMPTIVE EVI20 DENCE.—’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘(1) that’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘that’’; and 

23 (C) by striking ‘‘, and (2)’’ and all that 

24 follows and inserting a period; and 

25 (4) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) USE OF INFORMATION.—A tobacco tax adminis2 trator or chief law enforcement officer who receives a 

3 memorandum or invoice under paragraph (2) or (3) of 

4 subsection (a) shall use such memorandum or invoice sole5 ly for the purposes of the enforcement of this Act and the 

6 collection of any taxes owed on related sales of cigarettes 

7 and smokeless tobacco, and shall keep confidential any 

8 personal information in such memorandum or invoice ex9 cept as required for such purposes.’’. 

10 (c) REQUIREMENTS FOR DELIVERY SALES.—The 

11 Jenkins Act is amended by inserting after section 2 the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 2A. DELIVERY SALES. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to delivery sales 

15 into a specific State and place, each delivery seller shall 

16 comply with— 

17 ‘‘(1) the shipping requirements set forth in sub18 section (b); 

19 ‘‘(2) the recordkeeping requirements set forth 

20 in subsection (c); 

21 ‘‘(3) all State, local, tribal, and other laws gen22 erally applicable to sales of cigarettes or smokeless 

23 tobacco as if such delivery sales occurred entirely 

24 within the specific State and place, including laws 

25 imposing— 


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1 ‘‘(A) excise taxes; 

2 ‘‘(B) licensing and tax-stamping require3 ments; 

4 ‘‘(C) restrictions on sales to minors; and 

5 ‘‘(D) other payment obligations or legal re6 quirements relating to the sale, distribution, or 

7 delivery of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco; and 

8 ‘‘(4) the tax collection requirements set forth in 

9 subsection (d). 

10 ‘‘(b) SHIPPING AND PACKAGING.— 

11 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED STATEMENT.—For any ship12 ping package containing cigarettes or smokeless to13 bacco, the delivery seller shall include on the bill of 

14 lading, if any, and on the outside of the shipping 

15 package, on the same surface as the delivery ad16 dress, a clear and conspicuous statement providing 

17 as follows: ‘CIGARETTES/SMOKELESS TO18 BACCO: FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES THE PAY19 MENT OF ALL APPLICABLE EXCISE TAXES, 

20 AND COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE LI21 CENSING AND TAX–STAMPING OBLIGA22 TIONS’. 

23 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO LABEL.—Any shipping pack24 age described in paragraph (1) that is not labeled in 

25 accordance with that paragraph shall be treated as 


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1 nondeliverable matter by a common carrier or other 

2 delivery service, if the common carrier or other deliv3 ery service knows or should know the package con4 tains cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. If a common 

5 carrier or other delivery service believes a package is 

6 being submitted for delivery in violation of para7 graph (1), it may require the person submitting the 

8 package for delivery to establish that it is not being 

9 sent in violation of paragraph (1) before accepting 

10 the package for delivery. Nothing in this paragraph 

11 shall require the common carrier or other delivery 

12 service to open any package to determine its con13 tents. 

14 ‘‘(3) WEIGHT RESTRICTION.—A delivery seller 

15 shall not sell, offer for sale, deliver, or cause to be 

16 delivered in any single sale or single delivery any 

17 cigarettes or smokeless tobacco weighing more than 

18 10 pounds. 

19 ‘‘(4) AGE VERIFICATION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A delivery seller who 

21 mails or ships tobacco products— 

22 ‘‘(i) shall not sell, deliver, or cause to 

23 be delivered any tobacco products to a per24 son under the minimum age required for 

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1 ucts, as determined by the applicable law 

2 at the place of delivery; 

3 ‘‘(ii) shall use a method of mailing or 

4 shipping that requires— 

5 ‘‘(I) the purchaser placing the 

6 delivery sale order, or an adult who is 

7 at least the minimum age required for 

8 the legal sale or purchase of tobacco 

9 products, as determined by the appli10 cable law at the place of delivery, to 

11 sign to accept delivery of the shipping 

12 container at the delivery address; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the person who signs to ac14 cept delivery of the shipping container 

15 to provide proof, in the form of a 

16 valid, government-issued identification 

17 bearing a photograph of the indi18 vidual, that the person is at least the 

19 minimum age required for the legal 

20 sale or purchase of tobacco products, 

21 as determined by the applicable law at 

22 the place of delivery; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) shall not accept a delivery sale 

24 order from a person without— 


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1 ‘‘(I) obtaining the full name, 

2 birth date, and residential address of 

3 that person; and 

4 ‘‘(II) verifying the information 

5 provided in subclause (I), through the 

6 use of a commercially available data7 base or aggregate of databases, con8 sisting primarily of data from govern9 ment sources, that are regularly used 

10 by government and businesses for the 

11 purpose of age and identity 

12 verification and authentication, to en13 sure that the purchaser is at least the 

14 minimum age required for the legal 

15 sale or purchase of tobacco products, 

16 as determined by the applicable law at 

17 the place of delivery. 

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—No database being 

19 used for age and identity verification under 

20 subparagraph (A)(iii) shall be in the possession 

21 or under the control of the delivery seller, or be 

22 subject to any changes or supplementation by 

23 the delivery seller. 

24 ‘‘(c) RECORDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each delivery seller shall 

2 keep a record of any delivery sale, including all of 

3 the information described in section 2(a)(2), orga4 nized by the State, and within such State, by the 

5 city or town and by zip code, into which such deliv6 ery sale is so made. 

7 ‘‘(2) RECORD RETENTION.—Records of a deliv8 ery sale shall be kept as described in paragraph (1) 

9 in the year in which the delivery sale is made and 

10 for the next 4 years. 

11 ‘‘(3) ACCESS FOR OFFICIALS.—Records kept 

12 under paragraph (1) shall be made available to to13 bacco tax administrators of the States, to local gov14 ernments and Indian tribes that apply their own 

15 local or tribal taxes on cigarettes or smokeless to16 bacco, to the attorneys general of the States, to the 

17 chief law enforcement officers of such local govern18 ments and Indian tribes, and to the Attorney Gen19 eral in order to ensure the compliance of persons 

20 making delivery sales with the requirements of this 

21 Act. 

22 ‘‘(d) DELIVERY.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graph (2), no delivery seller may sell or deliver to 

25 any consumer, or tender to any common carrier or 


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1 other delivery service, any cigarettes or smokeless to2 bacco pursuant to a delivery sale unless, in advance 

3 of the sale, delivery, or tender— 

4 ‘‘(A) any cigarette or smokeless tobacco ex5 cise tax that is imposed by the State in which 

6 the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco are to be 

7 delivered has been paid to the State; 

8 ‘‘(B) any cigarette or smokeless tobacco 

9 excise tax that is imposed by the local govern10 ment of the place in which the cigarettes or 

11 smokeless tobacco are to be delivered has been 

12 paid to the local government; and 

13 ‘‘(C) any required stamps or other indicia 

14 that such excise tax has been paid are properly 

15 affixed or applied to the cigarettes or smokeless 

16 tobacco. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not 

18 apply to a delivery sale of smokeless tobacco if the 

19 law of the State or local government of the place 

20 where the smokeless tobacco is to be delivered re21 quires or otherwise provides that delivery sellers col22 lect the excise tax from the consumer and remit the 

23 excise tax to the State or local government, and the 

24 delivery seller complies with the requirement. 


