Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 094-0775
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Public Act 094-0775


 

Public Act 0775 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 094-0775
 
SB2302 Enrolled LRB094 18319 LCT 53630 b

    AN ACT concerning fire safety.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Cigarette Fire Safety Standard Act.
 
    Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    "Agent" means any person licensed by the Department of
Revenue to purchase and affix adhesive or meter stamps on
packages of cigarettes.
    "Cigarette" means any roll for smoking, whether made wholly
or in part of tobacco or any other substance, irrespective of
size or shape, and whether or not such tobacco or substance is
flavored, adulterated, or mixed with any other ingredient, the
wrapper or cover of which is made of paper or any other
substance or material except tobacco.
    "Manufacturer" means:
        (1) any entity that manufactures or otherwise produces
    cigarettes or causes cigarettes to be manufactured or
    produced anywhere that the manufacturer intends to be sold
    in this State, including cigarettes intended to be sold in
    the United States through an importer;
        (2) the first purchaser anywhere that intends to resell
    in the United States cigarettes manufactured anywhere that
    the original manufacturer or maker does not intend to be
    sold in the United States; or
        (3) any entity that becomes a successor of an entity
    described in items (1) or (2) of this definition.
    "Repeatability" means the range of values within which the
repeat results of cigarette test trials from a single
laboratory will fall 95% of the time.
    "Retail dealer" means any person, other than a manufacturer
or wholesale dealer, engaged in selling cigarettes or tobacco
products.
    "Sale" means any transfer of title or possession or both,
exchange or barter, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or
by any means whatever or any agreement therefor. In addition to
cash and credit sales, the giving of cigarettes as samples,
prizes, or gifts and the exchanging of cigarettes for any
consideration other than money are considered sales.
    "Sell" means to sell, or to offer or agree to do the same.
    "Quality control and quality assurance program" means the
laboratory procedures implemented to ensure that operator
bias, systematic and nonsystematic methodological errors, and
equipment-related problems do not affect the results of the
testing. This program ensures that the testing repeatability
remains within the required repeatability values stated in
subsection (e) of Section 15 of this Act for all test trials
used to certify cigarettes in accordance with this Act.
    "Wholesale dealer" means any person who sells cigarettes or
tobacco products to retail dealers or other persons for
purposes of resale, and any person who owns, operates, or
maintains one or more cigarette or tobacco product vending
machines in, at, or upon premises owned or occupied by any
other person.
 
    Section 10. General requirements.
    (a) On and after the effective date of this Act, no
cigarettes shall be sold or offered for sale to any person in
this State unless:
        (1) the cigarettes have been tested in accordance with
    the test method prescribed in Section 15 of this Act;
        (2) the cigarettes meet the performance standard
    specified in Section 20 of this Act; and
        (3) a written certification has been filed by the
    manufacturer with the Office of the State Fire Marshal and
    the Office of Attorney General in accordance with Section
    30 of this Act.
    (b) Nothing in this Act prohibits wholesale dealers or
retail dealers from selling their inventory of cigarettes
existing on the effective date of this Act, provided that the
wholesale dealer or retail dealer can establish that tax stamps
were affixed to the cigarettes pursuant to Section 3 of the
Cigarette Tax Act before the effective date of this Act, and
provided further that the wholesale dealer or retail dealer can
establish that the inventory was purchased before the effective
date of this Act in comparable quantity to the amount of
inventory purchased during the same period of the prior year.
    (c) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit any
person or entity from selling or offering for sale cigarettes
that have not been certified by the manufacturer in accordance
with Section 30 of this Act if the cigarettes are or will be
stamped for sale in another state or are packaged for sale
outside the United States.
 
    Section 15. Test method.
    (a) Testing of cigarettes shall be conducted in accordance
with the American Society of Testing and Materials ("ASTM")
standard E2187-04, "Standard Test Method for Measuring the
Ignition Strength of Cigarettes". The Office of the State Fire
Marshal may adopt a subsequent ASTM Standard Test Method for
Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes upon a finding
that the subsequent method does not result in a change in the
percentage of full-length burns exhibited by any tested
cigarette when compared to the percentage of full-length burns
the same cigarette would exhibit when tested in accordance with
ASTM Standard E2187-04 and the performance standard in Section
20 of this Act.
    (b) Testing shall be conducted on 10 layers of filter
paper.
    (c) Forty replicate tests shall comprise a complete test
trial for each cigarette tested.
    (d) The performance standard required by Section 20 of this
Act shall only be applied to a complete test trial.
    (e) Laboratories conducting testing in accordance with
this Section shall implement a quality control and quality
assurance program that includes a procedure that will determine
the repeatability of the testing results. The repeatability
value shall be no greater than 0.19 pursuant to Section 20 of
this Act.
    (f) This Section does not require additional testing if
cigarettes are tested consistent with this Act for any other
purpose.
 
