SECTIONS 22980-22983 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 22980-22983

22980. (a) (1) Any peace officer, or board employee granted limited
peace officer status pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of
Section 830.11 of the Penal Code, upon presenting appropriate
credentials, is authorized to enter any place as described in
paragraph (3) and to conduct inspections in accordance with the
following paragraphs, inclusive.
(2) Inspections shall be performed in a reasonable manner and at
times that are reasonable under the circumstances, taking into
consideration the normal business hours of the place to be entered.
(3) Inspections may be at any place at which cigarettes or tobacco
products are sold, produced, or stored or at any site where evidence
of activities involving evasion of cigarette or tobacco products tax
and violations of Section 30165.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code
may be discovered.
(4) Inspections shall be requested or conducted no more than once
in a 24-hour period.
(b) Any person that refuses to allow an inspection shall be
subject to the penalties imposed pursuant to Section 22981.

22980.1. (a) No manufacturer or importer shall sell cigarettes or
tobacco products to a distributor, wholesaler, retailer, or any other
person who is not licensed pursuant to this division or whose
license has been suspended or revoked.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), no distributor or
wholesaler shall sell cigarettes or tobacco products to a retailer,
wholesaler, distributor, or any other person who is not licensed
pursuant to this division or whose license has been suspended or
revoked.
(2) This subdivision does not apply to any sale of cigarettes or
tobacco products by a distributor, wholesaler, or any other person to
a retailer, wholesaler, distributor, or any other person that the
state, pursuant to the United States Constitution, the laws of the
United States, or the California Constitution, is prohibited from
regulating.
(c) No retailer, distributor, or wholesaler shall purchase
packages of cigarettes or tobacco products from a manufacturer or
importer who is not licensed pursuant to this division or whose
license has been suspended or revoked.
(d) (1) No retailer, or wholesaler shall purchase cigarettes or
tobacco products from any person who is not licensed pursuant to this
division or whose license has been suspended or revoked.
(2) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), no distributor shall purchase
cigarettes or tobacco products from any person who is required to be
licensed pursuant to this division but who is not licensed or whose
license has been suspended or revoked.
(e) Each separate sale to, or by, a retailer, wholesaler,
distributor, importer, manufacturer, or any other person who is not
licensed pursuant to this division shall constitute a separate
violation.
(f) No manufacturer, distributor, wholesaler, or importer may sell
cigarette or tobacco products to any retailer or wholesaler whose
license has been suspended or revoked unless all outstanding debts of
that retailer or wholesaler that are owed to a wholesaler or
distributor for cigarette or tobacco products are paid and the
license of that retailer or wholesaler has been reinstated by the
board. Any payment received from a retailer or wholesaler shall be
credited first to the outstanding debt for cigarettes or tobacco
products and must be immediately reported to the board. The board
shall determine the debt status of a suspended retailer or wholesaler
licensee 25 days prior to the reinstatement of the license.
(g) No importer, distributor, or wholesaler, or distributor
functioning as a wholesaler, or retailer, shall purchase, obtain, or
otherwise acquire any package of cigarettes to which a stamp or meter
impression may not be affixed in accordance with subdivision (b) of
Section 30163 or subdivision (e) of Section 30165.1 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code, or any cigarettes obtained from a manufacturer or
importer that cannot demonstrate full compliance with all
requirements of the federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act
(15 U.S.C. Sec. 13335a et seq.) for the reporting of ingredients
added to cigarettes.
(h) (1) Failure to comply with the provisions of this section
shall be a misdemeanor subject to penalties pursuant to Section
22981.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a manufacturer or importer who
uses the most up-to-date licensing information provided by the board
on the board's Web site to determine a person's licensing status is
presumed to be in compliance with this section.
(i) The amendments that are made to this section by the act adding
this subdivision shall become operative May 1, 2007.

22980.2. (a) A person or entity that engages in the business of
selling cigarettes or tobacco products in this state either without a
valid license or after a license has been suspended or revoked, and
each officer of any corporation that so engages in this business, is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable as provided in Section 22981.
(b) Each day after notification by the board or by a law
enforcement agency that a manufacturer, wholesaler, distributor,
importer, retailer, or any other person required to be licensed under
this division offers cigarette and tobacco products for sale or
exchange without a valid license for the location from which they are
offered for sale shall constitute a separate violation.
(c) Continued sales or gifting of cigarettes and tobacco products
either without a valid license or after a notification of suspension
or revocation shall constitute a violation punishable as provided in
Section 22981, and shall result in the seizure of all cigarettes and
tobacco products in the possession of the person by the board or a
law enforcement agency. Any cigarettes and tobacco products seized by
the board or by a law enforcement agency shall be deemed forfeited.

