SECTION 203.43. Administrative Penalties and Sanctions

(a) If a person violates any provision of Occupations Code, Chapter 651; Health and Safety Code, Chapters 193, 361, 695, 711, 716; Finance Code Chapter 154; Tex. Admin. Code, Title 22, Part 10; or an order of the Executive Director or Commissioners, proceedings may be instituted to impose administrative penalties, administrative sanctions, or both administrative penalties and sanctions in accordance with the provisions of Occupations Code §§651.5515 - 651.552.

(b) The Administrative Penalties and Sanctions Schedule published following this section sets penalty limits and ranges by class of offense and number of offenses.

(c) The Commission may negotiate a lower penalty than outlined in the Administrative Penalties and Sanctions Schedule based on the following factors:

(1) Attempts by the licensee to correct or stop the violation;

(2) Number of complaints previously found justified against licensee;

(3) Whether the act was unintentional; and

(4) Other mitigating factors that could warrant a lower penalty.

(d) Multiple violations of Occupations Code, Chapter 651; Health and Safety Code, Chapters 193, 361, 695, 711, 716; Finance Code Chapter 154; Tex. Admin. Code, Title 22, Part 10, may result in higher penalties. Multiple violations may consist of violation of more than one section of the law, numerous violations of the same section of the law, or a combination of both.

(e) The Commission may require a licensee to issue a refund to a consumer in lieu of or in addition to assessing an administrative penalty. The amount of a refund ordered under this section may not exceed the actual amount paid by the person to the license holder.

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Source Note: The provisions of this §203.43 adopted to be effective October 18, 2015, 40 TexReg 7070; amended to be effective October 3, 2019, 44 TexReg 5625