A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase to the national average the rate of tax on cigarettes and to credit the net proceeds of this increase to the mental health trust fund, as recommended by the joint legislative oversight committee on mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse services.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 105‑113.5 reads as rewritten:
"§ 105‑113.5.  Tax on cigarettes.
A tax is levied on the sale or possession for sale in this State, by a distributor, of all cigarettes at the rate of five and ninety‑five hundredths cents (5.95¢) per individual cigarette. The Secretary shall credit the net proceeds collected under this Part as follows:
(1)	Seventy percent (70%) to the Trust Fund for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services and Bridge Funding Needs established under G.S. 143C‑9‑2.
(2)	Thirty percent (30%) to the General Fund."
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.