22980.3. (a) Licenses issued pursuant to this division shall be
subject to suspension or revocation for violations of this division
or the Revenue and Taxation Code as provided in this section.
(1) In addition to any applicable fines or penalties for a
violation, upon first conviction of a violation, a licensee shall
receive a written notice from the board detailing the suspension and
revocation provisions of this division. At its discretion, the board
may also suspend a license for up to 30 days.
(2) In addition to any applicable fines or penalties for a
violation, upon a second conviction of a violation within four years
of a previous violation, the license shall be revoked.
(b) The date of the occurrence of a violation shall be used to
calculate the duration between subsequent violations. A violation
shall be noted in the license record at the board only after judicial
conviction or final adjudication of a violation.
(c) Upon updating a record for a violation triggering a
suspension, the board shall serve the licensee with a notice of
suspension and shall order the licensee to cease the sale, gifting,
or displaying for sale of cigarettes or tobacco products for the
period of the suspension. The notice of suspension shall inform the
licensee of the effective dates of the suspension.
(d) Continued sales or gifting of cigarettes or tobacco products
after the effective date of the suspension shall constitute a
violation of this division and result in the revocation of a license.
(e) Upon completion of a suspension period, a license shall be
reinstated by the board upon certification that all outstanding debts
of that retailer or wholesaler that are owed to a wholesaler or
distributor for the purchase of cigarettes and tobacco products are
paid.
(f) Upon updating a record for a violation triggering a
revocation, the board shall serve the licensee with a notice of
revocation and shall order the licensee to cease the sale, gifting,
or displaying for sale of cigarettes or tobacco products on and after
the effective date of the revocation. The notice of revocation shall
inform the licensee of the effective date of the revocation.
(g) After a revocation, a previously licensed applicant may apply
for a new license after six months. The board may, at its discretion,
issue a new license.
(h) Upon updating a license record for a violation, suspension, or
revocation to a license of a person or entity that owns or controls
more than one location, the board shall send notice in writing of the
violations, suspensions, or revocations within 15 days of the board'
s action to the address included in the application and listed on the
license for receipt of correspondence or notices from the board.
(i) Upon suspension or revocation of a license pursuant to this
section, the board shall notify all licensed distributors and
wholesalers by electronic mail within 48 hours of the suspension or
revocation of that license. All licensed distributors and wholesalers
shall provide the board and shall update, as necessary, an
electronic mail address that the board can use for purposes of making
the notifications required by this subdivision.
(j) Violations by a licensee at one location may not be
accumulated against other locations of that same licensee. Violations
accumulated against a prior owner at a licensed location may not be
accumulated against a new owner at the same licensed location.
(k) For purposes of this section, a violation includes violations
of the Revenue and Taxation Code relating to cigarettes and tobacco
products, and violations of this division. Only one violation per
discrete action shall be counted toward a suspension or revocation of
a license.

22980.4. A person who, after receiving a notice of suspension or
revocation, continues to display for sale cigarettes or tobacco
products shall be subject to a civil penalty of one thousand dollars
($1,000) for each offense, and shall not be subject to Section 22981.

22980.5. (a) A retailer whose license has been suspended or revoked
by order of the board shall conspicuously post a notice at both of
the following locations:
(1) Each public entrance to the retail location. The notice shall
directly face any person who enters the retail location and shall not
be obstructed from view or placed at a height of less than four feet
or greater than nine feet from the floor.
(2) Each cash register and other point of retail sale. The notice
shall be posted so as to be readily viewable by a person standing at
or approaching the cash register or other point of retail sale. The
notice shall directly face the purchaser and shall not be obstructed
from view or placed at a height of less than four feet or greater
than nine feet from the floor.
(b) The notices described in this section shall be in the size and
form prescribed by the board. The notice shall be provided by the
board and may be reproduced in the same size and form in order to
comply with subdivision (a).
(c) A retailer whose license was suspended shall post the notice
at the retail location that was the subject of the suspension for the
duration of the suspension.
(d) A retailer whose license was revoked shall post the notice at
the retail location that was the subject of the revocation for a
30-day period from the effective date of the revocation.
(e) Every retailer who fails to post the notices as required by
this section, who alters the notice provided by the board, or who
removes the notice before the posting period required in subdivision
(c) or (d), as appropriate, expires, shall be subject,
notwithstanding Section 22981, to a civil penalty of one thousand
dollars ($1,000) for each offense.

22981. Any violation of this division by any person, except as
otherwise provided, is a misdemeanor. Each offense shall be punished
by a fine not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000), or
imprisonment not exceeding one year in a county jail, or both the
fine and imprisonment. The court shall order any fines assessed be
deposited in the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Compliance Fund.

22982. Any prosecution for a violation of any of the penal
provisions of this division shall be instituted within four years
after the commission of the offense.

22983. The provisions of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 55121)
of Part 30 of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code apply with
respect to the collection of the fees, civil fines, and penalties
imposed pursuant to this division.