An Act To Make Technical Changes to the Laws Concerning Tobacco Manufacturers
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1511
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: NORBERT, PENDLETON

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1511 
H.P.1104 
House of Representatives, April 2, 2003 
An Act To Make Technical Changes to the Laws Concerning 
Tobacco Manufacturers 
Submitted by the Department of the Attorney General pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative NORBERT of Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator PENDLETON of Cumberland. 
Printed on re<ycled paper 
/YI~/J?·llI~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 22 MRSA §IS80-H, sub-§IO, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 
401, Pt. U, §1 and affected by §2, is amended to read: 
10. 
"Units sold" means the number of individual cigarettes 
sold in the State by the applicable tobacco product manufacturer 
(whether directly or through a distributor, retailer or similar 
intermediary e~ ~ intermediaries) during the year in question. 
as measured by excise taxes collected by the State on packs 
bearing the excise tax stamp of the State or "roll-your-own" 
tobacco 
containers. 
The 
geflaEtRleBt.---G-f---A.e.m.:i-fH.-64:-£-at:-:i-ve---aas 
~iBaBeia±-~¥-:i£e£~-~~-e~-Re¥eB~e-~~~-~~~-flEeRl~±~ate 
s~ea Attorney General may adopt rules as are necessary to obtain 
information from any tobacco product retailer, distributor or 
manufacturerT to ascertain the amount of state excise tax paid on 
tobacco products of each tobacco product manufacturer for each 
year. 
Rules established pursuant to this section are routine 
technical rules, as provided in Title 5, baaflteE chapter 375, 
subchapter ±±-A 2-A. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the Bureau of Revenue Services may provide information eataiaes 
fl~Es~aBt.--t.~~~~-see~ieB to the Attorney General as is necessary 
for a tobacco product manufacturer to compile its escrow payment 
hereunder. 
In addition, the 
geflaEtRleBt.--Q-f--~ae Attorney General 
saa±;)'--ha-..a---t-h&---a-\l-t:he-F.,i-t:y--te may 
subpoena the records of any 
tobacco 
product 
retailer, 
distributorT 
or 
manufacturerT 
to 
enforce this Act. 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §IS80-I, sub-§2, ,A, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 
401, Pt. U, §1 and affected by §2, is amended to read: 
A. 
A tobacco product manufacturer that places funds into 
escrow 
pursuant 
to 
this 
subsection 
shall 
receive 
the 
interest or other appreciation on such funds 
as earned. 
Such funds themselves 
saa±;), must be released from escrow 
only under the following circumstances --L 
(1) 
to pay a 
judgment or settlement on any released 
claim brought against such tobacco product manufacturer 
by the State or any releasing party located or residing 
in the State. 
Funds saa;),± ~ 
be released from escrow 
under this subparagraphL 
(a) 
in the order in which they were placed into 
escrowl.. and 
(b) 
only to the extent and at the time necessary 
to make payments required under such judgment or 
settlement; 
(2) 
to the extent that a tobacco product manufacturer 
establishes that the amount it was required to place 
into escrow on account of units sold in the State in a 
particular year was greater than 
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saaFe--9~--~-~~~-~-s--~~--£~€a--maBa£ae,=aFe~ 
w9a±a-aaye-~~R-~~~~~~~-~-~-~a~-aBaeF-,=ae 
Mas 1::e F - -8e-t~~-ement:- --Ag-~ 
- {-as - -€ie-t-e-l'-m4.-ned- -p-t*-~ 
- toe 
see'=ieB--~~~~~~-~--,=ae-~~---8e-t~~~--A~FeemeBt:T 
aBa-~~e-~~~-,=ae-a~j~£~meB~£-~-~~~&&&&-aeSeFiBee 
iB-~-~-IXtitt6t-~-,=aa1::-~~-e1::aeF-~~-1::ae 
IB£±a,=-ieB--AGj-as-t.ffieB1::t the Master Settlement Agreement 
payments, as determined pursuant to section IX( i) of 
that agreement including after final 
det~rmination of 
all adjustments, that such manufacturer would have been 
reguired to make an account of such units sold had it 
been 
a 
participating manufacturer, 
the excess 
saa±± 
must be released from escrow and revert back to such 
tobacco product manufacturer. 
If a court of competent 
jurisdiction 
holds 
that 
this 
subparagraph 
is 
unconstitutional, 
then 
this 
subparagraph 
is 
deemed 
repealed; or 
(2-A) 
to 
the 
extent 
that 
a 
tobacco 
product 
manufacturer 
establishes 
that 
the 
amount 
it 
was 
reguired to place into escrow in a particular year was 
greater than the State's allocable share of the total 
payments 
that 
such 
.manufacturer 
would 
have 
been 
reguired 
to 
make 
in 
that 
year 
under 
the 
Master 
Settlement Agreement (as determined pursuant to section 
IX(i)(2) of the Master Settlement Agreement, and before 
any of the adjustments or offsets described in section 
IX(i)(3) of that Agreement other than the Inflation 
Adjustment) had it been a participating manufacturer, 
the excess must be released from escrow and revert back 
to 
such 
tobacco 
product 
manufacturer. 
This 
subparagraph takes effect only if, following the repeal 
of subparagraph (2), as described therein, a court of 
competent 
jurisdiction 
holds 
that 
paragraph 
A 
lS 
unconstitutional; or 
(3) 
to the extent not released 
from 
escrow under 
subparagraph (1) or (2), funds saal± must be released 
from escrow and revert back to such tobacco product 
manufacturer 
'=weB'=y-£ive 22 years after the date on 
which they were placed into escrow. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes 3 technical changes in the Maine Revised 
Statutes, 
Title 
22, 
chapter 
263, 
subchapter 
3, 
the 
tobacco 
manufacturers laws, which is the law the State adopted to ensure 
payments under the 1998 multi state legal settlement with tobacco 
companies. 
First, the bill delegates the rule-making authority 
under the law to the 
A~torney General. 
Second, it changes the 
way allocable share releases 
from 
escrow are calculated for 
tobacco manufacturers 
who 
do 
not participate in 
the 
master 
settlement agreement. 
Third, it provides that, in the event the 
new method is found unconstitutional by a court and the statute, 
without 
an 
allocable 
share 
prov~s~on 
is 
found 
to 
be 
unconstitutional, the statute reverts to the form it was in prior 
to the changes made by this bill.