    Section 20. Performance standard.
    (a) When tested in accordance with Section 15 of this Act,
no more than 25% of the cigarettes tested in a test trial shall
exhibit full-length burns.
    (b) Each cigarette listed in a certification submitted in
accordance with Section 30 of this Act that uses lowered
permeability bands in the cigarette paper to achieve compliance
with the performance standard set forth in subsection (a) of
this Section shall have at least 2 nominally identical bands on
the paper surrounding the tobacco column. At least one complete
band shall be located at least 15 millimeters from the lighting
end of the cigarette. For cigarettes on which the bands are
positioned by design, there shall be at least 2 bands fully
located at least 15 millimeters from the lighting end and
either (i) 10 millimeters from the filter end of the tobacco
column, or (ii) 10 millimeters from the labeled end of the
tobacco column for non-filtered cigarettes.
    (c) The manufacturer or manufacturers of a cigarette that
the Office of the State Fire Marshal determines cannot be
tested in accordance with the test method prescribed in Section
15 of this Act shall propose a test method and performance
standard for such cigarette to the Office of the State Fire
Marshal. Upon approval of the proposed test method and a
determination by the Office of the State Fire Marshal that the
performance standard proposed by the manufacturer or
manufacturers is equivalent to the performance standard
prescribed in subsection (a) of this Section, the manufacturer
or manufacturers may employ such test method and performance
standard to certify such cigarette in accordance with Section
30 of this Act. If the State Fire Marshal determines that
another state has enacted reduced cigarette ignition
propensity standards that include a test method and performance
standard that is the same as those contained in this Act, and
the State Fire Marshal finds that the officials responsible for
implementing those requirements have approved the proposed
alternative test method and performance standard for a
particular cigarette proposed by a manufacturer as meeting the
fire safety standards of that state's law or regulation under a
legal provision comparable to this subsection (c), then the
State Fire Marshal shall authorize that manufacturer to employ
the alternative test method and performance standard to certify
that cigarette for sale in this State, unless the State Fire
Marshal demonstrates a reasonable basis why the alternative
test should not be accepted under this Act. All other
applicable requirements of this Act shall apply to such
manufacturer or manufacturers.
    (d) This Act shall be implemented in accordance with the
implementation and substance of the New York Fire Safety
Standards for Cigarettes.
 
    Section 25. Test data. To ensure compliance with the
performance standard specified in Section 20 of this Act, data
from testing conducted by manufacturers to comply with this
performance standard shall be kept on file by the manufacturers
for a period of 3 years and shall be sent to the Office of the
State Fire Marshal upon its request and to the Office of the
Attorney General upon its request.
 
    Section 30. Certification.
    (a) Each manufacturer shall submit a written certification
attesting that:
        (1) each cigarette listed in the certification has been
    tested in accordance with Section 15 of this Act; and
        (2) each cigarette listed in the certification meets
    the performance standard set forth in Section 20 of this
    Act.
    (b) Each cigarette listed in the certification shall be
described with the following information:
        (1) brand (i.e., the trade name on the package);
        (2) style (e.g., light, ultra light);
        (3) length in millimeters;
        (4) circumference in millimeters;
        (5) flavor (e.g., menthol, chocolate) if applicable;
        (6) filter or non-filter;
        (7) package description (e.g., soft pack, box); and
        (8) marking approved in accordance with Section 40 of
    this Act.
    (c) Each cigarette certified under this Section shall be
re-certified every 3 years.
 
    Section 35. Notification of certification. Manufacturers
certifying cigarettes in accordance with Section 30 of this Act
shall provide a copy of the certifications to all wholesale
dealers and agents to which they sell cigarettes, and shall
also provide sufficient copies of an illustration of the
cigarette packaging marking used by the manufacturer in
accordance with Section 40 of this Act for each retail dealer
to which the wholesale dealers and agents sell cigarettes.
Wholesale dealers and agents shall provide a copy of these
cigarette packaging markings received from manufacturers to
all retail dealers to which they sell cigarettes. Wholesale
dealers, agents, and retail dealers shall permit the Office of
the State Fire Marshal, Department of Revenue, and the Office
of the Attorney General to inspect markings of cigarette
packaging marked in accordance with Section 40 of this Act.
 