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1 ‘‘(e) LIST OF UNREGISTERED OR NONCOMPLIANT

2 DELIVERY SELLERS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

4 ‘‘(A) INITIAL LIST.—Not later than 90 

5 days after this subsection goes into effect under 

6 the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 

7 2009, the Attorney General shall compile a list 

8 of delivery sellers of cigarettes or smokeless to9 bacco that have not registered with the Attor10 ney General pursuant to section 2(a), or that 

11 are otherwise not in compliance with this Act, 

12 and— 

13 ‘‘(i) distribute the list to— 

14 ‘‘(I) the attorney general and tax 

15 administrator of every State; 

16 ‘‘(II) common carriers and other 

17 persons that deliver small packages to 

18 consumers in interstate commerce, in19 cluding the United States Postal Serv20 ice; and 

21 ‘‘(III) any other persons who the 

22 Attorney General believes can promote 

23 the effective enforcement of this Act; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) publicize and make the list avail2 able to any other person engaged in the 

3 business of interstate deliveries or who de4 livers cigarettes or smokeless tobacco in or 

5 into any State. 

6 ‘‘(B) LIST CONTENTS.—To the extent 

7 known, the Attorney General shall include, for 

8 each delivery seller on the list described in sub9 paragraph (A)— 

10 ‘‘(i) all names the delivery seller uses 

11 or has used in the transaction of its busi12 ness or on packages delivered to cus13 tomers; 

14 ‘‘(ii) all addresses from which the de15 livery seller does or has done business, or 

16 ships or has shipped cigarettes or smoke17 less tobacco; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the website addresses, primary 

19 e-mail address, and phone number of the 

20 delivery seller; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) any other information that the 

22 Attorney General determines would facili23 tate compliance with this subsection by re24 cipients of the list. 


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1 ‘‘(C) UPDATING.—The Attorney General 

2 shall update and distribute the list at least once 

3 every 4 months, and may distribute the list and 

4 any updates by regular mail, electronic mail, or 

5 any other reasonable means, or by providing re6 cipients with access to the list through a non7 public website that the Attorney General regu8 larly updates. 

9 ‘‘(D) STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL ADDI10 TIONS.—The Attorney General shall include in 

11 the list under subparagraph (A) any noncom12 plying delivery sellers identified by any State, 

13 local, or tribal government under paragraph 

14 (5), and shall distribute the list to the attorney 

15 general or chief law enforcement official and 

16 the tax administrator of any government sub17 mitting any such information, and to any com18 mon carriers or other persons who deliver small 

19 packages to consumers identified by any gov20 ernment pursuant to paragraph (5). 

21 ‘‘(E) ACCURACY AND COMPLETENESS OF

22 LIST OF NONCOMPLYING DELIVERY SELLERS.— 

23 In preparing and revising the list required by 

24 subparagraph (A), the Attorney General shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) use reasonable procedures to en2 sure maximum possible accuracy and com3 pleteness of the records and information 

4 relied on for the purpose of determining 

5 that such delivery seller is noncomplying; 

6 ‘‘(ii) not later than 14 days prior to 

7 including any delivery seller on such list, 

8 make a reasonable attempt to send notice 

9 to the delivery seller by letter, electronic 

10 mail, or other means that the delivery sell11 er is being placed on such list, with that 

12 notice citing the relevant provisions of this 

13 Act and the specific reasons for being 

14 placed on such list; 

15 ‘‘(iii) provide an opportunity to such 

16 delivery seller to challenge placement on 

17 such list; 

18 ‘‘(iv) investigate each such challenge 

19 by contacting the relevant Federal, State, 

20 tribal, and local law enforcement officials, 

21 and provide the specific findings and re22 sults of such investigation to such delivery 

23 seller not later than 30 days after the chal24 lenge is made; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) upon finding that any placement 

2 is inaccurate, incomplete, or cannot be 

3 verified, promptly delete such delivery sell4 er from the list as appropriate and notify 

5 each appropriate Federal, State, tribal, 

6 and local authority of such finding. 

7 ‘‘(F) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The list distrib8 uted pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be 

9 confidential, and any person receiving the list 

10 shall maintain the confidentiality of the list but 

11 may deliver the list, for enforcement purposes, 

12 to any government official or to any common 

13 carrier or other person that delivers tobacco 

14 products or small packages to consumers. Noth15 ing in this section shall prohibit a common car16 rier, the United States Postal Service, or any 

17 other person receiving the list from discussing 

18 with a listed delivery seller the delivery seller’s 

19 inclusion on the list and the resulting effects on 

20 any services requested by such listed delivery 

21 seller. 

22 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION ON DELIVERY.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Commencing on the 

24 date that is 60 days after the date of the initial 

25 distribution or availability of the list under 


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1 paragraph (1)(A), no person who receives the 

2 list under paragraph (1), and no person who 

3 delivers cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to con4 sumers, shall knowingly complete, cause to be 

5 completed, or complete its portion of a delivery 

6 of any package for any person whose name and 

7 address are on the list, unless— 

8 ‘‘(i) the person making the delivery 

9 knows or believes in good faith that the 

10 item does not include cigarettes or smoke11 less tobacco; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the delivery is made to a person 

13 lawfully engaged in the business of manu14 facturing, distributing, or selling cigarettes 

15 or smokeless tobacco; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) the package being delivered 

17 weighs more than 100 pounds and the per18 son making the delivery does not know or 

19 have reasonable cause to believe that the 

20 package contains cigarettes or smokeless 

21 tobacco. 

22 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION OF UPDATES.— 

23 Commencing on the date that is 30 days after 

24 the date of the distribution or availability of 

25 any updates or corrections to the list under 


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1 paragraph (1), all recipients and all common 

2 carriers or other persons that deliver cigarettes 

3 or smokeless tobacco to consumers shall be sub4 ject to subparagraph (A) in regard to such cor5 rections or updates. 

6 ‘‘(C) EXEMPTIONS.—Subparagraphs (A) 

7 and (B), subsection (b)(2), and any other re8 quirements or restrictions placed directly on 

9 common carriers elsewhere in this subsection, 

10 shall not apply to a common carrier that is sub11 ject to a settlement agreement relating to to12 bacco product deliveries to consumers or, if any 

13 such settlement agreement to which the com14 mon carrier was a party is terminated or other15 wise becomes inactive, is administering and en16 forcing, on a nationwide basis, policies and 

17 practices that are at least as stringent as any 

18 such agreement. For the purposes of this sec19 tion, ‘settlement agreement’ shall be defined to 

20 include the Assurance of Discontinuance en21 tered into by the Attorney General of New York 

22 and DHL Holdings USA, Inc. and DHL Ex23 press (USA), Inc. on or about July 1, 2005, the 

24 Assurance of Discontinuance entered into by 

25 the Attorney General of New York and United 


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1 Parcel Service, Inc. on or about October 21, 

2 2005, and the Assurance of Compliance entered 

3 into by the Attorney General of New York and 

4 Federal Express Corporation and FedEx 

5 Ground Package Systems, Inc. on or about 

6 February 3, 2006, so long as each is honored 

7 nationwide to block illegal deliveries of ciga8 rettes or smokeless tobacco to consumers, and 

9 also includes any other active agreement be10 tween a common carrier and the States that op11 erates nationwide to ensure that no deliveries of 

12 cigarettes and smokeless tobacco shall be made 

13 to consumers for illegally operating Internet or 

14 mail-order sellers and that any such deliveries 

15 to consumers shall not be made to minors or 

16 without payment to the States and localities 

17 where the consumers are located of all taxes on 

18 the tobacco products. 

