(35 ILCS 135/7a)

Sec. 7a. Discretionary secondary distributor's license. The Department may, in its discretion, upon application, issue a secondary distributor's license to persons who are not required to be licensed as secondary distributors of cigarettes in this State, but who elect to qualify under this Act as secondary distributors of cigarettes. Such secondary distributor shall be issued, without charge, a license to make sales for resale to Illinois retailers, subject to such reasonable requirements as the Department shall prescribe. Each applicant for a license under this Section shall furnish the following information to the Department on a form signed and verified by the applicant under penalty of perjury:

(a) the name and address of the applicant;

(b) the address of the location at which the applicant proposes to engage in business as a secondary distributor of cigarettes; and

(c) such other additional information as the Department may reasonably require.

A separate application for license shall be made for each place of business at or from which the applicant proposes to act as a secondary distributor under this Act and for which the applicant is not required to procure a license as a secondary distributor under the Cigarette Tax Act or Cigarette Use Tax Act.

The following are ineligible to receive a secondary distributor's license under this Act:

(1) a person who is not of good character and reputation in the community in which he resides;

(2) a person who has been convicted of a felony under any Federal or State law, if the Department, after investigation and a hearing, if requested by the applicant, determines that such person has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust;

(3) a corporation, if any officer, manager or director thereof, or any stockholder or stockholders owning in the aggregate more than 5% of the stock of such corporation, would not be eligible to receive a license hereunder for any reason;

(4) a person who manufactures cigarettes, whether in this State or out of this State;

(5) a person, or any person who owns more than 15 percent of the ownership interests in a person or a related party who:

(A) owes, at the time of application, any delinquent cigarette taxes that have been determined by law to be due and unpaid, unless the license applicant has entered into an agreement approved by the Department to pay the amount due;

(B) had a license under this Act or the Cigarette Tax Act revoked within the past 2 years by the Department for misconduct relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes or has been convicted of a State or federal crime, punishable by imprisonment of one year or more, relating to stolen or contraband cigarettes;

(C) has been found by the Department, after notice and a hearing, to have imported or caused to be imported into the United States for sale or distribution any cigarette in violation of 19 U.S.C. 1681a;

(D) has been found by the Department, after notice and a hearing, to have imported or caused to be imported into the United States for sale or distribution or manufactured for sale or distribution in the United States any cigarette that does not fully comply with the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (15 U.S.C. 1331, et seq.); or

(E) has been found by the Department, after notice and a hearing, to have made a material false statement in the application or has failed to produce records required to be maintained by this Act.

Upon approval of such application, the Department shall issue a license to the applicant. Such license shall permit the applicant to engage in business as a secondary distributor at or from the place shown in his application. All licenses issued by the Department under this Act shall be valid for not to exceed one year after issuance unless sooner revoked, canceled or suspended as in this Act provided. No license issued under this Act is transferable or assignable. Such license shall be conspicuously displayed at the place of business for which it is issued.

No secondary distributor licensee acquires any vested interest or compensable property right in a license issued under this Act.

A licensed secondary distributor shall notify the Department of any change in the information contained on the application form, including any change in ownership, and shall do so within 30 days after any such change.

Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Department under this Section may, within 20 days after notice of the decision, protest and request a hearing. Upon receiving a request for a hearing, the Department shall give notice to the person requesting the hearing of the time and place fixed for the hearing and shall hold a hearing in conformity with the provisions of this Act and then issue its final administrative decision in the matter to that person. In the absence of a protest and request for a hearing within 20 days, the Department's decision shall become final without any further determination being made or notice given.

Such authority and license may be suspended, canceled or revoked whenever the licensee violates any provision of this Act or any lawful rule or regulation issued by the Department pursuant to this Act or is determined to be ineligible for a secondary distributor's permit under this Act as provided in this Section, or whenever the licensee shall notify the Department in writing of his desire to have the license canceled. The Department shall have the power, in its discretion, to issue a new license after such suspension, cancellation or revocation, except when the person who would receive the license is ineligible to receive a secondary distributor's license under this Act.

(Source: P.A. 96-1027, eff. 7-12-10.)