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Business Taxes Law Guide—Revision 2025
Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act
Business and Professions Code
Division 8.6. Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003
Chapter 2. License for Retailers of Cigarettes and Tobacco Products
Section 22973.4
22973.4. Reporting requirements. (a) On or before December 1, 2027, and again on or before December 1, 2029, the Legislative Analyst shall prepare and submit a report to the Legislature on the tobacco retailer enforcement landscape, including enforcement of California’s flavor, youth access, taxation, and licensing laws. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the State Department of Public Health, including the Office of Youth Tobacco Enforcement, shall cooperate with the Legislative Analyst in the preparation and production of the report. To the extent information is available, the report shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) Strategies and tools to bolster coordination and efficiency between state and federal agencies and local authorities regarding enforcement of all tobacco laws and to ensure state compliance with the federal Synar regulations requiring no more than a 20 percent retailer violation rate for tobacco sales to youth and young adults under 21 years of age.
(2) Data and recommendations about whether the annual licensing fees are set at appropriate levels to maintain an effective licensing program and an adequate rate of inspection of retailers and attain a reasonable reduction in the availability of flavored tobacco products and tobacco product flavor enhancers.
(3) Costs for transport, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, universal waste, and other waste arising from seizures of tobacco products.
(4) An evaluation of whether prior violations of analogous federal and local laws regarding the sale of tobacco products to minors should be considered when considering escalating penalties for violations of state laws regarding the sale of tobacco products to minors.
(5) Data and recommendations about the enforcement of youth access and flavor restriction laws performed by the Office of Youth Tobacco Enforcement, including whether funding is at appropriate levels to maintain an adequate rate of inspection of retailers and to attain a reasonable reduction in the availability of flavored tobacco products.
(b) To prepare the reports required by this section, the Legislative Analyst may request information from any state or local agency involved in enforcement of laws regulating cigarette and tobacco products retailers.
(c) The reports required by this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code and shall not include any personally identifiable information.
(d) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section shall become inoperative on December 1, 2033, and is repealed on January 1, 2034.
History—Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 269 (AB 573), in effect January 1, 2026.