19 ‘‘(3) SHIPMENTS FROM PERSONS ON LIST.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the event that a 

21 common carrier or other delivery service delays 

22 or interrupts the delivery of a package it has in 

23 its possession because it determines or has rea24 son to believe that the person ordering the de25 livery is on a list distributed under paragraph 


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1 (1), and that clauses (i), (ii), and (iii) of para2 graph (2)(a) do not apply— 

3 ‘‘(i) the person ordering the delivery 

4 shall be obligated to pay— 

5 ‘‘(I) the common carrier or other 

6 delivery service as if the delivery of 

7 the package had been timely com8 pleted; and 

9 ‘‘(II) if the package is not deliv10 erable, any reasonable additional fee 

11 or charge levied by the common car12 rier or other delivery service to cover 

13 its extra costs and inconvenience and 

14 to serve as a disincentive against such 

15 noncomplying delivery orders; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) if the package is determined not 

17 to be deliverable, the common carrier or 

18 other delivery service shall offer to provide 

19 the package and its contents to a Federal, 

20 State, or local law enforcement agency. 

21 ‘‘(B) RECORDS.—A common carrier or 

22 other delivery service shall maintain, for a pe23 riod of 5 years, any records kept in the ordi24 nary course of business relating to any deliv25 eries interrupted pursuant to this paragraph 


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1 and provide that information, upon request, to 

2 the Attorney General or to the attorney general 

3 or chief law enforcement official or tax adminis4 trator of any State, local, or tribal government. 

5 ‘‘(C) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Any person re6 ceiving records under subparagraph (B) shall 

7 use such records solely for the purposes of the 

8 enforcement of this Act and the collection of 

9 any taxes owed on related sales of cigarettes 

10 and smokeless tobacco, and shall keep confiden11 tial any personal information in such records 

12 not otherwise required for such purposes. 

13 ‘‘(4) PREEMPTION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No State, local, or 

15 tribal government, nor any political authority of 

16 2 or more State, local, or tribal governments, 

17 may enact or enforce any law or regulation re18 lating to delivery sales that restricts deliveries 

19 of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to consumers 

20 by common carriers or other delivery services 

21 on behalf of delivery sellers by— 

22 ‘‘(i) requiring that the common carrier 

23 or other delivery service verify the age or 

24 identity of the consumer accepting the de25 livery by requiring the person who signs to 


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1 accept delivery of the shipping container to 

2 provide proof, in the form of a valid, gov3 ernment-issued identification bearing a 

4 photograph of the individual, that such 

5 person is at least the minimum age re6 quired for the legal sale or purchase of to7 bacco products, as determined by either 

8 State or local law at the place of delivery; 

9 ‘‘(ii) requiring that the common car10 rier or other delivery service obtain a sig11 nature from the consumer accepting the 

12 delivery; 

13 ‘‘(iii) requiring that the common car14 rier or other delivery service verify that all 

15 applicable taxes have been paid; 

16 ‘‘(iv) requiring that packages delivered 

17 by the common carrier or other delivery 

18 service contain any particular labels, no19 tice, or markings; or 

20 ‘‘(v) prohibiting common carriers or 

21 other delivery services from making deliv22 eries on the basis of whether the delivery 

23 seller is or is not identified on any list of 

24 delivery sellers maintained and distributed 


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1 by any entity other than the Federal Gov2 ernment. 

3 ‘‘(B) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.— 

4 Except as provided in subparagraph (C), noth5 ing in this paragraph shall be construed to nul6 lify, expand, restrict, or otherwise amend or 

7 modify— 

8 ‘‘(i) section 14501(c)(1) or 

9 41713(b)(4) of title 49, United States 

10 Code; 

11 ‘‘(ii) any other restrictions in Federal 

12 law on the ability of State, local, or tribal 

13 governments to regulate common carriers; 

14 or 

15 ‘‘(iii) any provision of State, local, or 

16 tribal law regulating common carriers that 

17 is described in section 14501(c)(2) or 

18 41713(b)(4)(B) of title 49 of the United 

19 States Code. 

20 ‘‘(C) STATE LAWS PROHIBITING DELIVERY

21 SALES.—Nothing in the Prevent All Cigarette 

22 Trafficking Act of 2009, the amendments made 

23 by that Act, or in any other Federal statute 

24 shall be construed to preempt, supersede, or 

25 otherwise limit or restrict State laws prohibiting 


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1 the delivery sale, or the shipment or delivery 

2 pursuant to a delivery sale, of cigarettes or 

3 other tobacco products to individual consumers 

4 or personal residences except that no State may 

5 enforce against a common carrier a law prohib6 iting the delivery of cigarettes or other tobacco 

7 products to individual consumers or personal 

8 residences without proof that the common car9 rier is not exempt under paragraph (2)(C) of 

10 this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(5) STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL ADDITIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any State, local, or 

13 tribal government shall provide the Attorney 

14 General with— 

15 ‘‘(i) all known names, addresses, 

16 website addresses, and other primary con17 tact information of any delivery seller that 

18 offers for sale or makes sales of cigarettes 

19 or smokeless tobacco in or into the State, 

20 locality, or tribal land involved, but has 

21 failed to register with or make reports to 

22 the respective tax administrator as re23 quired by this Act, or that has been found 

24 in a legal proceeding to have otherwise 

25 failed to comply with this Act; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a list of common carriers and 

2 other persons who make deliveries of ciga3 rettes or smokeless tobacco in or into the 

4 State, locality, or tribal land. 

5 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—Any government pro6 viding a list to the Attorney General under sub7 paragraph (A) shall also provide updates and 

8 corrections every 4 months until such time as 

9 such government notifies the Attorney General 

10 in writing that such government no longer de11 sires to submit such information to supplement 

12 the list maintained and distributed by the At13 torney General under paragraph (1). 

14 ‘‘(C) REMOVAL AFTER WITHDRAWAL.— 

15 Upon receiving written notice that a govern16 ment no longer desires to submit information 

17 under subparagraph (A), the Attorney General 

18 shall remove from the list compiled under para19 graph (1) any persons that are on the list solely 

20 because of such government’s prior submissions 

21 of its list of noncomplying delivery sellers of 

22 cigarettes or smokeless tobacco or its subse23 quent updates and corrections. 

24 ‘‘(6) DEADLINE TO INCORPORATE ADDI25 TIONS.—The Attorney General shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) include any delivery seller identified 

2 and submitted by a State, local, or tribal gov3 ernment under paragraph (5) in any list or up4 date that is distributed or made available under 

5 paragraph (1) on or after the date that is 30 

6 days after the date on which the information is 

7 received by the Attorney General; and 

8 ‘‘(B) distribute any such list or update to 

9 any common carrier or other person who makes 

10 deliveries of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco 

11 that has been identified and submitted by a 

12 government pursuant to paragraph (5). 

13 ‘‘(7) NOTICE TO DELIVERY SELLERS.—Not 

14 later than 14 days prior to including any delivery 

15 seller on the initial list distributed or made available 

16 under paragraph (1), or on any subsequent list or 

17 update for the first time, the Attorney General shall 

18 make a reasonable attempt to send notice to the de19 livery seller by letter, electronic mail, or other means 

20 that the delivery seller is being placed on such list 

21 or update, with that notice citing the relevant provi22 sions of this Act. 

