SB 1408: Cigarettes: seizure.

Existing law, the California Cigarette Fire Safety and Firefighter Protection Act, prohibits a person from selling, offering, or possessing for sale in this state cigarettes that are not in compliance with certain requirements, including the requirement that the cigarettes are tested by the manufacturer in accordance with prescribed testing methods. Existing law provides an exception to the above prohibition for a person or entity that manufactures or sells cigarettes if the cigarettes are or will be stamped or metered for sale in another state or are packaged for sale outside of the United States.

This bill would delete the above exception to the prohibition.

The act provides that any cigarettes that have been sold or offered for sale that do not comply with a certain performance standard shall be deemed contraband and subject to seizure and disposal by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration or a law enforcement agency.

This bill would instead provide that any cigarettes that have been sold or offered for sale that do not comply with a certain performance standard shall be deemed contraband per se and subject to seizure and disposal by the department or a law enforcement agency.

The act provides that, upon discovery by the department or a law enforcement agency that a person offers or possesses for sale, or has made a sale of, cigarettes in violation of specified provisions of the act, the department or that law enforcement agency may seize those cigarettes.

This bill would instead provide that, upon discovery by the department or a law enforcement agency that a person offers or possesses for sale, or has made a sale of, cigarettes in violation of specified provisions of the act, the department or that law enforcement agency may seize and dispose of those cigarettes as contraband per se.

This bill would make various conforming and nonsubstantive changes.