An Act To Reduce the Burden of Tobacco-related Illness by Increasing Revenue from the Cigarette Tax for Use for Tobacco Cessation
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0945
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: McCREIGHT, CHENETTE, HEAD, HILLIARD, HYMANSON, JOHANSEN, RECKITT, SANBORN, TERRY, TIPPING
Amends: 36 MRSA §4365-F, 36 MRSA §4365-G, 36 MRSA §4366-A, 36 MRSA §4366-E

Legislative Document
No. 945
H.P. 673
House of Representatives, March 9, 2017
An Act To Reduce the Burden of Tobacco-related Illness by 
Increasing Revenue from the Cigarette Tax for Use for Tobacco 
Cessation
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative McCREIGHT of Harpswell.
Cosponsored by Senator CHENETTE of York and
Representatives: HEAD of Bethel, HILLIARD of Belgrade, HYMANSON of York, 
JOHANSEN of Monticello, RECKITT of South Portland, SANBORN of Portland, TERRY of 
Gorham, TIPPING of Orono.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §4365-F, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 457, Pt. AA, §3 and 
affected by §8, is repealed. 
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §4365-G is enacted to read: 
§4365-G.  Application of cigarette tax rate increase effective November 1, 2017 
The following provisions apply to cigarettes held for resale on November 1, 2017. 
1.  Stamped rate.  Cigarettes stamped at the rate of 100 mills per cigarette and held 
for resale after October 30, 2017 are subject to tax at the rate of 175 mills per cigarette. 
2.  Liability.  A person possessing cigarettes for resale is liable for the difference 
between the tax rate of 175 mills per cigarette and the tax rate of 100 mills per cigarette in 
effect before November 1, 2017.  Stamps indicating payment of the tax imposed by this 
section must be affixed to all packages of cigarettes held for resale as of November 1, 
2017, except that cigarettes held in vending machines as of that date do not require that 
stamp. 
3.  Vending machines.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, it is 
presumed that all cigarette vending machines are filled to capacity on November 1, 2017, 
and the tax imposed by this section must be reported on that basis.  A credit against this 
inventory tax must be allowed for cigarettes stamped at the rate of 175 mills per cigarette 
placed in vending machines before November 1, 2017. 
4.  Payment.  Payment of the tax imposed by this section must be made to the 
assessor by January 1, 2018, accompanied by forms prescribed by the assessor. 
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §4366-A, sub-§2, ¶D, as amended by PL 2007, c. 438, §93, is 
further amended to read: 
D.  For stamps at the face value of 100 175 mills, the discount rate is 1.15% 0.65%. 
Sec. 4.  36 MRSA §4366-E is enacted to read: 
§4366-E.  Additional tax 
Beginning November 1, 2017, an additional tax is imposed on all cigarettes imported 
into this State or held in this State by any person for sale at the rate of 75 mills for each 
cigarette.  The tax imposed under this section must be added to the tax imposed under 
section 4365 and collected and administered in the same manner as the tax under that 
section.  Payment of the tax is evidenced by the affixing of stamps to the packages 
containing the cigarettes. 
Sec. 5.  Appropriations and allocations.  The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS) 
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention 0143 
Initiative: Allocates funds for tobacco use prevention and cessation. 
Medical Care - Payments to Providers 0147 
Initiative: Allocates funds for tobacco use cessation medications and counseling provided 
to MaineCare members. 
Sec. 6.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect November 1, 2017. 
SUMMARY 
This bill increases the cigarette tax from $2.00 to $3.50 per pack of 20 cigarettes, 
beginning November 1, 2017.  This bill also provides increased funding in the amount of 
$8,100,000 per year in ongoing funding to the Maine Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention for tobacco use prevention and cessation in order to align with United States 
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
recommendations.  Finally, this bill provides $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2017-18 and 
$750,000 thereafter for MaineCare members for tobacco cessation medications and 
counseling. 
GENERAL FUND 
2017-18
2018-19
All Other 
$8,100,000
$8,100,000
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
$8,100,000
$8,100,000
GENERAL FUND 
2017-18
2018-19
All Other 
$1,000,000
$750,000
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
$1,000,000
$750,000
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 
DEPARTMENT OF (FORMERLY DHS) 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 
2017-18
2018-19
GENERAL FUND 
$9,100,000
$8,850,000
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS 
$9,100,000
$8,850,000