23 ‘‘(8) LIMITATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any common carrier 

25 or other person making a delivery subject to 


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1 this subsection shall not be required or other2 wise obligated to— 

3 ‘‘(i) determine whether any list dis4 tributed or made available under para5 graph (1) is complete, accurate, or up-to6 date; 

7 ‘‘(ii) determine whether a person or8 dering a delivery is in compliance with this 

9 Act; or 

10 ‘‘(iii) open or inspect, pursuant to this 

11 Act, any package being delivered to deter12 mine its contents. 

13 ‘‘(B) ALTERNATE NAMES.—Any common 

14 carrier or other person making a delivery sub15 ject to this subsection shall not be required to 

16 make any inquiries or otherwise determine 

17 whether a person ordering a delivery is a deliv18 ery seller on the list under paragraph (1) who 

19 is using a different name or address in order to 

20 evade the related delivery restrictions, but shall 

21 not knowingly deliver any packages to con22 sumers for any such delivery seller who the 

23 common carrier or other delivery service knows 

24 is a delivery seller who is on the list under 

25 paragraph (1) but is using a different name or 


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1 address to evade the delivery restrictions of 

2 paragraph (2). 

3 ‘‘(C) PENALTIES.—Any common carrier or 

4 person in the business of delivering packages on 

5 behalf of other persons shall not be subject to 

6 any penalty under section 14101(a) of title 49, 

7 United States Code, or any other provision of 

8 law for— 

9 ‘‘(i) not making any specific delivery, 

10 or any deliveries at all, on behalf of any 

11 person on the list under paragraph (1); 

12 ‘‘(ii) refusing, as a matter of regular 

13 practice and procedure, to make any deliv14 eries, or any deliveries in certain States, of 

15 any cigarettes or smokeless tobacco for any 

16 person or for any person not in the busi17 ness of manufacturing, distributing, or 

18 selling cigarettes or smokeless tobacco; or 

19 ‘‘(iii) delaying or not making a deliv20 ery for any person because of reasonable 

21 efforts to comply with this Act. 

22 ‘‘(D) OTHER LIMITS.—Section 2 and sub23 sections (a), (b), (c), and (d) of this section 

24 shall not be interpreted to impose any responVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:01 Jun 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1676.RFS H1676

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1 sibilities, requirements, or liability on common 

2 carriers. 

3 ‘‘(f) PRESUMPTION.—For purposes of this Act, a de4 livery sale shall be deemed to have occurred in the State 

5 and place where the buyer obtains personal possession of 

6 the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, and a delivery pursu7 ant to a delivery sale is deemed to have been initiated or 

8 ordered by the delivery seller.’’. 

9 (d) PENALTIES.—The Jenkins Act is amended by 

10 striking section 3 and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 3. PENALTIES. 

12 ‘‘(a) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), whoever knowingly violates any provision 

15 of this Act shall be guilty of a felony and shall be 

16 imprisoned not more than 3 years, fined under title 

17 18, United States Code, or both. 

18 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) GOVERNMENTS.—Paragraph (1) shall 

20 not apply to a State, local, or tribal govern21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(B) DELIVERY VIOLATIONS.—A common 

23 carrier or independent delivery service, or em24 ployee of a common carrier or independent de25 livery service, shall be subject to criminal penVerDate Nov 24 2008 23:01 Jun 01, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1676.RFS H1676

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1 alties under paragraph (1) for a violation of 

2 section 2A(e) only if the violation is committed 

3 knowingly— 

4 ‘‘(i) as consideration for the receipt 

5 of, or as consideration for a promise or 

6 agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary 

7 value; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) for the purpose of assisting a de9 livery seller to violate, or otherwise evading 

10 compliance with, section 2A. 

11 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para13 graph (3), whoever violates any provision of this Act 

14 shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not 

15 to exceed— 

16 ‘‘(A) in the case of a delivery seller, the 

17 greater of— 

18 ‘‘(i) $5,000 in the case of the first 

19 violation, or $10,000 for any other viola20 tion; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) for any violation, 2 percent of 

22 the gross sales of cigarettes or smokeless 

23 tobacco of such person during the 1-year 

24 period ending on the date of the violation. 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a common carrier or 

2 other delivery service, $2,500 in the case of a 

3 first violation, or $5,000 for any violation with4 in 1 year of a prior violation. 

5 ‘‘(2) RELATION TO OTHER PENALTIES.—A civil 

6 penalty imposed under paragraph (1) for a violation 

7 of this Act shall be imposed in addition to any crimi8 nal penalty under subsection (a) and any other dam9 ages, equitable relief, or injunctive relief awarded by 

10 the court, including the payment of any unpaid taxes 

11 to the appropriate Federal, State, local, or tribal 

12 governments. 

13 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) DELIVERY VIOLATIONS.—An em15 ployee of a common carrier or independent de16 livery service shall be subject to civil penalties 

17 under paragraph (1) for a violation of section 

18 2A(e) only if the violation is committed inten19 tionally— 

20 ‘‘(i) as consideration for the receipt 

21 of, or as consideration for a promise or 

22 agreement to pay, anything of pecuniary 

23 value; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) for the purpose of assisting a de2 livery seller to violate, or otherwise evading 

3 compliance with, section 2A. 

4 ‘‘(B) OTHER LIMITATIONS.—No common 

5 carrier or independent delivery service shall be 

6 subject to civil penalties under paragraph (1) 

7 for a violation of section 2A(e) if— 

8 ‘‘(i) the common carrier or inde9 pendent delivery service has implemented 

10 and enforces effective policies and practices 

11 for complying with that section; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) the violation consists of an em13 ployee of the common carrier or inde14 pendent delivery service who physically re15 ceives and processes orders, picks up pack16 ages, processes packages, or makes deliv17 eries, taking actions that are outside the 

18 scope of employment of the employee, or 

19 that violate the implemented and enforced 

20 policies of the common carrier or inde21 pendent delivery service described in clause 

22 (i).’’. 

23 (e) ENFORCEMENT.—The Jenkins Act is amended by 

24 striking section 4 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 4. ENFORCEMENT. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States district 

3 courts shall have jurisdiction to prevent and restrain viola4 tions of this Act and to provide other appropriate injunc5 tive or equitable relief, including money damages, for such 

6 violations. 

7 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

8 The Attorney General shall administer and enforce the 

9 provisions of this Act. 

10 ‘‘(c) STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

12 ‘‘(A) STANDING.—A State, through its at13 torney general, or a local government or Indian 

14 tribe that levies a tax subject to section 

15 2A(a)(3), through its chief law enforcement of16 ficer, may bring an action in a United States 

17 district court to prevent and restrain violations 

18 of this Act by any person or to obtain any other 

19 appropriate relief from any person for violations 

20 of this Act, including civil penalties, money 

21 damages, and injunctive or other equitable re22 lief. 

23 ‘‘(B) SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.—Nothing in 

24 this Act shall be deemed to abrogate or con25 stitute a waiver of any sovereign immunity of a 

26 State or local government or Indian tribe 


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1 against any unconsented lawsuit under this Act, 

2 or otherwise to restrict, expand, or modify any 

3 sovereign immunity of a State or local govern4 ment or Indian tribe. 

