A. The attorney general shall develop, maintain and publish on its web site a directory listing all tobacco product manufacturers that have provided current, accurate and complete certifications as required by the Tobacco Escrow Fund Act [6-4-14 to 6-4-24 NMSA 1978] and all brand families that are listed in those certifications. The attorney general shall not include or retain in the directory a name or brand family if:

1. (1) the participating manufacturer fails to provide the required certification or to make a payment calculated by an independent auditor to be due from it under the master settlement agreement except to the extent that it is disputing such payment;
2. (2) the nonparticipating manufacturer fails to provide the required certification or the attorney general determines that its certification is not in compliance with Section 6-4-17 NMSA 1978; or

3. (3) the attorney general concludes that:

   1. (a) all escrow payments required by Section 6-4-13 NMSA 1978 for any period for any brand family, whether or not listed by the nonparticipating manufacturer, have not been fully paid into a qualified escrow fund governed by a qualified escrow agreement that has been approved by the attorney general;
   2. (b) any outstanding final judgments, including interest thereon, for violations of Section 6-4-13 NMSA 1978 have not been fully satisfied for the brand family or the nonparticipating manufacturer;
   3. (c) for a nonparticipating manufacturer or a tobacco product manufacturer that became a participating manufacturer after the master settlement agreement in New Mexico or in any other state, or any of its principals, the nonparticipating manufacturer or tobacco product manufacturer fails to provide reasonable assurance that it will comply with the requirements of the Tobacco Escrow Fund Act; or

   4. (d) the manufacturer has knowingly failed to disclose any material information required or knowingly made any material false statement in the certification of any supporting information or documentation provided.

      B. As used in this section, "reasonable assurances" means information and documentation establishing to the satisfaction of the attorney general that a failure to pay in New Mexico or elsewhere was the result of a good faith dispute over the payment obligation.

      C. The attorney general shall update the directory as necessary by adding or removing a tobacco product manufacturer or a brand family to keep the directory in conformity with the requirements of the Tobacco Escrow Fund Act.

      D. A distributor shall provide a current electronic mail address to the attorney general for the purpose of receiving notifications as may be required pursuant to the Tobacco Escrow Fund Act.

History: Laws 2003, ch. 114, § 5; 2009, ch. 197, § 4.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, in Subsection A, after "retain in the dictionary a", deleted "nonparticipating manufacturer" and added "name"; added Paragraph (1) of Subsection A; added Subparagraphs (c) and (d) of Paragraph (3) of Subsection A; and added Subsection B.