a. Civil penalties and license revocation for a person found to be in violation of the provisions of this subchapter shall be as follows:
(1) Any person found to be in violation of section 17-703 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for the first violation, and not more than five thousand dollars for each additional violation found on that day; and not more than ten thousand dollars for the second violation and each subsequent violation by that person.
(2) Any person found to be in violation of section 17-703.1 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars in any single day.
(3) In addition to any penalty that may be imposed pursuant to subdivision b of section 11-1317 of the code, any person found to be in violation of section 17-703.2 of the code shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than two thousand dollars for the first violation, and not more than two thousand dollars for each additional violation found on that day, and not more than five thousand dollars for the second violation and each subsequent violation at the same place of business within a three-year period.
(4) Any person found to be in violation of section 17-704, 17-704.1, 17-705 or subdivision a, a-1 or b of section 17-706 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars for the first violation, and not more than one thousand dollars for each additional violation found on that day; and not more than two thousand dollars for the second violation and each subsequent violation at the same place of business within a three-year period. Any person found to be in violation of subdivision c of section 17-706 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars in any single day.
(5) In addition, for a second violation of any of section 17-703, section 17-703.2, subdivision a of section 17-704, subdivision a of section 17-704.1, section 17-705 or subdivision a or b of section 17-706 occurring on a different day and any subsequent violations occurring on different days at the same place of business within a three-year period, any person who engages in business as a retail dealer shall be subject to the mandatory revocation of such dealer's retail tobacco dealer license for such place of business. Any violation of section 17-703, section 17-703.2, subdivision a of section 17-704, subdivision a of section 17-704.1, section 17-705 or subdivision a or b of section 17-706 by any license holder at a place of business shall be included in determining the number of violations by such license holder and by any subsequent license holder at the same place of business unless the subsequent license holder provides the commissioner of the department that has commenced the proceeding to recover a civil penalty pursuant to subdivision b of this section with adequate documentation demonstrating that the subsequent license holder acquired the premises or business through an arm's length transaction as defined in subdivision e of this section and that the sale or lease was not conducted, in whole or in part, for the purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid the effect of violations on the premises. A retail tobacco dealer license shall be revoked at the same hearing at which a retail dealer is found liable for a second violation or subsequent violations at the same place of business within a three-year period.
(6) Any person who violates section 17-708 shall be liable for a civil penalty of not more than fifty dollars for each violation.
b. A proceeding to recover any civil penalty authorized pursuant to the provisions of subdivision a of this section for a violation of section 17-703, 17-703.1, 17-703.2, 17-704, 17-704.1, 17-705 or 17-706 shall be commenced by the service of a notice of violation which shall be returnable to the office of administrative trials and hearings acting pursuant to section 558 and subdivision 2 of section 1048 of the charter where the department of health and mental hygiene issues such notice, the office of administrative trials and hearings acting pursuant to section 2203 and subdivision 2 of section 1048 of the charter where the department of consumer and worker protection or a designated employee of any authorizing agency issues such notice, or an adjudication division of the department of finance or the administrative tribunal selected by the commissioner of finance where the department of finance issues such notice. Such notice shall contain a statement that any hearing for a second violation or subsequent violation of any of the provisions described in paragraph (5) of subdivision a of this section at the same place of business within a three-year period shall also constitute a hearing for the revocation of a retail dealer's tobacco license where the retail dealer is found to be in violation of any such sections. The department of health and mental hygiene, the department of consumer and worker protection and the department of finance shall notify each other within thirty days of a final determination that a retail dealer has been found to be in violation of section 17-703, 17-703.2, 17-704, 17-704.1, 17-705 or subdivision a or b of section 17-706. A proceeding to recover any civil penalty authorized pursuant to the provisions of subdivision a of this section for a violation of section 17-708 shall be returnable to the office of administrative trials and hearings acting pursuant to section 558 and subdivision 2 of section 1048 of the charter. Such tribunal shall have the power to impose the civil penalties prescribed by subdivision a of this section. The office of administrative trials and hearings acting pursuant to section 558 or section 2203 of the charter, in addition to subdivision 2 of section 1048 of the charter and an adjudication division of the department of finance or the administrative tribunal selected by the commissioner of finance shall have the power to impose the civil penalties prescribed by subdivision a of this section for a violation of section 17-703, 17-703.1, 17-703.2, 17-704, 17-704.1, 17-705 or 17-706.
