An Act To Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use by Ensuring Adequate Funding for Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Programs and by Raising the Tax on Tobacco Products and To Provide Funding To Reduce Disparities in Health Outcomes Based on Certain Factors
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1423
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: McCREIGHT, CHIPMAN, CLOUTIER, MILLETT, TERRY, WARREN, ZAGER, CYRWAY, MOORE
Amends: 22 MRSA §273, 36 MRSA §4365, 36 MRSA §4365-F, 36 MRSA §4365-G

Legislative Document
No. 1423
H.P. 1039
House of Representatives, April 12, 2021
An Act To Prevent and Reduce Tobacco Use by Ensuring Adequate 
Funding for Tobacco Use Prevention and Cessation Programs and 
by Raising the Tax on Tobacco Products and To Provide Funding 
To Reduce Disparities in Health Outcomes Based on Certain 
Factors
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 8, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Taxation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative McCREIGHT of Harpswell.
Cosponsored by Senator CHIPMAN of Cumberland and
Representatives: CLOUTIER of Lewiston, MILLETT of Cape Elizabeth, TERRY of Gorham, 
WARREN of Hallowell, ZAGER of Portland, Senators: CYRWAY of Kennebec, MOORE of 
Washington.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §273 is enacted to read:
§273.  Funding requirements
The amount annually appropriated and used for the program may not be less than the 
lesser of:
1.  Tobacco products revenue and Fund for a Healthy Maine funds.  The amount 
of tax collected on tobacco products in accordance with Title 36, sections 4365-G and 4403 
plus funds available in the Fund for a Healthy Maine; and
2.  Recommended funding level.  The funding level recommended for this State by 
the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control 
and Prevention pursuant to its determination for state tobacco control programs.
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §4365, as amended by PL 2005, c. 457, Pt. AA, §1 and affected 
by §8, is further amended to read:
§4365.  Rate of tax
A tax is imposed on all cigarettes imported into this State or held in this State by any 
person for sale at the rate of 100 200 mills for each cigarette.  Payment of the tax is 
evidenced by the affixing of stamps to the packages containing the cigarettes.
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §4365-F, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 457, Pt. AA, §3 and affected 
by §8, is repealed.
Sec. 4.  36 MRSA §4365-G is enacted to read:
§4365-G.  Application of cigarette tax rate increase effective November 1, 2021
The following provisions apply to cigarettes held for resale on November 1, 2021.
1.  Stamped rate.  Cigarettes stamped at the rate of 100 mills per cigarette and held 
for resale after October 31, 2021 are subject to tax at the rate of 200 mills per cigarette.
2.  Liability.  A person possessing cigarettes for resale is liable for the difference 
between the tax rate of 200 mills per cigarette and the tax rate of 100 mills per cigarette in 
effect before November 1, 2021.  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, 2021, 
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, 2021, 
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 200 mills per cigarette 
placed in vending machines before November 1, 2021.
4.  Payment.  Payment of the tax imposed by this section must be made to the assessor 
by January 1, 2022, accompanied by forms prescribed by the assessor.
Sec. 5.  Appropriations and allocations.  The following appropriations and 
allocations are made.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention 0143
Initiative:  Appropriates funds for tobacco use prevention and cessation to attain, for the 
2022-2023 biennium, the amount recommended for the State by the United States 
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
GENERAL FUND
2021-22
2022-23
All Other
$7,000,000
$7,000,000
__________
__________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL
$7,000,000
$7,000,000
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention 0143
Initiative:  Appropriates funds for the 2022-2023 biennium only in order to allow the Maine 
Center for Disease Control and Prevention to research, identify and reduce health 
disparities in health care outcomes based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender 
identification, income, educational attainment or geographic location.
GENERAL FUND
2021-22
2022-23
All Other
$10,000,000
$10,000,000
__________
__________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL
$10,000,000
$10,000,000
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, 
DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS
2021-22
2022-23
GENERAL FUND
$17,000,000
$17,000,000
__________
__________
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS
$17,000,000
$17,000,000
Sec. 6.  Effective date. Those sections of this Act that amend the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 36, section 4365 and that repeal Title 36, section 4365-F take effect 
November 1, 2021.
SUMMARY
This bill ensures future funding for the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program 
administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health by 
requiring funding for the program to be a minimum of the actual revenue collected on the 
sales of all tobacco products plus available funds in the Fund for a Healthy Maine or the 
amount of funding for state tobacco control programs as determined by the United States 
Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
and recommended for Maine, whichever is less.
This bill increases the cigarette tax from $2.00 per pack of 20 cigarettes to $4.00 per 
pack of 20 cigarettes, beginning November 1, 2021.  Because the tax on other tobacco 
products is determined by the tax on cigarettes, this bill, by operation of law, increases the 
tax on other tobacco products, such as cigars and smokeless tobacco, by the same 
percentage change as the increase in the tax on cigarettes.
Finally, this bill provides funding in fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23 to the 
Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and 
Prevention as follows:
1. For the purposes of tobacco use prevention and cessation, $7,000,000 annually in 
order to attain the amount of funding recommended by the federal Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention; and
2. To allow the center to research, identify and reduce health disparities in health care 
outcomes based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identification, income, 
educational attainment or geographic location, $10,000,000 annually, but only for the 
2022-2023 biennium.