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SF0052 • 2020

Tobacco products-mail and online sales prohibition.

AN ACT relating to tobacco products; prohibiting the shipment or transport of tobacco products into the state when purchased by mail or through electronic means as specified; providing an exception; providing penalties; and providing for an effective date.

Taxes
Inactive

Wyoming marks this bill as inactive, which usually means it is no longer moving in the current session.

Sponsor
Revenue
Last action
2020-03-11
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2020

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included a claim about adding definitions to existing laws which is not supported by the official source material.

Ban on Mail and Online Tobacco Sales

The bill prohibits the shipment or transport of tobacco products into Wyoming when purchased by mail or through electronic means, except for traditional large and premium cigars.

What This Bill Does

  • Prohibits businesses from shipping or transporting tobacco products to people in Wyoming if those products were ordered by mail or online.
  • Requires that only licensed vendors can accept deliveries of tobacco products bought outside the state.
  • Allows the sale, shipment, or transport of traditional large and premium cigars to consumers who are old enough to buy them legally.
  • Sets penalties for businesses that break these rules, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per violation.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Businesses selling tobacco products by mail or online
  • People buying tobacco products from outside Wyoming

Terms To Know

Tobacco products
Any item made with tobacco, like cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco.
Electronic cigarette
A device that can be used to deliver aerosolized or vaporized nicotine material to the person using the device.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how it will be enforced.
  • It is currently inactive and was last updated in March 2020.
  • The bill only applies to tobacco products ordered by mail or online, not those bought in stores.

Bill History

  1. 2020-03-11 Senate

    S:Died in Committee Returned Bill Pursuant to SR 5-4

  2. 2020-02-28 Senate

    S No report prior to CoW Cutoff

  3. 2020-02-11 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S03 - Revenue 24-5-1-0-0

  4. 2020-02-10 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  5. 2020-01-21 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
20LSO-0110
2020
STATE OF WYOMING
20LSO-0110
Introduced
2.0

SENATE FILE NO. SF0052

Tobacco products-mail and online sales prohibition.

Sponsored by: Joint Revenue Interim Committee

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to tobacco products; prohibiting the shipment or transport of tobacco products into the state when purchased by mail or through electronic means as specified; providing an exception; providing penalties; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1.

W.S. 14
‑
3
‑
309 is created to read:

14
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3
‑
309.

Prohibition on mail order or internet purchases and sales; penalties.

(a)

No person engaged in the business of selling at retail or wholesale shall knowingly ship or transport or cause to be shipped or transported any tobacco product ordered or purchased by mail, through the internet or through any other electronic means to any person in this state other than to a vendor licensed under W.S. 39
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15
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106. Any person violating this subsection is liable for a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) but not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) for each violation. This penalty may be recovered by the district attorney in a civil action brought in the name of the state of Wyoming in any court of appropriate jurisdiction. For the purpose of this subsection, each shipment or transport of tobacco products shall constitute a separate violation. In addition to any other remedy provided by law for the recovery of the penalty and any interest thereon, the district attorney may recover any costs or damages relating to the recovery effort including attorney's fees.

(b)

No person other than a vendor licensed under W.S. 39
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15
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106 or agent thereof shall knowingly accept delivery
of a tobacco product in this state that was ordered or purchased by mail, through the internet or through any other electronic means. Any person violating this subsection is liable for a civil penalty of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) but not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each violation. This penalty may be recovered by the district attorney in a civil action brought in the name of the state of Wyoming in any court of appropriate jurisdiction. In addition to any other remedy provided by law for the recovery of the penalty and any interest thereon, the district attorney may recover any costs or damages relating to the recovery effort including attorney's fees.

(c)

This section shall not apply to the sale, shipment or transport of traditional large and premium cigars to a consumer who is of lawful age. Under this subsection, "traditional large and premium cigars" means any roll of tobacco that:

(i)

Is wrapped in one hundred percent (100%) leaf tobacco;

(ii)

Is bunched with one hundred percent (100%) tobacco filler;

(iii)

Does not contain a filter, tip or nontobacco mouthpiece;

(iv)

Has a one hundred percent (100%) leaf tobacco binder and is hand rolled;

(v)

Has a one hundred percent (100%) leaf tobacco binder made using human hands to lay the leaf tobacco wrapper or binder onto only one (1) machine that bunches, wraps and caps each individual cigar or has a homogenized tobacco leaf binder and is made in the United States using human hands to lay one hundred percent (100%) leaf tobacco wrapper onto only one (1) machine that bunches, wraps and caps each individual cigar.

(d)

Any person violating subsection (a) of this section, in addition to the penalties therein prescribed, has engaged in an deceptive trade practice in violation of
W.S. 40
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12
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105(a)(i) and is subject to the provisions of the Wyoming Consumer Protection Act.

Section 2.

W.S. 14
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3
‑
301(a)(i), (v) and by creating a new paragraph (vi) is amended to read:

14
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3
‑
301.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this article:

(i)

"Tobacco products" means any substance containing tobacco leaf, or any product made or derived from tobacco that contains nicotine, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco
,

or
dipping tobacco
, electronic cigarettes or vapor material
;

(v)

"Electronic cigarette" means
a product that employs any mechanical heating element, battery or electronic circuit, regardless of shape or size, that can be used to deliver doses of nicotine vapor by means of heating a liquid nicotine solution contained in a cartridge
or other delivery system.
any device that can be used to deliver aerosolized or vaporized nicotine material to the person using the device and includes any component, part and accessory of the device and any vapor material intended to be aerosolized or vaporized during the use of the device. "Electronic cigarette" includes, without limitation, any electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, electronic hooka, vapor pen and any similar product or device. "Electronic cigarette" does not include a battery or battery charger if sold separately from the electronic cigarette and does not include any product regulated as a drug or device by the United States food and drug administration under subchapter V of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act;

(vi)

"Vapor material" means any liquid solution or other material containing nicotine that is depleted as an electronic cigarette is used. "Vapor material" includes liquid solution or other material containing nicotine that is sold with or inside an electronic cigarette.

Section 3
.

This act is effective July 1, 2020
.

(END)

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SF0052