COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 362
(By Senators Prezioso, Foster, McCabe and Kessler (Acting
President))
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[Originating in the Committee on Health and Human Resources;
reported February 18, 2011.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §11-17-3 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to increasing the excise tax on
cigarettes and all other tobacco products; establishing a
special revenue account; and designating where the additional
revenues are to be transferred.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §11-17-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 17. CIGARETTE TAX ACT.
§11-17-3. Levy of tax; ratio; dedication of proceeds; funds.
(a) Tax on cigarettes. -- For the purpose of providing revenue
for the General Revenue Fund of the state, An excise tax is hereby
levied and imposed on sales of cigarettes at the rate of fifty-five
cents $1.55 on each twenty cigarettes or in like ratio on any part thereof. Only one sale of the same article shall be used in
computing the amount of tax due under this subsection.
(b) Tax on tobacco products other than cigarettes. --
Effective the first day of January, two thousand two, An excise tax
is hereby levied and imposed on the sale or use of, other than
cigarettes, tobacco products at a rate equal to seven 50 percent of
the wholesale price of each article or item of tobacco product
other than cigarettes sold by the wholesaler or subjobber dealer,
whether or not sold at wholesale, or if not sold, then at the same
rate upon the use by the wholesaler or dealer. Only one sale of the
same article shall be used in computing the amount of tax due under
this subsection. Revenues received from this tax shall be deposited
into the General Revenue Fund.
(c) Effective date. -- The changes set forth herein to this
section and section four of this article shall become effective the
first day of May two thousand three July 1, 2011.
(d) Of the increase in revenues collected pursuant to this
section, $50 million per year for ten years shall be deposited in
the West Virginia Retiree Health Benefit Trust Fund created in
section two, article sixteen-d, chapter five of this code for the
purpose of funding other post-employment benefits and must be held
in trust and not expended during the ten year period; $40 million
per year for ten years shall be designated to West Virginia
Medicaid; adding $6 million annually for tobacco control; $1
million per year for five years shall be designated to the West
Virginia University School of Public Health. Any additional monies in the fund are to be expended as follows: 30 percent shall be
designated for oral health improvement programming; 30 percent
shall be designated for substance abuse prevention and treatment
programming; 24 percent shall be designated for in-home elderly
care services; and 16 percent shall be designated to fund early
childhood development programming.
(e)Each of the funds or programs receiving funds in
subsection (d) shall provide a report to the Legislative Oversight
Commission on Health and Human Resources Accountability on the use
of funds every three years.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.