§ 66-294.1. Duties of Attorney General. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 66‑294.1.  Duties ofAttorney General.

(a)        Annual Lists. – TheOffice of the Attorney General shall prepare the following lists annually andshall make those lists available for public inspection:

(1)        Participatingmanufacturers. – A list of the participating manufacturers and all brandfamilies of each participating manufacturer that the manufacturer hasidentified to the Attorney General, in accordance with G.S. 66‑294.

(2)        Compliantnonparticipating manufacturers. – A list of the nonparticipating manufacturerswhose applications for inclusion have been found to be complete and accurateand whose escrow agreements have been approved by the Office of the AttorneyGeneral. The list must include those brand families that the manufacturer hasidentified to the Attorney General, in accordance with G.S. 66‑294.

(b)        Supplemental Lists.– The Office of the Attorney General must supplement the annual lists asnecessary to reflect additions to or deletions of manufacturers and brandfamilies. The Attorney General shall delete a nonparticipating manufacturer andits brand families from the list if it determines that the manufacturer failsto comply with the duties listed in G.S. 66‑294. The Attorney Generalmust add a nonparticipating manufacturer and its brand families to the list ifit determines all of the following:

(1)        The nonparticipatingmanufacturer has submitted an application under G.S. 66‑294, and it isfound to be complete and accurate.

(2)        The Office of theAttorney General has approved the manufacturer's escrow agreement.

(3)        The manufacturer hasmade any past due payments owed to its escrow account for any of its listedbrand families.

(4)        The manufacturer hasresolved any outstanding penalty demands or adjudicated penalties for itslisted brand families.

(c)        Quarterly EscrowInstallments. – To promote compliance with this Article, the Attorney Generalshall require a nonparticipating manufacturer to make the escrow depositsrequired by G.S. 66‑291(a)(2) in quarterly installments during the yearin which the sales covered by the deposits are made if one or more of theconditions in this subsection apply. A quarterly installment must be made bythe last day of the month following the end of the quarter. The AttorneyGeneral must notify a nonparticipating manufacturer required to make quarterlyescrow deposits under this subsection of its duty to do so by first‑classmail sent to the manufacturer's last known address. The Attorney General mayrequire production of information sufficient to enable the Attorney General todetermine the adequacy of the amount of any installment escrow payment.

(1)        The nonparticipatingmanufacturer has not previously established and funded a qualified escrow fundin North Carolina.

(2)        The nonparticipatingmanufacturer has not made any escrow deposits for more than one year.

(3)        The nonparticipatingmanufacturer has failed to make a timely and complete escrow deposit in anyprior calendar year.

(4)        The nonparticipatingmanufacturer has failed to pay any judgment, including any civil penalty.

(5)        The Attorney Generalhas reasonable cause to believe that the nonparticipating manufacturer may notmake its full required escrow deposit by April 15 of the year following theyear in which the cigarette sales are made. (2002‑145, s. 3; 2007‑435, s. 1.)