MO SB629

Any tobacco product manufacturer selling cigarettes in Missouri must either become a participating manufacturer under the Master Settlement Agreement or place funds into a qualified escrow account with per-unit amounts ranging from $0.0094241 (1999) to $0.0188482 (2007 and thereafter), adjusted for inflation.

Escrow funds may be released to pay judgments or settlements against the manufacturer, or to the extent the manufacturer proves its escrow obligation exceeded what it would have owed as a participating manufacturer under Master Settlement Agreement section IX(i) including all final adjustments.

Unreleased escrow funds revert to the tobacco product manufacturer 25 years after being placed into escrow.

Manufacturers must annually certify compliance to the Attorney General; violations result in civil penalties up to 5 percent per day (100 percent total) for unintentional violations and up to 15 percent per day (300 percent total) for knowing violations, plus potential 2-year sales prohibition for second knowing violations.

The act takes effect immediately upon passage and approval as an emergency measure.