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.

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
 1   Amending the act of April 9, 1929 (P.L.343, No.176), entitled
 2      "An act relating to the finances of the State government;
 3      providing for cancer control, prevention and research, for
 4      ambulatory surgical center data collection, for the Joint
 5      Underwriting Association, for entertainment business
 6      financial management firms, for private dam financial
 7      assurance and for reinstatement of item vetoes; providing for
 8      the settlement, assessment, collection, and lien of taxes,
 9      bonus, and all other accounts due the Commonwealth, the
10      collection and recovery of fees and other money or property
11      due or belonging to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
12      including escheated property and the proceeds of its sale,
13      the custody and disbursement or other disposition of funds
14      and securities belonging to or in the possession of the
15      Commonwealth, and the settlement of claims against the
16      Commonwealth, the resettlement of accounts and appeals to the
17      courts, refunds of moneys erroneously paid to the
18      Commonwealth, auditing the accounts of the Commonwealth and
19      all agencies thereof, of all public officers collecting
20      moneys payable to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
21      and all receipts of appropriations from the Commonwealth,
22      authorizing the Commonwealth to issue tax anticipation notes
23      to defray current expenses, implementing the provisions of
24      section 7(a) of Article VIII of the Constitution of
25      Pennsylvania authorizing and restricting the incurring of
26      certain debt and imposing penalties; affecting every
27      department, board, commission, and officer of the State
28      government, every political subdivision of the State, and
29      certain officers of such subdivisions, every person,
30      association, and corporation required to pay, assess, or
31      collect taxes, or to make returns or reports under the laws
32      imposing taxes for State purposes, or to pay license fees or
33      other moneys to the Commonwealth, or any agency thereof,
34      every State depository and every debtor or creditor of the
 1      Commonwealth," in cigarette sales and licensing, further
 2      providing for definitions, for licensing of retailers and for
 3      transfer of licenses.
 4      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 5   hereby enacts as follows:
 6      Section 1.    Section 202-A of the act of April 9, 1929
 7   (P.L.343, No.176), known as The Fiscal Code, is amended by
 8   adding definitions to read:
 9      Section 202-A.    Definitions.--As used in this article--
10      * * *
11      "Recreational place" shall mean a public or private park,
12   playground, playfield, swimming pool, indoor recreation center
13   or gymnasium.
14      * * *
15      "Youth center" shall mean a public or private recreational
16   facility or gymnasium that is intended primarily for use by
17   individuals who are under eighteen years of age and that
18   regularly provides athletic, civic or cultural activities.
19      Section 2.    Sections 206-A and 209-A of the act are amended
20   to read:
21      Section 206-A.    Licensing of Retailers.--(a)   Applicants for
22   retail license or renewal thereof before January 1, 2027, shall
23   meet the following requirements:
24      (1)     The premises in which the applicant proposes to conduct
25   business are adequate to protect the revenues.
26      (2)     The applicant shall not have failed to disclose any
27   material information required by the department, including
28   information that the applicant has complied with this article by
29   providing a signed statement, under penalty of perjury, of
30   adherence to State presumptive minimum prices or written
31   approval from the department to sell at a specific different


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 1   price.
 2      (3)    The applicant shall not have any material false
 3   statement in the application.
 4      (4)    The applicant shall not have violated any provision of
 5   this article.
 6      (5)    The applicant shall have filed all required State tax
 7   reports and paid any State taxes not subject to a timely
 8   perfected administrative or judicial appeal or subject to a duly
 9   authorized deferred payment plan.
10      (b)    Applicants for retail license or renewal thereof on or
11   after January 1, 2027, shall meet the following requirements:
12      (1)    The premises in which the applicant proposes to conduct
13   business:
14      (i)    are adequate to protect the revenues;
15      (ii)     are not located within five hundred feet of the
16   property line of a public, private or parochial school, day-care
17   center, youth center or recreational place; and
18      (iii)    are not located within five hundred feet of the
19   property line of another licensee.
20      (2)    The applicant shall not have failed to disclose any
21   material information required by the department, including
22   information that the applicant has complied with this article by
23   providing a signed statement, under penalty of perjury, of
24   adherence to State presumptive minimum prices or written
25   approval from the department to sell at a specific different
26   price.
27      (3)    The applicant shall not have any material false
28   statement in the application.
29      (4)    The applicant shall not have violated any provision of
30   this article.

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 1      (5)   The applicant shall have filed all required State tax
 2   reports and paid any State taxes not subject to a timely
 3   perfected administrative or judicial appeal or subject to a duly
 4   authorized deferred payment plan.
 5      Section 209-A.   Transfer of Licenses.--The department may
 6   permit a dealer, under such conditions as the department may
 7   impose by regulation, to transfer a license from one location to
 8   another or from one cigarette vending machine to another, if the
 9   license transfer meets the requirements of section 206-A(b)(1).
10      Section 3.   This act shall take effect immediately.




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