Section 0780-02-13-.17 - DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS(1) The Commissioner may refuse to issue or renew, or suspend or revoke, any license to act as a manufacturer, dealer, or installer, or any approval to act as a design review agency or construction inspection agency, on any of the following grounds:(a) Obtaining or attempting to obtain such license or approval by fraud or misrepresentation;(b) Violation of any provision of this Chapter or Tenn. Code Ann. Title 68, Chapter 126, Part 3;(c) Willful or consistent failure to comply with the standards;(d) Conviction in a court of competent jurisdiction of any crime relating to activities regulated by this chapter;(e) Employment of fraudulent devices, methods, or practices in connection with activities regulated by this chapter;(f) Offering for sale, either wholesale or retail, products of an unlicensed manufacturer;(g) Offering for sale, either wholesale or retail, unlabeled modular building units or components;(h) Having such license or approval refused, suspended, or revoked by another state;(i) Any cause for which issuance of such license or approval could have been refused had it existed and been known to the Commissioner at the time of issuance; or(j) Selling modular building units to an unlicensed dealer.(2) The Department will notify all licensed manufacturers of any suspension or revocation of approval of a design review or construction inspection agency. Such notice will contain instructions as to the disposition of modular building units or components previously labeled by the agency whose approval has been suspended or revoked.(3) A design review or construction inspection agency whose approval has been suspended or revoked shall, within thirty (30) days of such suspension or revocation, deliver to the custody of the Department:(a) Copies of all records required to have been kept by the agency; and(b) All labels in the possession, or under the control or responsibility, of the agency.(4) The Commissioner may, in a lawful proceeding respecting any individual or entity required to be licensed, or approved or who is otherwise subject to regulation by the Department, in addition to or in lieu of any other lawful disciplinary action, assess a civil penalty for each separate violation of a statute or rule by such individual/entity. The amount of any such civil penalty assessed shall be a minimum of one hundred dollars ($100.00) and shall not exceed five thousand dollars ($5000.00) for each day of violation or for each act of violation. (a) In determining the amount of a civil penalty the Commission may consider the following factors: (i) whether the amount imposed will be a substantial economic deterrent to the violator;(ii) the circumstances leading to the violation;(iii) the severity of the violation and the risk of harm to the public;(iv) the economic benefits gained by the violator as a result of non-compliance; and(v) the interest of the public.(b) For purposes of the assessment of civil penalties pursuant to this rule, each separate act shall constitute a separate violation and each day of continued violation shall constitute a separate violation.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0780-02-13-.17
Original rule filed September 17, 1986; effective November 1, 1986. Amendment filed October 2, 1989; effective January 29, 1990. Amendment filed June 10, 2004; effective August 24, 2004. Amendment filed June 15, 2009; effective August 29, 2009.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 68-102-113, and 68-126-305.