RICHMOND, Va. – A Virginia state senator has proposed a bill that would require retailers and wholesalers to obtain a state license to sell cigarettes. While the bill has cleared the Senate, it’s not expected to pass the House, due to objections over increased government regulations and taxes. The impetus for the bill, according to the Washington Post, is a recent report linking Virginia cigarette smuggling to terrorist organizations.

Currently, there is no need for a license to sell cigarettes in Virginia. The proposed bill would create a retail dealer’s license for the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. For retailers, the license would cost $150 a year. For wholesale distributors, it would be $750 for three years. The person seeking the license would be subject to a criminal background check and wholesalers would have to begin keeping records of retailers who purchase from them, something that is not done now.

The bill would also transfer authority for regulating cigarette and tobacco sales from the Department of Taxation to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Virginia has the second-lowest cigarette taxes in the nation at 30 cents a pack, or $3 for a carton. Because of the difference in taxes between Virginia and other East Coast states, cigarette trafficking can be a profitable criminal enterprise, with reports showing the black market profits may be funneled to terrorist groups. 

While skeptics of the bill said they are concerned about smuggling, they are more concerned about the burden it would place on wholesalers and retailers.