A State Supreme Court judge has issued a restraining order which prevents the new Indian cigarette law from being enforced until a hearing next month.

Margaret A. Murphy, a former Buffalo city judge who is representing Seneca tobacco merchant Scott Maybee and Day Wholesale of Tupper Lake asked for the temporary restraining order because the Department of Taxation and Finance had not set up all necessary rules. Those rules include an exemption for Indians from having to pay taxes on cigarettes purchased on Indian nations’ territories.
Murphy said other states have “shown respect for the sovereignty of tribal governments” and have negotiated tax compacts with tribal leaders. Officials in New York have taken another tactic, she added.
State Supreme Court justice Rose Sconiers, who signed the order, scheduled a hearing on 27 January for state officials to show why she shouldn't issue a permanent injunction against the law.
On 14 December, Governor David A. Paterson signed legislation requiring cigarette wholesalers to prove to manufacturers that they are complying with rules that require the payment of taxes on tobacco sold to non-Native Americans. The law was to go into effect 60 days after Paterson signed it. (pi)