Enforcement – Inspections – Reporting – Civil penalties

(a) The department shall enforce this part in a manner that may reasonably be expected to reduce the extent to which tobacco, smoking hemp, vapor products, or smokeless nicotine products are sold or distributed to persons under twenty-one (21) years of age, and shall conduct random, unannounced inspections at locations where tobacco, smoking hemp, vapor products, or smokeless nicotine products are sold or distributed to ensure compliance with this part. (a)(38) or a specific statute exists covering the same or similar conduct. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106signed: includes a mark, the name being written near the mark and witnessed, or any other symbol or methodology executed or adopted by a party with intention to authenticate a writing or record, regardless of being witnessed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105Smoking hemp: means hemp that is offered for sale to the public with the intention that it is consumed by smoking and that does not meet the definition of a vapor product. See Tennessee Code 39-17-1503State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105(b) A person who violates § 39-17-1504, § 39-17-1506, § 39-17-1507 or § 39-17-1508 shall receive only a warning letter for the person’s first violation and shall not receive a civil penalty for the person’s first violation. A person who violates § 39-17-1504, § 39-17-1506, § 39-17-1507 or § 39-17-1508 is subject to a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars ($500) for the person’s second violation, not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the person’s third violation and not more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) for the person’s fourth or subsequent violation. For purposes of determining whether a violation is the person’s first, second, third, fourth or subsequent violation, the commissioner shall count only those violations that occurred within the previous five (5) years. A civil penalty shall be assessed in the following manner: (1) The commissioner shall issue the assessment of civil penalty against any person responsible for the violation; (2) Any person against whom an assessment has been issued may secure a review of the assessment by filing with the commissioner a written petition setting forth the person’s reasons for objection to the assessment and asking for a hearing before the commissioner; (3) Any hearing before the commissioner shall be conducted in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, part 3. An appeal from the final order of the commissioner may be taken by the person to whom the assessment was issued, and the appeal proceedings shall be conducted in accordance with the judicial review provisions of the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, codified in §§ 4-5-322 and 4-5-323; and (4) If a petition for review is not filed within thirty (30) days after the date the person received the assessment, the person shall be deemed to have consented to the assessment, and it shall become final. Whenever an assessment has become final, the commissioner may apply to the chancery court of Davidson County for a judgment in the amount of the assessment and seek execution on the judgment. The chancery court of Davidson County shall treat a person’s failure to file a petition for review of an assessment as a confession of judgment in the amount of the assessment. (c) A person who demanded, was shown, and reasonably relied upon proof of age is not liable for a civil penalty for a violation of § 39-17-1504 or § 39-17-1507. In the case of distribution of any tobacco, smoking hemp, vapor product, or smokeless nicotine product by mail, a person who obtained a statement from the addressee that the addressee is at least twenty-one (21) years of age is not liable for a civil penalty so long as that distributor of the tobacco, smoking hemp, vapor product, or smokeless nicotine product informed the addressee that § 39-17-1504 prohibits the distribution of tobacco, smoking hemp, vapor products, and smokeless nicotine products to a person under twenty-one (21) years of age. (d) When assessing a civil penalty, the commissioner is authorized to assess the penalty against any person or persons determined by the commissioner to be responsible, in whole or in part, for contributing to or causing the violation to occur, including, but not limited to, the owner, manager or employee of a store at which any tobacco, smoking hemp, vapor product, or smokeless nicotine product is sold at retail, the owner, manager or employee of an establishment in which a vending machine selling tobacco, smoking hemp, vapor produ