the reserve fund can be released only under specified circumstances; (3) the
manufacturers must annually certify to the Attorney General that they are. in
compliance with the provisions of this bill; and (4) if a manufacturer fails to comply
with the provisions of this bill, civil action may be brought against it by the State,
with monetary penalties and a possible prohibition from selling its products in
Maryland for a specified period of time.

Senate Bill 305, which was passed by the General Assembly and signed by me on
April 27, 1999, accomplishes the same purpose. Therefore, it is not necessary for me
to sign House Bill 671.

Sincerely,

Parris N. Glendening
Governor

House Bill 671

AN ACT concerning

Tobacco Product Manufacturers - Settlement of State Claims -
Nonparticipating Manufacturers - Deposits of Funds in Escrow - Model

Statute

FOR the purpose of enacting the model statute provided by the Master Settlement
Agreement between the State of Maryland and certain tobacco product
manufacturers in the United States to create a reserve fund for a certain
purpose for those manufacturers who do not enter into the settlement; requiring
tobacco product manufacturers that sell cigarettes to consumers in the State to
either become a participant in the settlement agreement or to deposit certain
amounts of funds, calculated on the basis of certain formulas, into escrow
accounts in certain financial institutions for certain years; providing for the
circumstances under which the funds in the escrow accounts may be released;
requiring tobacco product manufacturers who place funds in escrow accounts to
make a certain annual certification to the Attorney General; providing for
certain penalties for those manufacturers who fail to comply with .the
certification requirement; providing that the penalties shall be paid over to the
General Fund of the State; and relating generally to tobacco product
manufacturers and certain required deposits of funds into escrow accounts.

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

1. Findings and Purpose.

(a) Cigarette smoking presents serious public health concerns to the State and
to the citizens of the State. The United States Surgeon General has determined that
smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases, and that there
are hundreds of thousands of tobacco-related deaths in the United States each year.
These diseases most often do not appear until many years after the person in
question begins smoking.