A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to increase the tax for cigarettes and other tobacco products and to provide increased funds to meet the mental health, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse service needs of citizens of the state.
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. – 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 one‑half cents (5.5¢) per individual cigarette.
(b)	Use. – Of the funds collected pursuant to this section and G.S. 105‑113.6, as adjusted for any discounts or refunds allowed pursuant to G.S. 105‑113.21, the Secretary shall deposit an amount equal to the rate of three hundred seventy‑five thousandths cents (.375¢) per individual cigarette to the Trust Fund for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services and Bridge Funding Needs established pursuant to G.S. 143C‑9‑2, and the Secretary shall deposit the remainder of the funds to the General Fund."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 105‑113.35 reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Tax. – An excise tax is levied on tobacco products other than cigarettes at the rate of thirty‑one percent (31%) of the cost price of the products. This tax does not apply to the following:
(1)	A tobacco product sold outside the State.
(2)	A tobacco product sold to the federal government.
(3)	A sample tobacco product distributed without charge.
…
(e)	Use. – Of the funds collected pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall deposit an amount equal to twenty‑two percent (22%) of the cost price of the products to the General Fund, the Secretary shall deposit an amount equal to two percent (2%) of the cost price of the products to the Trust Fund for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services and Bridge Funding Needs established pursuant to G.S. 143C‑9‑2, and the Secretary shall remit the remainder of the funds to the University Cancer Research Fund established pursuant to G.S. 116‑29.1."
SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2009.