Section 5702.301 - [See Note] DirectoryThe Attorney General shall develop and publish a directory of all tobacco product manufacturers and their brand families that have provided current and accurate certification under section 303. The directory shall be available on the Office of Attorney General's publicly accessible Internet website. The following shall apply:
(1) In the case of a nonparticipating manufacturer, neither the manufacturer nor its brand family shall be included or retained in the directory if the Attorney General determines that any of the following apply: (i) The manufacturer has failed to provide the required certification or the certification is not in compliance with section 303.(ii) The manufacturer has failed to make any payment required under the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Act, including applicable penalties, for any period for any brand family, whether or not listed by the tobacco product manufacturer, including all payments or penalties required from prior manufacturers of those brands, into a qualified escrow fund approved by the Attorney General. For purposes of retention on the directory, the Commonwealth's recovery of any amount from execution of a bond under section 313 shall not excuse a manufacturer's failure to timely deposit escrow as required by the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Act, notwithstanding if the bond fully covers the escrow owed and any other costs, fees or penalties that may be applicable. (iii) Any outstanding final judgment for a violation of the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Act, including interest, has not been fully satisfied for the brand family and the manufacturer.(iv) The requirements of section 303(a), 304(b), 312 or 313 have not been satisfied.(v) The Commonwealth has executed upon a bond under section 313 due to the manufacturer's failure to timely deposit escrow as required. This ground for exclusion or removal from the directory shall remain notwithstanding whether the manufacturer's escrow obligations and other costs were fully covered by the amount recovered by the Commonwealth under the bond. (2) The Attorney General shall take steps to update the directory, correct mistakes, add or remove a tobacco product manufacturer or brand family or to make other changes necessary to ensure compliance with this act.(3) The Attorney General shall provide notice to the registered agent of the affected tobacco product manufacturer when the Attorney General determines to add a manufacturer or its brand families or to remove the manufacturer or its brand families from the directory. A determination of the Attorney General to remove a tobacco product manufacturer or brand families from the directory shall take effect 21 days after notice of that determination appears in the directory.(4) The Attorney General shall publish the directory under this section within 90 days after the effective date of this section. Upon initial publication of the directory, the Attorney General shall cause notice of the same to be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.Amended by P.L. TBD 2023 No. 11, § 2,, eff. 60 days after the Office of Attorney General publishes notice of consent under section 2(2)(ii) of the 2023 act .2003, Dec. 30, P.L. 441, No. 64, § 301, imd. effective.Section 9 of the 2023 amending legislation provides that the amendment to this section shall take effect 60 days after publication of the notice of consent under section 8(2)(ii) of the act.This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.