KRS 131.610 — Directory of certified tobacco product manufacturers and brand families -- Requirements for inclusion -- Removal -- Notice

(1) The Attorney General shall develop and make available to the department for public
inspection, to include publishing on t he department's Web site, a listing of all
tobacco product manufacturers that have provided current and accurate
certifications pursuant to KRS 131.608 and all brand families that are listed in the
certifications. The listing shall be referred to as the "d irectory" and completed no
later than July 1 of each certification year.
(2) The department shall not include or retain in the directory the name or brand
families of any nonparticipating manufacturer that has failed to provide the required
certification o r whose certification the Attorney General determines is not in
compliance with KRS 131.608, unless the Attorney General has determined that
such violation has been satisfactorily cured.
(3) Neither a nonparticipating manufacturer nor a brand family shall be included or
retained in the directory if the Attorney General determines that:
(a) Any escrow payment required pursuant to KRS 131.602 for any period for any
brand family, whether or not listed by the nonparticipating manufacturer, has
not been fully pa id into a qualified escrow fund governed by a qualified
escrow agreement that has been approved by the Attorney General;
(b) Any outstanding final judgment, including interest thereon, for a violation of
KRS 131.602 has not been fully satisfied for the bra nd family or the
manufacturer;
(c) The requirements for certification under KRS 131.608 have not been met; or
(d) The financial instrument required by KRS 131.602(10) has not been posted.
(4) Upon receipt of information from the Attorney General, the department shall update
the directory as necessary in order to correct mistakes and to add or remove a
tobacco product manufacturer or brand family to keep the directory in conformity
with the requirements of this section and KRS 131.608 and 131.620.
(5) (a) The department shall transmit, by electronic mail or other practicable means,
notice to each stamping agent and distributor of any addition to or removal
from the directory of any tobacco product manufacturer or brand family.
(b) Within seven (7) days of receiving a removal notice from the department, each
stamping agent or distributor shall forward:
1. A copy of the removal notice to each of the stamping agent's or
distributor's retail customers; and
2. To the department, a list of the retail customers and any other person to
whom the removal notices were sent.
(c) The retailer shall not sell any cigarettes of a tobacco product manufacturer or
brand family that has been removed from the directory.
(d) The department shall work cooperatively with the stamping agents and
distributors to develop an electronic system which will be used to notify, as
soon as possible, all retail customers and any other person to whom the
nonparticipating manufacturer's products were sold that:
1. A notice of intent to remove the nonparticipating manufacturer from the
directory has been issued by the Attorney General; and
2. A subsequent change in that status has occurred as a result of the
nonparticipating manufacturer coming in to compliance prior to being
removed from the directory.
(6) Every stamping agent and distributor shall provide and update as necessary an
electronic mail address to the department for the purpose of receiving any
notifications that may be required by this section and KRS 131.608, 131.616,
131.620, and 131.624.
(7) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (2) and (3) of this section, in the case
of any nonparticipating manufacturer who has established a qualified escrow fund
pursuant to KRS 131.602 tha t has been approved by the Attorney General, the
Attorney General may not remove the nonparticipating manufacturer or its brand
families from the directory unless the nonparticipating manufacturer has been given
at least thirty (30) days' notice of the int ended action. For the purposes of this
section, notice shall be deemed sufficient if it is sent either electronically to an
electronic-mail address or by first class to a postal mailing address provided by the
nonparticipating manufacturer in its most rece nt certification filed pursuant to KRS
131.608. The notified nonparticipating manufacturer shall have thirty (30) days
from receipt of the notice to comply. At the time that the Attorney General sends
notice of his or her intent to remove the nonparticipat ing manufacturer from the
directory, the Attorney General shall post the notice in the directory.
(8) Beginning on the day after the Attorney General posts a notice in the directory of
the Attorney General's intent to remove the nonparticipating manufactur er from the
directory as provided in subsection (7) of this section, a stamping agent or
distributor shall not purchase cigarettes from the nonparticipating manufacturer or
any of its importers unless and until the Attorney General determines that the
nonparticipating manufacturer is in compliance with KRS 131.608 and posts the
notification of compliance in the directory.