41-1077. Consequence for agency failure to comply with overall time frame; refund; penalty

A. If an agency does not issue to an applicant the written notice granting or denying a license within the overall time frame or within the time frame extension pursuant to section 41-1075, the agency shall refund to the applicant all fees charged for reviewing and acting on the application for the license and shall excuse payment of any such fees that have not yet been paid. The agency shall not require an applicant to submit an application for a refund pursuant to this subsection. The refund shall be made within thirty days after the expiration of the overall time frame or the time frame extension. The agency shall continue to process the application subject to subsection B of this section. Notwithstanding any other statute, the agency shall make the refund from the fund in which the application fees were originally deposited. This section applies only to license applications that were subject to substantive review.

B. Except for license applications that were not subject to substantive review, the agency shall pay a penalty to the state general fund for each month after the expiration of the overall time frame or the time frame extension until the agency issues written notice to the applicant granting or denying the license. The agency shall pay the penalty from the agency fund in which the application fees were originally deposited. The penalty shall be two and one-half per cent of the total fees received by the agency for reviewing and acting on the application for each license that the agency has not granted or denied on the last day of each month after the expiration of the overall time frame or time frame extension for that license.