2020 Georgia Code
Title 10 - Commerce and Trade
Chapter 13A - Master Settlement Agreement Enhancements
§ 10-13A-4. Directory Available via Internet; Requirements for Inclusion and Maintenance; E-Mail Requirement for Distributor

1. The Attorney General shall develop and make available for public inspection on its website a directory, as defined in paragraph (5) of Code Section 10-13A-2.
2. The Attorney General shall not include or retain in such directory the name or brand families of any nonparticipating manufacturer that has failed to provide the required certification or whose certification the Attorney General determines is not in compliance with Code Section 10-13A-3, unless the Attorney General has determined that such violation has been cured to the satisfaction of the Attorney General.
3. Neither a tobacco product manufacturer nor brand family shall be included or retained in the directory if the Attorney General concludes, in the case of a nonparticipating manufacturer, that:
   1. Any escrow payment required pursuant to Chapter 13 of this title for any period for any brand family, whether or not listed by such nonparticipating manufacturer, has not been fully paid into a qualified escrow fund governed by a qualified escrow agreement that has been approved by the Attorney General; or
   2. Any outstanding final judgment, including interest thereon, for a violation of Chapter 13 of this title has not been fully satisfied for such brand family or such manufacturer.
4. The Attorney General shall update the directory as necessary in order to correct mistakes and to add or remove tobacco product manufacturers or brand families to keep the directory in conformity with the requirements of this chapter.
5. Every distributor shall provide and update as necessary an e-mail address to the Attorney General for the purpose of receiving any notifications as may be required by this chapter.

(Code 1981, §10-13A-4, enacted by Ga. L. 2003, p. 829, § 1; Ga. L. 2016, p. 528, § 3/HB 899.)

The 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, in subsection (a), substituted "The" for "Not later than August 1, 2004, the" at the beginning and substituted "paragraph (5)" for "paragraph (4)" near the end; and deleted "subsection (c) of" preceding "Code Section" in the middle of subsection (b).

- For annual survey on administrative law, see 61 Mercer L. Rev. 1 (2009).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Misinterpretation of Attorney General's power under O.C.G.A.

§ 10-13A-4(b). - Trial court committed an error of law by affirming a decision of the Georgia Attorney General (AG) that a cigarette manufacturer was not a tobacco product manufacturer under the Georgia Qualifying Statute, O.C.G.A. § 10-13-2(9), and, therefore, could not sell cigarettes under its brand name in Georgia since the AG's decision was based in part on a misinterpretation of O.C.G.A. § 10-13A-4(b) and the AG's retention of the ability to have the manufacturer cure any certification deficiencies. Carolina Tobacco Co. v. Baker, 295 Ga. App. 115, 670 S.E.2d 811 (2008).