§7108.__Administrative fines

1.__Penalty authorized.__The commission may impose an administrative penalty against any person who violates any telecommunications consumer protection statute, or rule or any commission order issued pursuant to such a statute or rule.__The commission shall, by rule, designate those statutes and rules that are intended to provide substantive or procedural protections to telecommunications consumers.__Rules adopted under this section are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.

2.__Amount of penalty.__The penalty for a violation may be in an amount not to exceed $5,000 for each day the violation continues.__The amount of the penalty must be based on:

A.__The severity of the violation, including the intent of the violator, and the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of any prohibited acts;

B.__The history of previous violations; and

C.__The amount necessary to deter future violations.

3.__Suspension or revocation of authority.__If the commission finds that a local or intrastate interexchange carrier has repeatedly violated a telecommunications consumer protection statute, the commission shall order the utility to take corrective action as necessary.__In addition, the commission, if consistent with the public interest, may suspend, restrict or revoke the registration or certificate of the local or intrastate interexchange carrier, so as to deny the local or intrastate interexchange carrier the right to provide service in this State.

4.__Reimbursement fund.__Penalties collected by the commission under this section must be deposited in the Public Utilities Commission Reimbursement Fund under section 117.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.