AB 3218

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law prohibits a person from selling or otherwise furnishing tobacco products, as defined, to a person under 21 years of age. Existing law, the Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act, provides for enforcement of that prohibition by the Attorney General. Existing law prohibits a tobacco retailer, as defined, from offering for sale any flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer, as specified. This bill would require the Attorney General to, by no later than December 31, 2025, establish and maintain on the Attorney General's internet website a list of tobacco product brand styles that lack a characterizing flavor, as defined. This bill would require each manufacturer or importer of tobacco products to submit to the Attorney General a list of all brand styles, as defined, of tobacco products that they manufacture or import for sale or distribution in or into California. The bill would require a manufacturer or importer that submits a product pursuant to these provisions to, under penalty of perjury, describe each brand style, brand, and product category, as specified, describe, for each brand style, if a formal authorization, approval, or order from the United States Food and Drug Administration has been sought and its status, if applicable, and certify that each brand style lacks a characterizing flavor. By expanding the scope of the crime of perjury, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would require a fee for each submission and renewal of a brand style for the costs incurred by the Attorney General for processing the submissions, and operating the list, as specified. The bill would create the California Unflavored Tobacco List Fund for the collection of these fees, and would continuously appropriate these fees to the Attorney General for the purposes above, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the Attorney General to determine whether each brand style has a characterizing flavor, as specified. The bill would require any manufacturer or importer that submits a brand style in this way to, among other things, consent to the jurisdiction of the California courts for the purpose of enforcing these provisions and to appoint an agent for service of process, as specified. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to seek injunctive relief and a civil penalty up to $50,000 against any manufacturer or importer who falsely certifies that brand style determined to have a characteristic flavor, lacks a characteristic flavor. This bill would refine the definitions of characteristic flavor and tobacco product for purposes of the prohibition and these provisions. This bill would prohibit a distributor or wholesaler from selling any tobacco product not listed on the Unflavored Tobacco List or any tobacco product flavor enhancer to any person, as specified, for sale in the state and would prohibit a delivery seller from selling a tobacco product not listed on the Unflavored Tobacco List or a tobacco product flavor enhancer to a consumer in California. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to assess civil penalties, as specified, for violations of these prohibitions. This bill would authorize the Attorney General to recover reasonable attorney's fees, investigative costs, and other related costs, against a nonprevailing party in a civil action brought pursuant to these provisions. The bill would require moneys recovered by the Attorney General in an action pursuant to these provisions to be deposited in the Public Rights Law Enforcement Special Fund, as specified. This bill would also ban the retail sale of any tobacco product not on the Unflavored Tobacco List, as specified. The bill would authorize the California Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency that discovers that a retailer possesses, stores, owns, or has made a retail sale of flavored tobacco products or tobacco product flavor enhancers to seize those products, as specified. Under the bill, seized products would be delivered to the department within 30 days and deemed forfeited to the state. The bill would require the department to issue a civil penalty against the retailer equal to $50 per individual package of flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer seized or delivered to the department, with increasing penalties for subsequent seizures. If a wholesaler possesses, stores, or owns, or has made a sale of, a tobacco product not on the Unflavored Tobacco List or a tobacco product flavor enhancer, the bill would authorize the department to seize the tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer and would require the department to impose a civil penalty if the property is seized, as specified. If a distributor or other person has made a sale of a tobacco product not on the Unflavored Tobacco List or a tobacco product flavor enhancer, or a wholesaler has made a sale of a tobacco product not on the Unflavored Tobacco List or a tobacco product flavor enhancer and the department or a local law enforcement agency has not seized the product, the bill would require the department to issue a warning for a first offense, suspend their license for a second offense, and revoke their license for a third offense. Existing law, the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law, generally prohibits the retail sale of cigarettes in California unless the sale is a vendor-assisted, face-to-face sale. Existing law authorizes the delivery sale of cigarettes or tobacco products if specified conditions are met. This bill would refine the definition of cigarette for the purpose of these provisions, and would expand that prohibition to include the sale of tobacco products. The bill would require a delivery seller of cigarettes or tobacco products to comply with any applicable state law or local ordinance that imposes restrictions on the retail sale of cigarettes or tobacco products directly to the public from a retail location as if the delivery sale occurred entirely within the state and place. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 104559.5 of the Health and Safety Code proposed by SB 1230 to be operative only if this bill and SB 1230 are enacted and this bill is enacted last. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.