This report is
designed for use by all Texas
law enforcement agencies to report criminal investigations of Senate
Bill 55 regarding retail tobacco compliance; it is NOT for reporting
"minor in posession of tobacco"
violations. (See below for M.I.P.
Tobacco Monthly Summary report form)
This report applies
to all Texas
law enforcement agencies that engage in retail tobacco compliance
inspections or minor-led sting operations. The law enforcement
agency must report all inspections & stings by the 10th of the
month following the month of activity.
This report form
has been revised to make report submission much simpler on the part of
the officer, and includes updates for the recent "outdoor
advertising" legislation changes.
- Agencies are no longer
required to submit copies of citations with the report. If a
citation is issued, the "yes" and the
"citation" box should both be "checked" and
the citation number should be recorded in the space provided. Your agency’s citation numbers must be
unique identifiers to reflect a specific ticket,
as repeat numbers will not be accepted. Citations MUST be
kept as a part of your agency’s tobacco enforcement files and
should be available for inspection in case of an audit.
- Reporting officers are
no longer required to note if a "warning" is issued. Enforcement emphasis should be on
issuing citations rather than warnings.
- The 78th Legislature,
via HB 2424, made "placing or authorizing the placement of an
outdoor sign that advertises cigarettes or tobacco products within
1000 feet of a church or school" a Class C misdemeanor, and
enforceable by local law enforcement officers. The
Inspection/Sting report now incorporates this as a part of an
inspection or controlled buy.
- Please note: ONLY adult
peace officers can serve as an escort on a tobacco sting, AND it
is highly advised that the escort attempt to witness the buy
attempt as this officer's sworn testimony may preclude, with the
agreement of the court, the minor decoy from having to testify in
open court and thereby divulging his/her identity.
- A statement has been
added to PART 5 indicating that the person signing the report
affirms that they are TCLEOSE certified and the report is a true
and accurate representation of the law enforcement investigation
& actions undertaken.
- Continue to report ONLY
one (1) inspection OR "controlled buy" per report. Do
not report an inspection and controlled buy on the same report.
- Since expired permits
and sales of unpackaged cigarettes, or "loosies,"
are tax code violations, this revised form continues to have the
notation "if ‘yes’ CPA notified." At the bottom of the
reporting form, the web address is included to locate Comptroller
Field Office information.
FORM
INSTRUCTIONS:
Texas Cigarette / Tobacco Inspection Report
When
conducting a COMPLIANCE INSPECTION:
· Complete ONLY Part 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6. (DO NOT complete Part 4.)
o
Part 1: Provide the exact date and time at
which the enforcement activity took place.
o
Part 2: Provide the tobacco retailers permit
information.
Note: This information should be obtained
from the actual permit that is located in the retail location, and not
pre-filled based on permit list received from the Comptroller’s Office
or Texas STEP. Tobacco permit
numbers can be verified by contacting your local Comptroller’s Field
Office. Contact numbers can be
obtained at www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/fieldofc.html.
o
Part 3: Provide the results of the
inspection. ALL questions must
be answered. If a citation is
written, the citation number must be provided.
Note: If a violation is found regarding a
tax code violation (#8 and #9), you must notify your local Comptroller’s
Field Office. Contact numbers
can be obtained at www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/fieldofc.html.
o
Part 4: Leave this section blank when
conducting a Compliance Inspection.
o
Part 5: If a citation was issued during this
enforcement activity, provide all required court information. This information is utilized to
follow up on citations that are written.
o
Part 6: Provide Law Enforcement Agency /
Officer Information for verification and follow-up contact purposes.
When
conducting a CONTROLLED BUY:
· Complete ONLY Part 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6. (DO NOT complete Part 3.)
o
Part 1: Provide the exact date and time at
which the enforcement activity took place.
o
Part 2: Provide the tobacco retailers permit
information.
Note: This information should be obtained
from the actual permit that is located in the retail location and not
pre-filled based on permit list received from the Comptroller’s Office
or Texas STEP. Tobacco permit
numbers can be verified by contacting your local Comptroller’s Field
Office. Contact numbers can be
obtained at www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/fieldofc.html.
o
Part 3: Leave this section blank when
conducting a Controlled Buy.
o
Part 4: Provide the results of the controlled
buy. ALL questions must be
answered. If a citation is
written, the citation number must be provided.
o
Part 5: If a citation was issued during this
enforcement activity, provide all required court information. This information is utilized to
follow up on citations that are written.
o
Part 6: Provide Law Enforcement Agency /
Officer Information for verification and follow-up contact purposes.