5 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—A State, 

6 through its attorney general, or a local government 

7 or Indian tribe that levies a tax subject to section 

8 2A(a)(3), through its chief law enforcement officer, 

9 may provide evidence of a violation of this Act by 

10 any person not subject to State, local, or tribal gov11 ernment enforcement actions for violations of this 

12 Act to the Attorney General or a United States at13 torney, who shall take appropriate actions to enforce 

14 the provisions of this Act. 

15 ‘‘(3) USE OF PENALTIES COLLECTED.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 

17 separate account in the Treasury known as the 

18 ‘PACT Anti-Trafficking Fund’. Notwith19 standing any other provision of law and subject 

20 to subparagraph (B), an amount equal to 50 

21 percent of any criminal and civil penalties col22 lected by the United States Government in en23 forcing the provisions of this Act shall be trans24 ferred into the PACT Anti-Trafficking Fund 

25 and shall be available to the Attorney General 


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1 for purposes of enforcing the provisions of this 

2 Act and other laws relating to contraband to3 bacco products. 

4 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Of the 

5 amount available to the Attorney General under 

6 subparagraph (A), not less than 50 percent 

7 shall be made available only to the agencies and 

8 offices within the Department of Justice that 

9 were responsible for the enforcement actions in 

10 which the penalties concerned were imposed or 

11 for any underlying investigations. 

12 ‘‘(4) NONEXCLUSIVITY OF REMEDY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The remedies avail14 able under this section and section 3 are in ad15 dition to any other remedies available under 

16 Federal, State, local, tribal, or other law. 

17 ‘‘(B) STATE COURT PROCEEDINGS.—Noth18 ing in this Act shall be construed to expand, re19 strict, or otherwise modify any right of an au20 thorized State official to proceed in State court, 

21 or take other enforcement actions, on the basis 

22 of an alleged violation of State or other law. 

23 ‘‘(C) TRIBAL COURT PROCEEDINGS.— 

24 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to ex25 pand, restrict, or otherwise modify any right of 


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1 an authorized Indian tribal government official 

2 to proceed in tribal court, or take other enforce3 ment actions, on the basis of an alleged viola4 tion of tribal law. 

5 ‘‘(D) LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENFORCE6 MENT.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed 

7 to expand, restrict, or otherwise modify any 

8 right of an authorized local government official 

9 to proceed in State court, or take other enforce10 ment actions, on the basis of an alleged viola11 tion of local or other law. 

12 ‘‘(d) PERSONS DEALING IN TOBACCO PRODUCTS.— 

13 Any person who holds a permit under section 5712 of the 

14 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (regarding permitting of 

15 manufacturers and importers of tobacco products and ex16 port warehouse proprietors) may bring an action in an ap17 propriate United States district court to prevent and re18 strain violations of this Act by any person other than a 

19 State, local, or tribal government. 

20 ‘‘(e) NOTICE.— 

21 ‘‘(1) PERSONS DEALING IN TOBACCO PROD22 UCTS.—Any person who commences a civil action 

23 under subsection (d) shall inform the Attorney Gen24 eral of the action. 


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1 ‘‘(2) STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL ACTIONS.—It 

2 is the sense of Congress that the attorney general of 

3 any State, or chief law enforcement officer of any lo4 cality or tribe, that commences a civil action under 

5 this section should inform the Attorney General of 

6 the action. 

7 ‘‘(f) PUBLIC NOTICE.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 

9 make available to the public, by posting such infor10 mation on the Internet and by other appropriate 

11 means, information regarding all enforcement ac12 tions brought by the United States, or reported to 

13 the Attorney General, under this section, including 

14 information regarding the resolution of such actions 

15 and how the Attorney General has responded to re16 ferrals of evidence of violations pursuant to sub17 section (c)(2). 

18 ‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Attorney 

19 General shall submit to Congress, one year after the 

20 date of the enactment of the Prevent All Cigarette 

21 Trafficking Act of 2009, at the end of each of the 

22 four succeeding 1-year periods, a report containing 

23 the information described in paragraph (1).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. TREATMENT OF CIGARETTES AND SMOKELESS TO2 BACCO AS NONMAILABLE MATTER. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 83 of title 18, United 

4 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1716D 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 1716E. Tobacco products as nonmailable 

7 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—All cigarettes and smokeless to8 bacco (as those terms are defined in section 1 of the Act 

9 of October 19, 1949, commonly referred to as the Jenkins 

10 Act) are nonmailable and shall not be deposited in or car11 ried through the mails. The United States Postal Service 

12 shall not accept for delivery or transmit through the mails 

13 any package that it knows or has reasonable cause to be14 lieve contains any cigarettes or smokeless tobacco made 

15 nonmailable by this subsection. For the purposes of sub16 section (a) reasonable cause includes— 

17 ‘‘(1) a statement on a publicly available website, 

18 or an advertisement, by any person that such person 

19 will mail matter which is nonmailable under this sec20 tion in return for payment; or 

21 ‘‘(2) the placement of the person on the list cre22 ated under section 2A(e) of the Jenkins Act. 

23 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTIONS.—This section shall not apply to 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) CIGARS.—Cigars (as that term is defined 

2 in section 5702(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

3 1986). 

4 ‘‘(2) GEOGRAPHIC EXCEPTION.—Mailings with5 in the State of Alaska or within the State of Hawaii. 

6 ‘‘(3) BUSINESS PURPOSES.—Tobacco products 

7 mailed only for business purposes between legally 

8 operating businesses that have all applicable State 

9 and Federal Government licenses or permits and are 

10 engaged in tobacco product manufacturing, distribu11 tion, wholesale, export, import, testing, investigation, 

12 or research, or for regulatory purposes between any 

13 such businesses and State or Federal Government 

14 regulatory agencies, pursuant to a final rule that the 

15 Postal Service shall issue, not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of the Prevent All 

17 Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009, which shall estab18 lish the standards and requirements that apply to all 

19 such mailings, which shall include the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) The Postal Service shall verify that 

21 any person submitting an otherwise nonmailable 

22 tobacco product into the mails as authorized by 

23 this paragraph is a business or government 

24 agency permitted to make such mailings pursu25 ant to this section and the related final rule. 


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1 ‘‘(B) The Postal Service shall ensure that 

2 any recipient of an otherwise nonmailable to3 bacco product sent through the mails pursuant 

4 to this paragraph is a business or government 

5 agency that may lawfully receive such product. 

6 ‘‘(C) The mailings shall be sent through 

7 the Postal Service’s systems that provide for 

8 the tracking and confirmation of the delivery. 

9 ‘‘(D) The identities of the business or gov10 ernment entity submitting the mailing con11 taining otherwise nonmailable tobacco products 

12 for delivery and the business or government en13 tity receiving the mailing shall be clearly set 

14 forth on the package and such information shall 

15 be kept in Postal Service records and made 

16 available to the Postal Service, the Attorney 

17 General, and to persons eligible to bring en18 forcement actions pursuant to section 3(d) of 

19 the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 

20 2009 for a period of at least three years there21 after. 

22 ‘‘(E) The mailings shall be marked with a 

23 Postal Service label or marking that makes it 

24 clear to Postal Service employees that it is a 

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1 bacco products that may be delivered only to a 

2 permitted government agency or business and 

3 may not be delivered to any residence or indi4 vidual person. 

5 ‘‘(F) The mailing shall be delivered only to 

6 a verified adult employee of the recipient busi7 ness or government agency, who shall be re8 quired to sign for the mailing. 

