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§ 13-201. Civil penalties

West's Annotated Code of MarylandPublic UtilitiesEffective: October 1, 2022

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Public Utilities (Refs & Annos)
Division I. Public Services and Utilities [Titles 1-15] (Refs & Annos)
Title 13. Prohibited Acts; Penalties (Refs & Annos)
Subtitle 2. Civil Liability (Refs & Annos)
Effective: October 1, 2022
MD Code, Public Utilities, § 13-201
Formerly cited as MD PUBLIC UTIL COMP § 13-201
§ 13-201. Civil penalties
Application of section
(a) This section does not apply to a violation of the following provisions of this article:
(1) Title 5, Subtitle 4;
(2) Title 7, Subtitle 1;
(3) § 7-213 as it applies to electric cooperatives;
(4) Title 8, Subtitles 1 and 3;
(5) Title 9, Subtitle 3; and
(6) Title 8, Subtitle 4.
Maximum civil penalties
(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Commission may impose a civil penalty not exceeding $25,000 against a person who violates a provision of this division, or an effective and outstanding direction, ruling, order, rule, or regulation of the Commission.
(2) The civil penalty that the Commission may impose on a common carrier for each violation may not exceed $2,500.
Civil penalty in addition to other penalties
(c)(1) A civil penalty may be imposed in addition to any other penalty authorized by this division.
(2) Each violation is a separate offense.
(3) Each day or part of a day the violation continues is a separate offense.
Determination of civil penalty amount
(d) The Commission shall determine the amount of any civil penalty after considering:
(1) the number of previous violations of any provision of this article;
(2) the gravity of the current violation;
(3) the good faith efforts of the violator in attempting to achieve compliance after notification of the violation; and
(4) any other matter that the Commission considers appropriate and relevant.
Disposition of penalties
(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection, a civil penalty collected under this section shall be paid into the Resiliency Hub Grant Program Fund established under § 9-2015 of the State Government Article.
(2) A civil penalty assessed for a violation of a service quality and reliability standard under § 7-213 of this article shall be paid into the Electric Reliability Remediation Fund under § 7-213(j) of this article.
(3) A civil penalty assessed for a violation of § 7-505(b)(7), § 7-507, § 7-603, § 7-604, or § 7-606 of this article, or a rule, an order, or a regulation adopted under any of those sections, shall be paid into the Retail Choice Customer Education and Protection Fund under § 7-310 of this article.

Credits

Added as Public Utility Companies § 13-201.1 by Acts 2001, c. 205, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2001. Renumbered as Public Utility Companies § 13-201 by Acts 2005, c. 133, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2005. Amended by Acts 2005, c. 133, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2005; Acts 2010, c. 52, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2010; Acts 2011, c. 167, § 1, eff. May 10, 2011; Acts 2011, c. 168, § 1, eff. May 10, 2011; Acts 2014, c. 581, § 1, eff. July 1, 2014; Acts 2016, c. 134, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2016; Acts 2022, c. 734, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2022; Acts 2022, c. 735, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2022.
MD Code, Public Utilities, § 13-201, MD PUBLIC UTIL § 13-201
Current with all legislation from the 2023 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Some statute sections may be more current, see credits for details.
End of Document