2017 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 13 - Courts and Judicial Procedure
RS 13:5077 - Miscellaneous provisions
§5077. Miscellaneous provisions
A.(1) The attorney general shall provide a notice of removal to any manufacturer that it determines should be removed or have any of its brand families removed from the state directory. The notice shall state the grounds for the removal and inform the manufacturer that it or its brand families will be removed from the state directory thirty days following the date of the notice.
(2) During the thirty days following the date of the notice, the manufacturer may do either of the following:
(a) Fully cure the failure or violation.
(b) Submit documentation to the attorney general demonstrating that its determination described in the notice was incorrect.
(3) Unless the attorney general determines that the manufacturer has satisfied either Subparagraph (2)(a) or (b) of this Subsection, it or its brand families will be removed from the state directory thirty days following the date of the notice. A determination of the attorney general to not include or to remove from the directory a brand family or tobacco product manufacturer shall be subject to review in the manner prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Act. A manufacturer that unsuccessfully challenges a decision not to include or to remove from the directory a brand family or manufacturer shall pay the state's reasonable costs and attorney fees incurred in contesting the challenge.
B. Each person may provide a name and address to which notices issued pursuant to this Section are to be sent. Notice periods under this Section run from the date of notice sent to such name and address or, in the case of a person that does not provide a name and address, the last known company address.
C. No person shall be issued a license or granted a renewal of a license to act as a stamping agent unless such person has certified in writing, under penalty of perjury, that such person will comply fully with this Section.
D. For the year 2004, because the effective date of this Part is later than April 15, 2004, the first report of stamping agents required by R.S. 13:5075(A) shall be due thirty calendar days after June 25, 2004; the certifications by a tobacco product manufacturer described in R.S. 13:5073(A) shall be due forty-five calendar days after June 25, 2004; and the directory described in R.S. 13:5073(B) shall be published or made available within ninety calendar days after June 25, 2004.
E. The secretary, commissioner, and attorney general shall each designate employees who shall oversee the administration and enforcement of the laws and regulations regarding the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement for its office and who shall confer monthly to establish and monitor practices to promote ongoing compliance under the Master Settlement Agreement. A tri-agency summit shall be held on an annual basis for agency representatives and staff.
F. The secretary or the commissioner in conjunction with the attorney general may promulgate regulations necessary to effect the purpose of this Part.
G. In any action brought by the state to enforce this Part, the attorney general, the commissioner, and secretary shall be entitled to recover the costs of the investigation, expert witness fees, the action, and reasonable attorney fees.
H. If a court determines that a person has violated this Part, the court shall order any profits, gains, gross receipts, or other benefits from the violation to be disgorged and paid to the state treasurer for deposit in the tobacco control special fund, which is hereby created. The tobacco control special fund shall be used by the attorney general for tobacco enforcement and control matters. Unless otherwise expressly provided, the remedies or penalties provided by this Part are cumulative to each other and to the remedies or penalties available under all other laws of this state.
I. If a court of competent jurisdiction finds that the provisions of this Part and of R.S. 13:5061 et seq. conflict and cannot be harmonized, then the provisions in R.S. 13:5061 et seq. shall control. If any Section, Subsection, Paragraph, Subparagraph, Item, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Part causes R.S. 13:5061 et seq. to no longer constitute a qualifying or model statute, as those terms are defined in the Master Settlement Agreement, then that portion of this Part shall not be valid. If any Section, Subsection, Paragraph, Subparagraph, Item, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Part is for any reason held to be invalid, unlawful, or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Part.
Acts 2004, No. 544, §1, eff. June 25, 2004; Acts 2013, No. 221, §1; Acts 2014, No. 791, §6.
