SECTION 265.405. Civil Penalty; Injunction

(a) The department may investigate a person the department suspects of violating the Act, a rule, or an order adopted under the Act.

(b) A person violating the Act, a rule, or an order adopted under the Act is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $50 or more than $1,000 for each act of violation.

(c) If it appears that a person has violated, is violating, or is threatening to violate the Act or a rule or order adopted under the Act, the department may bring a civil action in a district court for injunctive relief, a civil penalty, or both.

(d) The district court, upon finding that the person is violating the Act, a rule, or an order adopted under the Act, shall grant injunctive relief, assess a civil penalty, or both, as warranted by the facts.

(e) The department may petition a district court for a temporary restraining order to immediately halt a violation or other action creating an emergency condition if it appears that a person is:

(1) violating or threatening to violate the Act, a rule, or an order adopted under the Act; or

(2) taking any other action that creates an emergency condition that constitutes an imminent danger to the health, safety, or welfare of campers at a campus program for minors.

(f) An action under this section may be brought in the county in which the defendant resides or in which the violation or threat of violation occurs.

(g) If an action for injunctive relief under this section is granted by the court, the court may grant any prohibitory or mandatory injunction warranted by the facts, including temporary restraining orders, temporary injunctions, and permanent injunctions. The court shall grant injunctive relief without a bond or other undertaking by the department.

(h) An appellate court shall give precedence to an action brought under this section over other cases of a different nature on the docket of the court.

(i) The program operator and the institution that operate the campus program for minors or at which the campus program is conducted are immune from civil or criminal liability for any act or omission of an employee for which the employee is immune under Texas Family Code, §261.106.

Source Note: The provisions of this §265.405 adopted to be effective July 22, 2012, 37 TexReg 5280