South Carolina § 23-51-40 - Certification by manufacturer.

§ 23-51-40. Certification by manufacturer.

(A) Each manufacturer shall submit to the State Fire Marshal a written certification attesting that:

(1) each cigarette listed in the certification has been tested in accordance with Section 23-51-30; and

(2) each cigarette listed in the certification meets the performance standard contained in Section 23-51-30.

(B) Each cigarette listed in the certification must be described with the following information:

(1) brand, or trade name on the package;

(2) style, such as light or ultra light;

(3) length in millimeters;

(4) circumference in millimeters;

(5) flavor, such as menthol or chocolate, if applicable;

(6) filter or nonfilter;

(7) package description, such as soft pack or box;

(8) marking, pursuant to Section 23-51-50;

(9) the name, address, and telephone number of the laboratory, if different than the manufacturer that conducted the test; and

(10) the date that the testing occurred.

(C) The certifications must be made available to the Attorney General for purposes consistent with this chapter and the Department of Revenue for the purposes of ensuring compliance with this section.

(D) Each cigarette certified under this section must be recertified every three years.

(E) For each cigarette brand style listed in a certification, a manufacturer shall pay to the State Fire Marshal a two hundred fifty-dollar fee. The State Fire Marshal is authorized to annually adjust this fee to ensure that it defrays the actual costs of the processing, testing, enforcement, and oversight activities required by this chapter.

(F) There is established in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the "Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity Standards and Firefighter Protection Act Enforcement Fund". The fund shall consist of all certification fees submitted by manufacturers, and shall, in addition to any other monies made available for this purpose, be available to the State Fire Marshal solely to support processing, testing, enforcement, and oversight activities under this chapter.

(G) If a manufacturer has certified a cigarette pursuant to this section, and thereafter makes a change to the cigarette that is likely to alter its compliance with the reduced cigarette ignition propensity standards required by this chapter, that cigarette shall not be sold or offered for sale in this State until the manufacturer retests the cigarette in accordance with the testing standards set forth in Section 23-51-30 and maintains records of that retesting as required by Section 23-51-30. An altered cigarette which does not meet the performance standard contained in Section 23-51-30 may not be sold in this State.

HISTORY: 2008 Act No. 331, SECTION 1, eff January 1, 2010.