9 ‘‘(4) CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.—Tobacco products 

10 mailed by adult individuals for noncommercial pur11 poses, including the return of a damaged or unac12 ceptable tobacco product to its manufacturer, pursu13 ant to a final rule that the Postal Service shall issue, 

14 not later than 180 days after the date of the enact15 ment of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 

16 2009, which shall establish the standards and re17 quirements that apply to all such mailings, which 

18 shall include the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) The Postal Service shall verify that 

20 any person submitting an otherwise nonmailable 

21 tobacco product into the mails as authorized by 

22 this section is the individual identified on the 

23 return address label of the package and is an 

24 adult. 


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1 ‘‘(B) For a mailing to an individual, the 

2 Postal Service shall require the person submit3 ting the otherwise nonmailable tobacco product 

4 into the mails as authorized by this subsection 

5 to affirm that the recipient is an adult. 

6 ‘‘(C) The package shall not weigh more 

7 than 10 ounces. 

8 ‘‘(D) The mailing shall be sent through the 

9 Postal Service’s systems that provide for the 

10 tracking and confirmation of the delivery. 

11 ‘‘(E) No package shall be delivered or 

12 placed in the possession of any individual who 

13 is not a verified adult. For a mailing to an indi14 vidual, the Postal Service shall deliver the pack15 age only to the verified adult recipient at the 

16 recipient address or transfer it for delivery to 

17 an Air/Army Postal Office (APO) or Fleet 

18 Postal Office (FPO) number designated in the 

19 recipient address. 

20 ‘‘(F) No person shall initiate more than 

21 ten such mailings in any thirty-day period. 

22 ‘‘(5) EXCEPTION FOR MAILINGS FOR CONSUMER

23 TESTING BY MANUFACTURERS.—Subject to para24 graph (8), nothing in this Act shall preclude a le25 gally operating cigarette manufacturer operating on 


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1 its own or through its legally authorized agent from 

2 using the Postal Service to mail cigarettes to verified 

3 adult smokers solely for consumer testing purposes, 

4 provided that— 

5 ‘‘(A) the cigarette manufacturer has a fed6 eral permit, in good standing, pursuant to sec7 tion 5713 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986; 

9 ‘‘(B) any package of cigarettes mailed pur10 suant to this paragraph shall contain no more 

11 than 12 packs of cigarettes (240 cigarettes); 

12 ‘‘(C) no individual shall receive more than 

13 1 package of cigarettes per manufacturer pur14 suant to this paragraph in any 30-day period; 

15 ‘‘(D) all taxes on the cigarettes levied by 

16 the State and locality of delivery have been paid 

17 to the State and locality prior to delivery, and 

18 tax stamps or other tax-payment indicia have 

19 been affixed to the cigarettes as required by 

20 law; 

21 ‘‘(E)(i) the recipient has not made any 

22 payments of any kind in exchange for receiving 

23 the cigarettes; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the recipient is paid a fee by the man2 ufacturer or manufacturer’s agent for participa3 tion in consumer product tests; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) the recipient, in connection with the 

5 tests, evaluates the cigarettes and provides 

6 feedback to the manufacturer or agent; 

7 ‘‘(F) the mailing is made pursuant to a 

8 final rule that the Postal Service shall issue, 

9 not later than 180 days after the date of the 

10 enactment of the Prevent All Cigarette Traf11 ficking Act of 2009, which shall establish stand12 ards and requirements that apply to all such 

13 mailings, which shall include the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) The Postal Service shall verify 

15 that any person submitting a tobacco prod16 uct into the mails pursuant to this para17 graph is a manufacturer permitted to 

18 make such mailings pursuant to this para19 graph, or an agent legally authorized by 

20 the manufacturer to submit the tobacco 

21 product into the mails on the manufactur22 er’s behalf. 

23 ‘‘(ii) The Postal Service shall require 

24 the manufacturer submitting the cigarettes 

25 into the mails pursuant to this paragraph 


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1 to affirm that the manufacturer or its le2 gally authorized agent has verified that the 

3 recipient is an adult established smoker 

4 who has not made any payment for the 

5 cigarettes, has formally stated in writing 

6 that he or she wishes to receive such mail7 ings, and has not withdrawn that agree8 ment despite being offered the opportunity 

9 to do so by the manufacturer or its legally 

10 authorized agent at least once in every 3- 

11 month period. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The Postal Service shall require 

13 the manufacturer or its legally authorized 

14 agent submitting the cigarettes into the 

15 mails pursuant to this paragraph to affirm 

16 that the package contains no more than 12 

17 packs of cigarettes (240 cigarettes) on 

18 which all taxes levied on the cigarettes by 

19 the State and locality of delivery have been 

20 paid and all related State tax stamps or 

21 other tax-payment indicia have been ap22 plied. 

23 ‘‘(iv) The mailings shall be sent 

24 through the Postal Service’s systems that 

25 provide for the tracking and confirmation 


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1 of the delivery and all related records shall 

2 be kept in Postal Service records and made 

3 available to persons enforcing this section 

4 for a period of at least 3 years thereafter. 

5 ‘‘(v) The mailing shall be marked with 

6 a Postal Service label or marking that 

7 makes it clear to Postal Service employees 

8 that it is a permitted mailing of otherwise 

9 nonmailable tobacco products that may be 

10 delivered only to the named recipient after 

11 verifying that the recipient is an adult. 

12 ‘‘(vi) The Postal Service shall deliver 

13 the mailing only to the named recipient 

14 and only after verifying that the recipient 

15 is an adult. 

16 ‘‘(6) DEFINITION OF CONSUMER TESTING.— 

17 For purposes of this Act, the term ‘consumer test18 ing’ means testing limited to formal data collection 

19 and analysis for the specific purpose of evaluating 

20 the product for quality assurance and benchmarking 

21 purposes of cigarette brands or sub-brands among 

22 existing adult smokers. 

23 ‘‘(7) DEFINITION OF ADULT.—For purposes of 

24 paragraph (5), the term ‘adult’ means an individual 

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1 graphs (3) and (4), the term ‘adult’ means an indi2 vidual of at least the minimum age required for the 

3 legal sale or purchase of tobacco products as deter4 mined by applicable law at the place the individual 

5 is located. 

6 ‘‘(8) LIMITATIONS.—Paragraph (5) shall not— 

7 ‘‘(A) permit a mailing of cigarettes to an 

8 individual located in any State that prohibits 

9 the delivery or shipment of cigarettes to individ10 uals in the State, or preempt, limit, or other11 wise affect any related State laws; or 

12 ‘‘(B) permit a manufacturer, directly or 

13 through a legally authorized agent, to mail ciga14 rettes in any calendar years in a cumulative 

15 amount greater than one percent of its total 

16 cigarette sales in the United States in the pre17 vious calendar year. 

18 ‘‘(9) UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AGEN19 CIES.—Agencies of the United States Government 

20 involved in the consumer testing of tobacco products 

21 solely for public health purposes may make mailings 

22 pursuant to the same requirements, restrictions, and 

23 Postal Service rules and procedures that apply to 

24 consumer testing mailings of cigarettes by manufac25 turers under paragraph (5), except that no such 


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1 agency shall be required to pay the recipients for 

2 participating in the consumer testing. 