    Section 40. Marking of cigarette packaging.
    (a) Cigarettes that have been certified by a manufacturer
in accordance with Section 30 of this Act shall be marked to
indicate compliance with the requirements of this Act. The
marking shall be in 8-point type or larger and consist of:
        (1) modification of the product UPC Code to include a
    visible mark printed at or around the area of the UPC Code.
    The mark may consist of an alphanumeric or symbolic
    character or characters permanently stamped, engraved,
    embossed, or printed in conjunction with the UPC Code;
        (2) any visible alphanumeric or symbolic character or
    combination of alphanumeric or symbolic characters
    permanently stamped, engraved, or embossed upon the
    cigarette package or cellophane wrap; or
        (3) printed, stamped, engraved, or embossed text that
    indicates that the cigarettes meet the standards of this
    Act.
    (b) A manufacturer must use only one marking, and must
apply this marking uniformly for all packages including, but
not limited to, packs, cartons, and cases and to brands
marketed by that manufacturer.
    (c) The Office of the State Fire Marshal must be notified
as to the marking that is selected.
    (d) Prior to the certification of any cigarette, a
manufacturer shall present its proposed marking to the Office
of the State Fire Marshal for approval. Upon receipt of the
request, the Office of the State Fire Marshal shall approve or
disapprove the marking offered. A marking in use and approved
for the sale of cigarettes in the State of New York shall be
deemed approved. Proposed markings shall be deemed approved if
the Office of the State Fire Marshal fails to act within 10
business days of receiving a request for approval.
    (e) No manufacturer shall modify its approved marking
unless the modification has been approved by the Office of the
State Fire Marshal in accordance with this Section.
 
    Section 45. Penalties; Cigarette Fire Safety Standard Act
Fund.
    (a) Any manufacturer, wholesale dealer, agent, or other
person or entity who knowingly sells cigarettes wholesale in
violation of item (3) of subsection (a) of Section 10 of this
Act shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000
for each sale of the cigarettes. Any retail dealer who
knowingly sells cigarettes in violation of Section 10 of this
Act shall be subject to the following: (i) a civil penalty not
to exceed $500 for each sale or offer for sale of cigarettes,
provided that the total number of cigarettes sold or offered
for sale in such sale does not exceed 1,000 cigarettes; (ii) a
civil penalty not to exceed $1,000 for each sale or offer for
sale of the cigarettes, provided that the total number of
cigarettes sold or offered for sale in such sale exceeds 1,000
cigarettes.
    (b) In addition to any penalty prescribed by law, any
corporation, partnership, sole proprietor, limited
partnership, or association engaged in the manufacture of
cigarettes that knowingly makes a false certification pursuant
to Section 30 of this Act shall be subject to a civil penalty
not to exceed $10,000 for each false certification.
    (c) Upon discovery by the Office of the State Fire Marshal,
the Department of Revenue, the Office of the Attorney General,
or a law enforcement agency that any person offers, possesses
for sale, or has made a sale of cigarettes in violation of
Section 10 of this Act, the Office of the State Fire Marshal,
the Department of Revenue, the Office of the Attorney General,
or the law enforcement agency may seize those cigarettes
possessed in violation of this Act.
    (d) The Cigarette Fire Safety Standard Act Fund is
established as a special fund in the State treasury. The Fund
shall consist of all moneys recovered by the Attorney General
from the assessment of civil penalties authorized by this
Section. The moneys in the Fund shall, in addition to any
moneys made available for such purpose, be available, subject
to appropriation, to the Office of the State Fire Marshal for
the purpose of fire safety and prevention programs.
 
    Section 50. Enforcement. To enforce the provisions of this
Act, the Attorney General may bring an action on behalf of the
people of this State to enjoin acts in violation of this Act
and to recover civil penalties authorized under Section 45 of
this Act.
 
    Section 55. Administration. The Office of the State Fire
Marshal shall be responsible for administering the provisions
of this Act.
 
    Section 60. Applicability. This Act shall cease to be
applicable if federal fire safety standards for cigarettes that
preempt this Act are enacted and take effect subsequent to the
effective date of this Act and the State Fire Marshal so
notifies the Secretary of State.
 
    Section 900. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.663 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 105/5.663 new)
    Sec. 5.663. The Cigarette Fire Safety Standard Act Fund.
 
    Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect January
1, 2008.

Effective Date: 1/1/2008