Cigarette and tobacco products: licensing and enforcement.

Assembly Member Rogers proposes substantial changes to California's tobacco retailer licensing program, increasing fees and enhancing enforcement mechanisms to address compliance challenges. The legislation would raise tobacco retailer license fees from $265 to $450 per location starting July 2026, with authority for the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration to adjust fees up to $600 to maintain adequate program funding.

The bill institutes new oversight requirements, mandating the Legislative Analyst to evaluate program effectiveness through reports due in 2027 and 2029. These assessments must examine enforcement coordination between agencies, funding adequacy, inspection rates, and strategies to reduce flavored tobacco product availability. The reports will analyze costs associated with product seizures and consider whether prior federal and local violations should factor into state penalty determinations.

For wholesalers, the legislation establishes a $50 per-package penalty for possessing or selling illegal flavored tobacco products, with license suspension after a second violation and revocation after a third. The bill aligns wholesaler accountability measures with existing retailer requirements while clarifying seizure procedures and forfeiture protocols between state and local enforcement agencies.

The changes aim to address current enforcement limitations, as department data indicates fewer than 15% of California's approximately 30,000 licensed tobacco retailers receive annual inspections. According to the bill's findings, retailer violation rates have increased from 2% to 14% since implementation of the state's flavored tobacco ban, while nearly 40% of e-cigarette sales in California still involve prohibited flavored products.