Pennsylvania HB 2295: An Act amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, in cigarette sales and licensing, further providing for definitions, for licensing of retailers and for transfer of licenses.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 3020
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No. 2295
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY WAXMAN, FREEMAN, POWELL, HOHENSTEIN, PIELLI,
CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, SAMUELSON AND MERSKI, MARCH 16, 2026
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, MARCH 18, 2026
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
"An act relating to the finances of the State government;
providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
financial management firms, for private dam financial
assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
department, board, commission, and officer of the State
government, every political subdivision of the State, and
certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
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Commonwealth," in cigarette sales and licensing, further
providing for definitions, for licensing of retailers and for
transfer of licenses.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 202-A of the act of April 9, 1929
(P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by
adding definitions to read:
Section 202-A. Definitions.--As used in this article--
* * *
"Recreational place" shall mean a public or private park,
playground, playfield, swimming pool, indoor recreation center
or gymnasium.
* * *
"Youth center" shall mean a public or private recreational
facility or gymnasium that is intended primarily for use by
individuals who are under eighteen years of age and that
regularly provides athletic, civic or cultural activities.
Section 2. Sections 206-A and 209-A of the act are amended
to read:
Section 206-A. Licensing of Retailers.--(a) Applicants for
retail license or renewal thereof before January 1, 2027, shall
meet the following requirements:
(1) The premises in which the applicant proposes to conduct
business are adequate to protect the revenues.
(2) The applicant shall not have failed to disclose any
material information required by the department, including
information that the applicant has complied with this article by
providing a signed statement, under penalty of perjury, of
adherence to State presumptive minimum prices or written
approval from the department to sell at a specific different
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price.
(3) The applicant shall not have any material false
statement in the application.
(4) The applicant shall not have violated any provision of
this article.
(5) The applicant shall have filed all required State tax
reports and paid any State taxes not subject to a timely
perfected administrative or judicial appeal or subject to a duly
authorized deferred payment plan.
(b) Applicants for retail license or renewal thereof on or
after January 1, 2027, shall meet the following requirements:
(1) The premises in which the applicant proposes to conduct
business:
(i) are adequate to protect the revenues;
(ii) are not located within five hundred feet of the
property line of a public, private or parochial school, day-care
center, youth center or recreational place; and
(iii) are not located within five hundred feet of the
property line of another licensee.
(2) The applicant shall not have failed to disclose any
material information required by the department, including
information that the applicant has complied with this article by
providing a signed statement, under penalty