Liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products; certification and directory, penalties.

Liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products; certification and directory; penalties. Requires every manufacturer of liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor products that are sold for retail sale in the Commonwealth to certify to the Attorney General that (i) the manufacturer has received a marketing authorization or similar order for the liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or (ii) (a) the liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product was marketed in the United States as of August 8, 2016, or (b) the manufacturer submitted a premarket tobacco product application for the liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product to the FDA on or before September 9, 2020, and such application either remains under review by the FDA or a final decision on the application has not otherwise taken effect. The bill requires a manufacturer to submit such a form for each liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product that such manufacturer sells for retail sale in the Commonwealth. Under the bill, any manufacturer that falsely represents any of the information required by the certification requirement is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor for each false representation.The bill requires the Attorney General to establish and maintain a directory that lists all liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product manufacturers and liquid nicotine and nicotine vapor products for which current and accurate certification forms have been submitted. The bill requires the Attorney General to remove or exclude from such directory any such product that is not in compliance and to notify the manufacturer of such noncompliance. The bill allows a 10-business-day period for a manufacturer to establish compliance. The bill requires that any such products that are removed from the list be sold or removed from retail sale within 30 days or become subject to seizure and requires a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retail dealer to notify each purchaser of a removed product that it has been removed from the directory at the time of delivery of such product. The bill entitles such a purchaser to a refund of the purchase price and creates a cause of action to recover such refund.The bill prohibits the sale, distribution, importation, or offer for sale of any liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product that is not listed in the directory. The bill provides for a civil penalty of $1,000 per day for each product offered for sale in violation of the bill's provisions until the offending product is removed from the market or until the offending product is properly listed on the directory.The bill requires any person that receives, stores, sells, handles, or transports liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor products to preserve all records relating to the purchase, sale, exchange, receipt, or transportation of all liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor products for a period of three years. The bill provides that all such records are subject to audit or inspection at any time by any duly authorized representative of the Attorney General. Any person who violates the recordkeeping provisions of the bill is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.Additionally, the bill provides that the Department of Taxation, the Attorney General, any other law-enforcement agency of the Commonwealth, or any federal law-enforcement agency conducting a criminal investigation involving the trafficking of liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor products may access at any time such records. The bill requires the Department of Taxation to impose a penalty of $1,000 for each day that a person fails or refuses to allow or cooperate with an audit, inspection, or investigation of such records.The bill authorizes the Attorney General and, with the concurrence of the Attorney General, any attorney for the Commonwealth, or the attorney for any city, county, or town to cause an action to enjoin any violation of the provisions of the bill. The circuit courts are authorized by the bill to (a) issue temporary or permanent injunctions to restrain and prevent violations of the provisions of the bill and (b) order forfeiture of any property seized for such a violation. The bill authorizes the Attorney General to issue a civil investigative demand.Under the bill, any retailer and wholesaler that sells or distributes any liquid nicotine or nicotine vapor product in the Commonwealth is subject to scheduled or unscheduled compliance checks carried out by the Attorney General, or an agent thereof, for enforcement purposes.The bill requires the Attorney General to provide an annual report to the General Assembly regarding the status of the directory, manufacturers and products included in the directory, and revenues and expenditures related to and enforcement activities undertaken pursuant to the requirements of the bill.Finally, the bill makes a violation of its provisions a prohibited practice under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act. This bill is identical to HB 1069.