Section 323.806 - Required actions by manufacturers; liability of importers(1) Any tobacco product manufacturer selling cigarettes to consumers within the State of Oregon (whether directly or through a distributor, retailer or similar intermediary or intermediaries) after October 23, 1999, shall do one of the following: (a) Become a Participating Manufacturer (as that term is defined in section II(jj) of the Master Settlement Agreement) and generally perform its financial obligations under the Master Settlement Agreement; or(b)(A) Satisfy the equity assessment required under ORS 323.804 and place into a qualified escrow fund by April 15 of the year following the year in question the following amounts (as such amounts are adjusted for inflation): (i) For 1999, $0.0094241 per unit sold after October 23, 1999.(ii) For 2000, $0.0104712 per unit sold.(iii) For each of the years 2001 and 2002, $0.0136125 per unit sold.(iv) For each of the years 2003 through 2006, $0.0167539 per unit sold.(v) For each of the years 2007 through 2023, $0.0188482 per unit sold.(B) A tobacco product manufacturer that places funds into escrow pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall receive the interest or other appreciation on such funds as earned. Such funds themselves shall be released from escrow only under the following circumstances:(i) To pay a judgment or settlement on any released claim brought against such tobacco product manufacturer by the State of Oregon or any releasing party located or residing in this state. Funds shall be released from escrow under this sub-subparagraph in the order in which they were placed into escrow and only to the extent and at the time necessary to make payments required under such judgment or settlement;(ii) To pay an equity assessment required under ORS 323.804;(iii) To the extent that a tobacco product manufacturer establishes that the amount it was required to place into escrow on account of units sold in Oregon in a particular year was greater than the Master Settlement Agreement payments, as determined pursuant to section IX(i) of that agreement after final determination of all adjustments, that the manufacturer would have been required to make on account of such units sold had it been a Participating Manufacturer (as that term is defined in the Master Settlement Agreement), the excess shall be released from escrow and revert back to such tobacco product manufacturer; or(iv) To the extent not released from escrow under sub-subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of this subparagraph, funds shall be released from escrow and revert back to such tobacco product manufacturer 25 years after the date on which they were placed into escrow.(C) Each tobacco product manufacturer that elects to place funds into escrow pursuant to this paragraph shall annually certify to the Attorney General that it is in compliance with this paragraph. The Attorney General may bring a civil action on behalf of the State of Oregon against any tobacco product manufacturer that fails to place into escrow the funds required under this paragraph. Any tobacco product manufacturer that fails in any year to place into escrow the funds required under this paragraph shall:(i) Be required within 15 days to place such funds into escrow as shall bring such manufacturer into compliance with this paragraph. The court, upon a finding of a violation of this paragraph, may impose a civil penalty to be paid to the General Fund of this state in an amount not to exceed five percent of the amount improperly withheld from escrow per day of the violation and in a total amount not to exceed 100 percent of the original amount improperly withheld from escrow;(ii) In the case of a knowing violation, be required within 15 days to place such funds into escrow as shall bring such manufacturer into compliance with this paragraph. The court, upon a finding of a knowing violation of this paragraph, may impose a civil penalty to be paid to the General Fund of this state in an amount not to exceed 15 percent of the amount improperly withheld from escrow per day of the violation and in a total amount not to exceed 300 percent of the original amount improperly withheld from escrow; and(iii) In the case of a second knowing violation, be prohibited from selling cigarettes to consumers within the State of Oregon (whether directly or through a distributor, retailer or similar intermediary or intermediaries) for a period not to exceed two years. Each failure to make an annual deposit required under this section shall constitute a separate violation.(2) In the case of units sold that are cigarettes manufactured outside the United States and imported into the United States by an importer:(a) Importers shall be jointly and severally liable with the tobacco product manufacturer of the cigarettes for the escrow deposits required under subsection (1)(b)(A) of this section;(b) Importers may be sued under subsection (1)(b)(C) of this section to the same extent as the tobacco product manufacturer, and shall be subject to all of the same civil penalties, remedies, or other relief that may be awarded against the tobacco product manufacturer of the cigarettes as provided in subsection (1)(b)(C) of this section;(c) If the importer fails or refuses within 15 days of the Attorney General's written demand to deposit the funds into escrow for which it is jointly and severally liable under paragraph (a) of this subsection, all cigarettes imported into the United States by the importer shall constitute contraband cigarettes as defined in ORS 323.010 and shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture as provided under ORS 323.248; and(d) A nonparticipating manufacturer located outside the United States that conducts business in this state shall provide to the Attorney General on a form prescribed by the Attorney General a declaration from each importer that imports the cigarettes of the nonparticipating manufacturer intended for sale in this state stating that the importer accepts liability pursuant to subsection (1)(b)(A) of this section and consents to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state for the purposes of enforcing this section.Amended by 2023 Ch. 401,§ 2, eff. 1/1/2024.Amended by 2017 Ch. 687, § 3, eff. 8/8/2017.Amended by 2017 Ch. 687, § 2, eff. 8/8/2017. The amendments to 323.806 by section 4, chapter 401, Oregon Laws 2023, become operative only if there is a final judgment that invalidates the amendments to 323.806 by sections 2 and 3, chapter 401, Oregon Laws 2023. If the court enters a final judgment that invalidates the amendments to 323.806 by sections 2 and 3, chapter 401, Oregon Laws 2023, the amendments to 323.806 by section 4, chapter 401, Oregon Laws 2023, become operative 31 days after entry of the final judgment. See section 6, chapter 401, Oregon Laws 2023. The text that, if the court enters a final judgment that invalidates the amendments to 323.806 by sections 2 and 3, chapter 401, Oregon Laws 2023, becomes operative 31 days after entry of the final judgment, is set forth for the user's convenience.
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.