Posted on 07/23/2005 7:16:32 AM PDT by SheLion
AUGUSTA - Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe said Friday that he has appealed a federal judge's decision that invalidated a significant portion of a 2003 state law aimed at preventing youth access to tobacco from Internet and mail-order sales.
Maine's law required procedures to verify that those who purchase tobacco by mail are old enough to do so. It was designed in part to prevent youths from ordering cigarettes online and also to assist the state in collecting taxes that would otherwise be unpaid.
U.S. District Judge D. Brock Hornby said that while Maine's statute was well-intentioned, it ran afoul of federal interstate commerce laws by impeding delivery services.
Rowe disagreed with Hornby's conclusion.
"We believe that the states have well-established powers to adopt laws that keep youth from smoking," Rowe said Friday. "While we would welcome a federal law that accomplished the same goals as the Maine law, we do not believe that the people of Maine should have to wait for Congress to muster the courage to enact similar legislation."
Maine is one of 16 states that have passed laws restricting home delivery tobacco sales.
Under the Maine law, the person to whom the tobacco products are addressed must be at least 18 years old and must sign for the package. If the buyer is under 27, a government-issued identification must be shown at the time of delivery.
After the law was enacted, UPS announced it would no longer make consumer tobacco deliveries in Maine. UPS was joined by members of regional motor transport associations in challenging the law in U.S. District Court.
On May 27, Hornby ruled that states can regulate contraband only if it does not "significantly affect a carrier's prices, routes or services."
His ruling traced federal pre-emption of interstate commerce to an 1887 law. While Congress has written into the law some areas that are exempt from federal pre-emption, the Maine Tobacco Delivery Law "fits none of the exemptions," the judge wrote.
He was from MAINE? Well, thank God he doesn't live here anymore. That's all we need, another one of them!
He'd probably fit right in now, though. But please don't tell him.
The concern for youth here is just overwhelming – NOT!
As with everything connected to the thought police, follow the money. Meddlesome they may be, but the hidden agendas are always about money – in this case, more taxes.
LOL!!!!
It gets better - he's (supposedly)a Republican.
Maine lawmakers just passed a bill to double the cigarette taxes come September. From $1 dollar to $2 dollars a pack. A lot of outrage over this! One man pulled all the cigarettes off of his shelves in southern Maine in protest.
If cigarettes aren't being sold, there goes more revenue for the state. I love it!
Well, we are getting used to having CINO's and RINO's in office today. They aren't much better then the RATS.
Maybe the momentum has turned in the other direction.
Maybe the momentum has turned in the other direction.
ahhhh could you explain please? I'm not sure what you are trying to say.
This is disgusting and should be criminal. I live in Pennsylvania and pay 'zero' taxes on my cigarettes because the tax got so out of hand ($1.60 a pack) that I now get them on the black market. Government will eventually make everyone a criminal. They never learn.
Just saying that these are two kernels of good news in a sea of anti-smoking efforts worldwide in which the antis have seemingly won every round so far.
Maine lawmakers are too gutless to cut spending, so once again, they stick it to the smokers and claim it's for our own good.
One store owner in southern Maine pulled all the cigarettes off of his shelf in protest of this double cigarette tax hike. If more business owners in Maine did this, the revenue would sure come to a trickle. Believe it.
I'd love nothing better. There has to be a way to stick it back to Augusta! Smokers in Maine need to wise up!
Ok thanks! 
But the AG in Maine wants to over throw the Judge's decision that Maine can't stop mail delivery in the state.
The ruling traces federal pre-emption of interstate commerce to an 1887 law. While Congress has written into the law some areas that are exempt from federal pre-emption, the Maine Tobacco Delivery law "fits none of the exemptions," the judge wrote.
AG Rowe is still nit picking 25-30% of the Maine people who choose to buy a legal product at a fair price since the state just doubled the cigarette taxes from $1 dollar to $2 dollars a pack coming in September.
The state is going to lose even more revenue after this happens.