Submit your
report to Texas
STEP by the 10th of the month following the activity:
Return completed report to:
Texas STEP
P.O.
Box 1328
San Marcos,
Texas 78667-1328
Or fax completed report to: 512-245-8066
It is
recommended that ALL law enforcement agencies maintain copies of your
submitted reports, and if reports are submitted by fax, the fax
confirmation sheets as well.
Texas STEP’s Model of Enforcement specifies that
compliance inspections are conducted separate from controlled buys.
When performed in this manner, the outcome of controlled buys will be a
more accurate reflection of retailer compliance in your community.
These changes
should lessen the time required for report preparation and submission,
which will enable officers to spend more time on tobacco enforcement
rather than preparing paperwork.
DUE DATES
for ALL tobacco enforcement investigatory reports:
All reports
on enforcement investigations & activities undertaken, whether
"inspections," "stings," or "M.I.P."reports, are due on the 10th day of the
month following the month of activity
|
September enforcement:
|
October 10th
|
|
October enforcement:
|
November 10th
|
|
November enforcement:
|
December 10th
|
|
December enforcement:
|
January 10th
|
|
January enforcement:
|
February 10th
|
|
February enforcement:
|
March 10th
|
|
March enforcement:
|
April 10th
|
|
April enforcement:
|
May 10th
|
|
May enforcement:
|
June 10th
|
|
June enforcement:
|
July 10th
|
|
July enforcement:
|
August 10th
|
|
August enforcement:
|
September 10th
|
If you have any
questions, please contact Texas
STEP at
1-888-STEP 123.
As of November 17,
2003, a revised monthly summary report form is available for reporting
"Minor in Possession of Tobacco Products."
This report can be
filled out by a designated agency representative, or distributed to all
officers engaged in tobacco enforcement. In response to
your feedback, Texas STEP has revised the MIP Tobacco reporting process
to be simpler. Please note the following criteria:
- Agencies now provide
the completed MIP Tobacco Summary form along with a listing of
citation numbers for that month’s issued MIP tobacco citations.
- Part 3 has been revised
to allow agencies to list up to 16 citation numbers, and/or attach
additional page(s) that lists the citation numbers. Your agency’s citation numbers must be
unique identifiers to reflect a specific ticket,
as repeated citation numbers will not be accepted.
- Reporting agencies no
longer need to submit copies of issued citations, however,
citations MUST be kept as a part of your agency’s tobacco
enforcement files and should be available for inspection in case
of a grant audit or follow-up investigation by the Comptroller's
Office.
- A statement has been
added to PART 4 indicating that the person signing the report affirms
that the report is a true and accurate representation of the law
enforcement investigation & actions undertaken.
- All parts of the report
should be completed and the report must be signed in order for the
report to be valid.
This change should
lessen the time required for report preparation and submission, which
will enable officers to spend more time on tobacco enforcement rather
than preparing paperwork.
DUE
DATES for ALL tobacco enforcement investigative reports:
All reports on
enforcement investigations & activities undertaken, whether
"inspections," "stings," or "M.I.P."
summary reports, are due on the 10th day of the month following the
month of activity
|
Month of Enforcement
|
Report Due Date
|
|
September:
|
October 10th
|
|
October:
|
November 10th
|
|
November:
|
December 10th
|
|
December:
|
January 10th
|
|
January:
|
February 10th
|
|
February:
|
March 10th
|
|
March:
|
April 10th
|
|
April:
|
May 10th
|
|
May:
|
June 10th
|
|
June:
|
July 10th
|
|
July:
|
August 10th
|
|
August:
|
September 10th
|
This report
is generated by Texas STEP and distributed to each agency that receives
a CPA block grant approximately 30 days prior to the due date.
If your
grant contact has not received the "Compliance Education Quarterly
Summary - Local Law Enforcement" report for your grant within 15
days of it being due, contact Texas
STEP toll-free at 1-888-STEP-123.
The
quarterly summary report is for reporting ONLY compliance education and
prevention activities. It consist of three reporting tools, a "Compliance Education Quarterly Summary
- Local Law Enforcement"
report form, a "Financial Status" report form,
and a "Verification of Grant Contact" form.
The "Compliance Education Quarterly
Summary" report is NOT used for reporting ANY type of
enforcement activities, such as compliance inspections, controlled
buys, or MIP Tobacco citations.
These enforcement
activities are reported monthly with the "Inspection/Sting -
Texas Cigarette/Tobacco Inspection" report or the "MIP
Tobacco Monthly Summary" report
"Compliance Education
Quarterly Summary" reports are due:
