Section 401.160 - Standard Penalty Chart(a) The commission, through the director of the Lottery Operations Division, may offer settlements to persons charged with violating the provisions of the State Lottery Act or rules of the commission. Settlement of those cases, unless otherwise provided for elsewhere in this rule, shall be in compliance with the following standard penalty chart. A settlement will be in the form of an Agreement and Consent Order of the commission.(b) A repeat violation by a licensee justifies the penalty for a second or third violation if it occurs within 12 months of the first violation. Violations need not be the same or similar in nature to previous violations to be considered repeat violations.(c) A penalty for an alleged repeat violation shall not be assessed unless the alleged violation occurs after the licensee has been notified, in writing, of the first alleged violation. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if an alleged violation is discovered during an undercover operation, then no notice of any prior alleged violations may be necessary to assess a penalty for a repeat violation. The requirement that written notice be given to a licensee shall not be interpreted to require that a notice of hearing for the violation be delivered to the licensee.(d) The list of violations in the standard penalty chart is not an exclusive list of violations of the commission or rules of the commission. The commission is authorized to assess penalties for any violation of any of the foregoing statutes or rules for which a penalty is not provided on the chart. Any penalty assessed for a violation not provided for on the standard penalty chart shall be approved by the director of the Lottery Operations Division or his/her designee prior to its assessment.(e) Any person responsible for assessing a penalty for a violation may deviate from the standard penalty chart if mitigating circumstances are involved and consideration will be given to all the factors listed in subsection (g) of this section. If a recommendation deviating from the standard penalty chart is made, it must be made in writing and be filed with the case report. Final approval shall be made by the director of the Lottery Operations Division or his/her designee.(f) The standard penalty chart does not bind an administrative law judge or the commission as to penalties for any violation determined to have occurred by the facts presented in an administrative hearing and the record of that proceeding shall be the determining factor as to the sufficiency of the penalty assessed.(g) Based upon consideration of the following factors, the commission may impose penalties other than the penalties recommended in § RSA 401.158 of this title (relating to Suspension or Revocation of License) and/or this section: (1) Severity of the offense;(2) Danger to the public;(3) Number of repetition of offenses;(4) Number of complaints previously found justified against the licensee;(5) Length of time the licensee has held a license;(6) Actual damage, physical or otherwise, caused by the violations;(7) Deterrent effect of the penalty imposed;(8) Attempts by licensee to correct or stop violations or refusal by licensee to correct or stop violations;(9) Penalties imposed for related offenses; or(10) Any other mitigating or aggravating circumstances.16 Tex. Admin. Code § 401.160
The provisions of this §401.160 adopted to be effective July 1, 2002, 27 TexReg 5759; amended to be effective September 1, 2014, 39 TexReg 6828; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 40, Number 24, June 12, 2015, TexReg 3646, eff. 6/18/2015; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 42, Number 51, December 22, 2017, TexReg 7386, eff. 12/31/2017; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 45, Number 34, August 21, 2020, TexReg 5908, eff. 8/30/2020; Amended by Texas Register, Volume 49, Number 46, November 15, 2024, TexReg 9225, eff. 11/18/2024