Two years ago, NM raised taxes on cigarettes, beer and diesel. I am a prolific consumer of all three. I no longer buy any of those things in NM. There are thousands like me.
You never know what effect your individual efforts can have.
Attorney Generals from states like CT and NY suddenly became deaf, dumb and blind over this defrauding of the taxpayer.
It's all smoke, mirrors and BS!
You never know what effect your individual efforts can have.
I'm well aware, believe me! I wish we could get it out to the rest of the Maine smokers to thumb their noses at the state.
I have been rolling my own for 4 years now, ever since Maine raised the cigarette taxes last time! I said then "Enough is enough!"
Now, Maine doubled the tax again and I sure wish more Maine smokers would find the better way instead of feeding good money into the state coffers. Let the lawmakers find somewhere else to get that money.
Well, here is one alternative:
Can't stand the high taxes?
Afraid to order off of the Internet?
Then start rolling your own!!! I find everything but the machine downtown at the local Smoke Shop. Also, Rite Aid and grocery stores also sell the bags of tobacco and the filtered tubes.
I roll out a beautiful carton for a little under $8 dollars. Premiums in my state are now up to $45-$50 a carton. Can you imagine the money I have saved over the past 4 years since I now roll my own? It's mind boggling.
under $50.00
$5.75 a bag
$1.99 for 200 filtered tubes
and
Attorney Generals from states like CT and NY suddenly became deaf, dumb and blind over this defrauding of the taxpayer.
It's all smoke, mirrors and BS!
What most people don't realize is: the Tobacco Settlement Money is being paid for 100% by smokers who pay taxes on cigarettes. Not Big Tobacco and not the state, but smokers.
The state of Maine uses this money for their glutton pork programs and also formed a coalition called Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine. They are being paid big bucks to control, restrict and ban smokers in the state.
Minn also has a similar coalition. Then they put on a Help Quit Hot Line and their seedy anti-smoking ads on TV to justify their cushy paychecks. If the state wants to cut back and save money, they would get rid of this moulty group.
Also, two years ago, MASS used $175,000 of the cigarette tax money to build a huge golf course. Like Maine: Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine uses this money to sponsor "5" race tracks and 5 race teams across the state. Called "Kick Butts Racing." Nice waste of money there!
If Maine wants tobacco free, why don't they pull cigarettes off of every shelf across the state and be done with it. The lawmakers talk out of both sides of their mouths, and we are all finding this out. The lawmakers are making complete "butts" of themselves with this issue.
Did you catch that too? Since when is a legal commodity a contraband? Ridiculous.
The state of Maine has completed a tally of the revenue they expect this year. And boy, are they ever shocked at something in the forecast. Not surprisingly personal income taxes will bring in the most revenue, over a billion dollars. Second place goes to sales taxes, expected to bring in another $840 million dollars.
What is a surprise is what's coming in at third place, revenues from cigarette
taxes. Shazzaam! Yes, my friends, the taxes that Maine will collect from smokers will be the third-largest revenue generator. The state is going to take in $95 million dollars worth of loot from smokers. That puts tobacco tax revenues ahead of corporate income taxes - they're expected to bring in a mere $90 million. And cigarette taxes don't include Maine's portion of the tobacco settlement, estimated to bring in another $50 million a year.
Revenues from productivity, the work of corporations will now be surpassed by revenues from those sitting around sucking smoke. The state's economist, Laurie Lachance, was in shock. She said, "To think that our taxes on packages of cigarettes have passed the taxes on our corporations. It sounds like that can't be right, but it is. It's hard to fathom that cigarettes generate more revenue for the state, than corporations generate for the state."
Hey Laurie, what's really hard to fathom is that you, and so many others, don't even realize that the chief smoking addicts in the country are you guys in state government. Yeah, you're addicted to the money!
And what ticks us off is that the state can't balance the budget without increasing cigarette taxes. And smoker's are sick and tired of carrying the weight of the state on their shoulders.
I don't care if some people call it a sin tax or not. There is nothing sinful about using a legal product!
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