c. The penalties provided by subdivision a of this section shall be in addition to any other penalty imposed by any other provision of law or rule promulgated thereunder.
d. Whenever any person has engaged in any acts or practices which constitute a violation of any provision of this subchapter or of any rule promulgated thereunder, the city may make application to a court of competent jurisdiction for an order enjoining such acts or practices and for an order granting a temporary or permanent injunction, restraining order or other order enjoining such acts or practices.
e. For purposes of this section, "arm's length transaction" means a sale of a fee or all undivided interests in real property, or lease of any part thereof, or a sale of a business, in good faith and for valuable consideration, that reflects the fair market value of such real property or lease, or business, in the open market, between two informed and willing parties, where neither is under any compulsion to participate in the transaction, unaffected by any unusual conditions indicating a reasonable possibility that the sale or lease was made for the purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid the effect of violations on the premises. The following sales or leases shall be presumed not to be arm's length transactions unless adequate documentation is provided demonstrating that the sale or lease was not conducted, in whole or in part, for the purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid the effect of violations on the premises:
(1) a sale between relatives; or
(2) a sale between related companies or partners in a business; or
(3) a sale or lease affected by other facts or circumstances that would indicate that the sale or lease is entered into for the primary purpose of permitting the original licensee to avoid the effect of violations on the premises, such as a sale or lease entered into while there are violations pending against the original licensee that could result in revocation or suspension of the license.
f. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision a of this section, the mandatory revocation of a license for a second offense shall be waived if, upon the submission of satisfactory proof, the commissioner determines that the person or persons who committed the violations which are the basis for the mandatory revocation acted against the licensee's will in committing such violations, the licensee utilized extensive precautionary measures to prevent violations of the provisions of sections 17-704, 17-705 and 17-706 of this code, and the licensee has terminated any financial or employment relationship with each person who committed the violations which are the basis of the mandatory revocation of its license or has taken other significant disciplinary action against such persons. The commissioner shall not determine that a licensee utilized extensive precautionary measures to prevent violations of the provisions of sections 17-704, 17-705 and 17-706 of this code unless the licensee submits satisfactory proof demonstrating that the licensee had, prior to the second violation which is the basis for the mandatory revocation of its license, done the following:
(1) implemented a clear policy requiring all persons working in the place of business to strictly comply with the provisions of sections 17-704, 17-705 and 17-706 of this code and permitting persons working in the place of business to complete a tobacco product sales transaction only after establishing the age of a prospective purchaser of tobacco products through identification that has been verified for authenticity or through photographic identification as required by section 17-706 of this code; and
(2) trained all persons working in the place of business to comply with any such policy before they are allowed to sell tobacco products to the public; and
(3) monitored the performance of persons working in the place of business to ensure that they adhere to such policy, or, in accordance with rules promulgated by the commissioner, conducted periodic retraining of persons working in the place of business.
g. Any retail dealer who fails to pay (1) any civil penalty imposed under chapter thirteen of title eleven of the code for the violation of any provision thereunder, or (2) any civil penalty imposed under this chapter for any violation thereof or under section 17-176.1 or section 17-177 of this title for any violation of such sections, shall be subject to suspension of his or her retail dealer license for the place of business where the violation occurred until such retail dealer pays all such civil penalties. Such retail dealer license shall not be renewed until such retail dealer pays all such civil penalties. A proceeding to suspend a retail dealer license pursuant to this subdivision may be commenced by the department to which payment of the penalty is due, in the same manner as a proceeding pursuant to subdivision b of this section to recover a civil penalty. The office of administrative trials and hearings acting pursuant to section 2203 and subdivision 2 of section 1048 of the charter, the office of administrative trials and hearings acting pursuant to section 558 and subdivision 2 of section 1048 of the charter and an adjudication division of the department of finance or the administrative tribunal selected by the commissioner of finance shall have the power to suspend a retail dealer's license pursuant to this subdivision.
(Am. L.L. 2017/144, 8/28/2017, eff. 6/1/2018; Am. L.L. 2017/145, 8/28/2017, eff. 6/1/2018; Am. L.L. 2020/080, 8/28/2020, eff. 8/28/2020)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1992/083, L.L. 2000/002, L.L. 2013/097, L.L. 2017/144, L.L. 2017/145, and L.L. 2020/080.