§16-9B-4. Special severability rule; implementation date.

(a) Section three severability rule. –-

(1) If the act amending section three of this article in the year two thousand three, or any portion of the amendment to paragraph (B), subdivision (2), subsection (b), section three of this article, made by that act, is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional, then such paragraph (B) shall be deemed to be repealed in its entirety.

(2) If after application of subsection (a) of this section, a court of competent jurisdiction thereafter holds subdivision (2), subsection (b) of said section three to be unconstitutional, then section three as amended in the year two thousand three shall be deleted in its entirety and section three as enacted in the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine, shall be restored as if no amendments had been made to section three in the year two thousand three. Neither any holding of unconstitutionality nor the repeal of paragraph (B), subdivision (2), subsection (b), section three of this article shall affect, impair or invalidate any other portion of section three, or the application of section three to any other person or circumstance, and such remaining portions of section three shall at all times continue in full force and effect.

(b) Implementation date. -– The amendments to section three of this article in the year two thousand three shall not take effect until thirty days after the earlier of:

(1) All states that share a common border with this state enacting similar amendments to their laws implementing the master tobacco settlement agreement; or

(2) Thirty-three states, including this state, enacting similar amendments to their laws implementing the master tobacco settlement agreement.