(a) Every manufacturer and every importer shall obtain and maintain a license to engage in the sale of cigarettes. In order to be eligible for obtaining and maintaining a license under this division, a manufacturer or importer shall do all of the following in the manner specified by the board: (1) Submit to the board a list of all brand families that they manufacture or import. (2) Update the list of all brand families that they manufacture or import whenever a new or additional brand is manufactured or imported, or a listed brand is no longer manufactured or imported. (3) Consent to jurisdiction of the California courts for the purpose of enforcement of this division, Sections 104555 to 104557, inclusive, of the Health and Safety Code, Section 30165.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, and appoint a registered agent for service of process in this state and identify the registered agent to the board and the Attorney General. (4) Waive any sovereign immunity defense that may apply to any enforcement action brought by the Attorney General or the board to enforce this division, Sections 104555 to 104557, inclusive, of the Health and Safety Code, or Part 13 (commencing with Section 30001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and regulations adopted thereto. Any waiver shall be express and in writing, in a form and manner acceptable to the Attorney General. In lieu of this waiver, a manufacturer or importer may file with the Attorney General a surety bond in a form and manner directed by the Attorney General, written in favor of the State of California and conditioned on the performance by the manufacturer or importer of all its duties and obligations under this division, Sections 104555 to 104557, inclusive, of the Health and Safety Code, Part 13 (commencing with Section 30001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and regulations adopted thereto. The bond shall be posted by a corporate surety located within the United States in an amount equal to the greater of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or the amount of escrow the manufacturer or importer in either its current or predecessor form was required to deposit as a result of the largest of its most recent five calendar yearsâ sales in California. The bond may be drawn upon by the Attorney General to cover unsatisfied escrow obligations, tax obligations, claims for penalties, claims for monetary damages, and any other liabilities that are subject to the licenseeâs claim of sovereign immunity against enforcement of the laws specified above. In the event a nonparticipating manufacturer is required to post a surety bond under this paragraph, the amount of the bond shall be reduced by the amount of any surety bond that is in force and required of that nonparticipating manufacturer under paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 30165.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code. A manufacturer or importer that has neither waived any sovereign immunity defense nor posted a surety bond as provided in this section shall not be eligible to obtain and maintain a license under this division. (b) In order to be eligible for obtaining and maintaining a license under this division, a manufacturer or importer that is a âtobacco product manufacturerâ in subdivision (i) of Section 104556 of the Health and Safety Code, shall do all of the following in the manner specified by the board: (1) Certify to the board that it is a âparticipating manufacturerâ as defined in subsection II(jj) of the âMaster Settlement Agreementâ (MSA), or is in full compliance with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 104557 of the Health and Safety Code, Section 30165.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and regulations adopted pursuant thereto. Any person who makes a certification pursuant to this subdivision that asserts the truth of any material matter that he or she knows to be false is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of up t
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