3 ‘‘(c) SEIZURE AND FORFEITURE.—Any cigarettes or 

4 smokeless tobacco made nonmailable by this subsection 

5 that are deposited in the mails shall be subject to seizure 

6 and forfeiture, pursuant to the procedures set forth in 

7 chapter 46 of this title. Any tobacco products so seized 

8 and forfeited shall either be destroyed or retained by Gov9 ernment officials for the detection or prosecution of crimes 

10 or related investigations and then destroyed. 

11 ‘‘(d) ADDITIONAL PENALTIES.—In addition to any 

12 other fines and penalties imposed by this Act for violations 

13 of this section, any person violating this section shall be 

14 subject to an additional civil penalty in the amount of 10 

15 times the retail value of the nonmailable cigarettes or 

16 smokeless tobacco, including all Federal, State, and local 

17 taxes. 

18 ‘‘(e) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—Whoever knowingly de19 posits for mailing or delivery, or knowingly causes to be 

20 delivered by mail, according to the direction thereon, or 

21 at any place at which it is directed to be delivered by the 

22 person to whom it is addressed, anything that this section 

23 declares to be nonmailable matter shall be fined under this 

24 title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both. 


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1 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term 

2 ‘State’ has the meaning given that term in section 

3 1716(k). 

4 ‘‘(g) USE OF PENALTIES.—There is established a 

5 separate account in the Treasury of the United States, 

6 to be known as the ‘PACT Postal Service Fund’. Notwith7 standing any other provision of law, an amount equal to 

8 50 percent of any criminal and civil fines or monetary pen9 alties collected by the United States Government in en10 forcing the provisions of this subsection shall be trans11 ferred into the PACT Postal Service Fund and shall be 

12 available to the Postmaster General for the purpose of en13 forcing the provisions of this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(h) COORDINATION OF EFFORTS.—In the enforce15 ment of this section, the Postal Service shall cooperate and 

16 coordinate its efforts with related enforcement activities 

17 of any other Federal agency or of any State, local, or trib18 al government, whenever appropriate.’’. 

19 (b) ACTIONS BY STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL GOVERN20 MENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN TOBACCO PRODUCTS.— 

21 (1) A State, through its attorney general, or a 

22 local government or Indian tribe that levies an excise 

23 tax on tobacco products, through its chief law en24 forcement officer, may in a civil action in a United 

25 States district court obtain appropriate relief with 


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1 respect to a violation of section 1716E of title 18, 

2 United States Code. Appropriate relief includes in3 junctive and equitable relief and damages equal to 

4 the amount of unpaid taxes on tobacco products 

5 mailed in violation of that section to addressees in 

6 that State. 

7 (2) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to 

8 abrogate or constitute a waiver of any sovereign im9 munity of a State or local government or Indian 

10 tribe against any unconsented lawsuit under para11 graph (1), or otherwise to restrict, expand, or mod12 ify any sovereign immunity of a State or local gov13 ernment or Indian tribe. 

14 (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to 

15 prohibit an authorized State official from proceeding 

16 in State court on the basis of an alleged violation of 

17 any general civil or criminal statute of such State. 

18 (4) A State, through its attorney general, or a 

19 local government or Indian tribe that levies an excise 

20 tax on tobacco products, through its chief law en21 forcement officer, may provide evidence of a viola22 tion of paragraph (1) for commercial purposes by 

23 any person not subject to State, local, or tribal gov24 ernment enforcement actions for violations of para25 graph (1) to the Attorney General, who shall take 


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1 appropriate actions to enforce the provisions of this 

2 subsection. 

3 (5) The remedies available under this sub4 section are in addition to any other remedies avail5 able under Federal, State, local, tribal, or other law. 

6 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to ex7 pand, restrict, or otherwise modify any right of an 

8 authorized State, local, or tribal government official 

9 to proceed in a State, tribal, or other appropriate 

10 court, or take other enforcement actions, on the 

11 basis of an alleged violation of State, local, tribal, or 

12 other law. 

13 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 at the beginning of chapter 83 of title 18 is amended by 

15 adding after the item relating to section 1716D the fol16 lowing new item: 

‘‘1716E. Tobacco products as nonmailable.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. COMPLIANCE WITH MODEL STATUTE OR QUALI18 FYING STATUTE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—A Tobacco Product Manufacturer 

20 or importer may not sell in, deliver to, or place for delivery 

21 sale, or cause to be sold in, delivered to, or placed for deliv22 ery sale in a State that is a party to the Master Settlement 

23 Agreement, any cigarette manufactured by a Tobacco 

24 Product Manufacturer that is not in full compliance with 

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1 acted by such State requiring funds to be placed into a 

2 qualified escrow account under specified conditions, and 

3 with any regulations promulgated pursuant to such stat4 ute. 

5 (b) JURISDICTION TO PREVENT AND RESTRAIN VIO6 LATIONS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The United States district 

8 courts shall have jurisdiction to prevent and restrain 

9 violations of subsection (a) in accordance with this 

10 subsection. 

11 (2) INITIATION OF ACTION.—A State, through 

12 its attorney general, may bring an action in an ap13 propriate United States district court to prevent and 

14 restrain violations of subsection (a) by any person. 

15 (3) ATTORNEY FEES.—In any action under 

16 paragraph (2), a State, through its attorney general, 

17 shall be entitled to reasonable attorney fees from a 

18 person found to have knowingly violated subsection 

19 (a). 

20 (4) NONEXCLUSIVITY OF REMEDIES.—The rem21 edy available under paragraph (2) is in addition to 

22 any other remedies available under Federal, State, 

23 or other law. No provision of this Act or any other 

24 Federal law shall be held or construed to prohibit or 

25 preempt the Master Settlement Agreement, the 


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1 Model Statute (as defined in the Master Settlement 

2 Agreement), any legislation amending or complemen3 tary to the Model Statute in effect as of June 1, 

4 2006, or any legislation substantially similar to such 

5 existing, amending, or complementary legislation 

6 hereinafter enacted. 

7 (5) OTHER ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS.—Nothing 

8 in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit an 

9 authorized State official from proceeding in State 

10 court or taking other enforcement actions on the 

11 basis of an alleged violation of State or other law. 

12 (6) AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY GEN13 ERAL.—The Attorney General may bring an action 

14 in an appropriate United States district court to 

15 prevent and restrain violations of subsection (a) by 

16 any person. 

17 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section the following defi18 nitions apply: 

19 (1) DELIVERY SALE.—The term ‘‘delivery sale’’ 

20 means any sale of cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to 

21 a consumer if— 

22 (A) the consumer submits the order for 

23 such sale by means of a telephone or other 

24 method of voice transmission, the mails, or the 

25 Internet or other online service, or the seller is 


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1 otherwise not in the physical presence of the 

2 buyer when the request for purchase or order is 

3 made; or 

4 (B) the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco are 

5 delivered to the buyer by common carrier, pri6 vate delivery service, or other method of remote 

7 delivery, or the seller is not in the physical pres8 ence of the buyer when the buyer obtains pos9 session of the cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. 

10 (2) IMPORTER.—The term ‘‘importer’’ means 

11 each of the following: 

12 (A) SHIPPING OR CONSIGNING.—Any per13 son in the United States to whom nontaxpaid 

14 tobacco products manufactured in a foreign 

15 country, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or a 

16 possession of the United States are shipped or 

17 consigned. 

18 (B) MANUFACTURING WAREHOUSES.—Any 

19 person who removes cigars or cigarettes for sale 

20 or consumption in the United States from a 

21 customs-bonded manufacturing warehouse. 

