Section 30474.5 Of Chapter 10. Violations From California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 2. >> Part 13. >> Chapter 10.
30474.5
. (a) This section shall be known as and may be cited as the
Black Market Cigarette and Street Corruption Prevention Act.
(b) The Legislature finds that the sale of black-market, untaxed
cigarettes has resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of
dollars in revenue to the state, robbing state health care and
programs designed to help children.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature, by enacting the act
adding this section, to provide resources to prosecutors and local
law enforcement personnel, and to enable local jurisdictions to
develop a multiagency task force for the purpose of significantly
reducing the sales of black-market cigarettes and creating a
deterrent to those sales through the focused investigation and
prosecution of sales of black-market cigarettes, and other associated
offenses and related crimes.
(d) In addition to the fine or sentence, or both, imposed by
Section 30474, each person convicted under Section 30474 shall pay
one hundred dollars ($100) for each carton of 200 cigarettes, or
portion thereof, knowingly possessed, or kept, stored, or retained
for the purpose of sale, or sold or offered for sale in violation of
Section 30474, as determined by the court. The court shall direct
that the penalty of one hundred dollars ($100) assessed under this
section shall be transmitted to the Controller for deposit in the
Unlawful Sales Reduction Fund, which is hereby created. Upon
appropriation by the Legislature, the moneys in the fund shall be
allocated to the Office of Criminal Justice Planning for the funding
of a competitive grant program to be established by the Legislature
to award grants to local jurisdictions for the purpose of
establishing a multiagency task force, the composition of which shall
include prosecutors and local law enforcement personnel and may
include state law enforcement personnel, for the purpose of
significantly reducing the sales of black-market cigarettes, and
creating a deterrent to those sales through the focused investigation
and prosecution of sales of black-market cigarettes and other
associated offenses and related crimes. No more than 5 percent of the
amount transmitted from the penalty of one hundred dollars ($100)
assessed under this section may be retained to fund the costs of
administering the competitive grant program.
(e) The Office of Criminal Justice Planning shall consult with the
State Board of Equalization in the administration of the competitive
grant program.
(f) (1) The one hundred dollar ($100) penalty for each carton of
200 cigarettes knowingly possessed, or kept, stored, or retained for
the purpose of sale, or sold, or offered for sale in violation of
Section 30474, as authorized under subdivision (d), shall only be
imposed for the period beginning on January 1, 2003, and ending on
January 1, 2006.
(2) This section shall remain in effect until December 1, 2006, or
until all the moneys remaining in the Unlawful Sales Reduction Fund
on January 1, 2006, have been appropriated by the Legislature for
allocation to the Office of Criminal Justice Planning for funding the
competitive grant program established under this section, whichever
occurs later.