22 (C) UNLAWFUL IMPORTING.—Any person 

23 who smuggles or otherwise unlawfully brings to24 bacco products into the United States. 


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1 (3) MASTER SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The 

2 term ‘‘Master Settlement Agreement’’ means the 

3 agreement executed November 23, 1998, between 

4 the attorneys general of 46 States, the District of 

5 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and 4 

6 territories of the United States and certain tobacco 

7 manufacturers. 

8 (4) MODEL STATUTE; QUALIFYING STATUTE.— 

9 The terms ‘‘Model Statute’’ and ‘‘Qualifying Stat10 ute’’ means a statute as defined in section 

11 IX(d)(2)(e) of the Master Settlement Agreement. 

12 (5) TOBACCO PRODUCT MANUFACTURER.—The 

13 term ‘‘Tobacco Product Manufacturer’’ has the 

14 meaning given that term in section II(uu) of the 

15 Master Settlement Agreement. 

16 SEC. 5. INSPECTION BY BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, 

17 FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES OF RECORDS 

18 OF CERTAIN CIGARETTE AND SMOKELESS 

19 TOBACCO SELLERS; CIVIL PENALTY. 

20 Section 2343(c) of title 18, United States Code, is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(c)(1) Any officer of the Bureau of Alcohol, To23 bacco, Firearms, and Explosives may, during normal busi24 ness hours, enter the premises of any person described in 

25 subsection (a) or (b) for the purposes of inspecting— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any records or information required to be 

2 maintained by such person under the provisions of 

3 law referred to in this chapter; or 

4 ‘‘(B) any cigarettes or smokeless tobacco kept 

5 or stored by such person at such premises. 

6 ‘‘(2) The district courts of the United States shall 

7 have the authority in a civil action under this subsection 

8 to compel inspections authorized by paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(3) Whoever denies access to an officer under para10 graph (1), or who fails to comply with an order issued 

11 under paragraph (2), shall be subject to a civil penalty 

12 in an amount not to exceed $10,000.’’. 

13 SEC. 6. EXCLUSIONS REGARDING INDIAN TRIBES AND 

14 TRIBAL MATTERS. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act or the amend16 ments made by this Act shall be construed to amend, mod17 ify, or otherwise affect— 

18 (1) any agreements, compacts, or other inter19 governmental arrangements between any State or 

20 local government and any government of an Indian 

21 tribe (as that term is defined in section 4(e) of the 

22 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

23 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)) relating to the collection of 

24 taxes on cigarettes or smokeless tobacco sold in In25 dian country; 


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1 (2) any State laws that authorize or otherwise 

2 pertain to any such intergovernmental arrangements 

3 or create special rules or procedures for the collec4 tion of State, local, or tribal taxes on cigarettes or 

5 smokeless tobacco sold in Indian country; 

6 (3) any limitations under Federal or State law, 

7 including Federal common law and treaties, on 

8 State, local, and tribal tax and regulatory authority 

9 with respect to the sale, use, or distribution of ciga10 rettes and smokeless tobacco by or to Indian tribes, 

11 tribal members, tribal enterprises, or in Indian coun12 try; 

13 (4) any Federal law, including Federal common 

14 law and treaties, regarding State jurisdiction, or 

15 lack thereof, over any tribe, tribal members, tribal 

16 enterprises, tribal reservations, or other lands held 

17 by the United States in trust for one or more Indian 

18 tribes; and 

19 (5) any State or local government authority to 

20 bring enforcement actions against persons located in 

21 Indian country. 

22 (b) COORDINATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.—Noth23 ing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall 

24 be construed to inhibit or otherwise affect any coordinated 

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1 dictions, including Indian tribes, through interstate com2 pact or otherwise, that— 

3 (1) provides for the administration of tobacco 

4 product laws or laws pertaining to interstate sales or 

5 other sales of tobacco products; 

6 (2) provides for the seizure of tobacco products 

7 or other property related to a violation of such laws; 

8 or 

9 (3) establishes cooperative programs for the ad10 ministration of such laws. 

11 (c) TREATMENT OF STATE AND LOCAL GOVERN12 MENTS.—Nothing in this Act or the amendments made 

13 by this Act shall be construed to authorize, deputize, or 

14 commission States or local governments as instrumental15 ities of the United States. 

16 (d) ENFORCEMENT WITHIN INDIAN COUNTRY.— 

17 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act 

18 shall prohibit, limit, or restrict enforcement by the Attor19 ney General of the provisions herein within Indian coun20 try. 

21 (e) AMBIGUITY.—Any ambiguity between the lan22 guage of this section or its application and any other pro23 vision of this Act shall be resolved in favor of this section. 


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1 SEC. 7. ENHANCED CONTRABAND TOBACCO ENFORCE2 MENT. 

3 (a) REQUIREMENTS.—The Director of the Bureau of 

4 Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives shall— 

5 (1) create 6 regional contraband tobacco traf6 ficking teams over a 3-year period in New York 

7 City, Washington DC, Detroit, Los Angeles, Seattle, 

8 and Miami, 

9 (2) create a new Tobacco Intelligence Center to 

10 oversee investigations and monitor and coordinate 

11 ongoing investigations and to serve as a nerve center 

12 for all ongoing tobacco diversion investigations with13 in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and 

14 Explosives, in the United States and, where applica15 ble, with law enforcement organizations around the 

16 world, 

17 (3) establish a covert national warehouse for 

18 undercover operations, and 

19 (4) create a computer database that will track 

20 and analyze information from retail sellers of to21 bacco products that sell through the Internet or by 

22 mail order or make other non-face-to-face sales. 

23 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to carry out subsection (a) 

25 $8,500,000 for each of the 5 fiscal years beginning with 

26 fiscal year 2010. 


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1 SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

3 (b), this Act shall take effect on the date that is 90 days 

4 after the date of enactment of this Act. 

5 (b) BATFE AUTHORITY.—Section 5 shall take effect 

6 on the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 9. SEVERABILITY. 

8 If any provision of this Act, or any amendment made 

9 by this Act, or the application thereof to any person or 

10 circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Act and 

11 the application of the Act to any other person or cir12 cumstance shall not be affected thereby. 

13 SEC. 10. SENSE OF CONGRESS CONCERNING THE PRECE14 DENTIAL EFFECT OF THIS ACT. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that unique harms are 

16 associated with online cigarette sales, including problems 

17 with verifying the ages of consumers in the digital market 

18 and the long-term health problems associated with the use 

19 of certain tobacco products. This Act was enacted recog20 nizing the longstanding interest of Congress in urging 

21 compliance with States’ laws regulating remote sales of 

22 certain tobacco products to citizens of those States, includ23 ing the passage of the Jenkins Act over 50 years ago, 

24 which established reporting requirements for out-of-State 

25 companies that sell certain tobacco products to citizens of 

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1 ment of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire2 arms, and Explosives to enforce the Jenkins Act. In light 

3 of the unique harms and circumstances surrounding the 

4 online sale of certain tobacco products, this Act is in5 tended to help collect cigarette excise taxes, to stop to6 bacco sales to underage youth, and to help the States en7 force their laws that target the online sales of certain to8 bacco products only. This Act is in no way meant to create 

9 a precedent regarding the collection of State sales or use 

10 taxes by, or the validity of efforts to impose other types 

11 of taxes on, out-of-State entities that do not have a phys12 ical presence within the taxing State. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 21, 2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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