(a) (1) The commission may adopt regulations establishing an administrative enforcement process for a violation of a regulation adopted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (f) of Section 25402 and for the assessment of an administrative civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation. The process shall comply with the requirements of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11370) and Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 11400) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

(2) In assessing the amount of an administrative penalty, the commission shall consider all of the following factors:

(A) The nature and seriousness of the violation.

(B) The number of violations.

(C) The persistence of the violation.

(D) The length of time over which the violation occurred.

(E) The willfulness of the violation.

(F) The violator’s assets, liabilities, and net worth.

(G) The harm to consumers and to the state that resulted from the amount of energy wasted due to the violation.

(b) If the commission finds that a violation of the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (f) of Section 25402 has occurred or is threatening to occur, the commission may refer the matter to the Attorney General to petition a court to enjoin the violation. The court may grant prohibitory or mandatory injunctive relief as warranted by issuing a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction, or permanent injunction, and may assess a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation, considering the factors specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).

(c) Penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the Appliance Efficiency Enforcement Subaccount, which is hereby established in the Energy Resources Programs Account. The moneys in the Appliance Efficiency Enforcement Subaccount may be expended by the commission, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the education of the public regarding appliance energy efficiency and for the enforcement of the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (f) of Section 25402.

(d) An order imposing an administrative civil penalty shall be subject to judicial review pursuant to subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 25534.2.

(e) A person shall not be liable for a civil penalty pursuant to subdivision (b) if that person is subject to an administrative civil penalty pursuant to subdivision (a).

(f) In a civil action brought on behalf of the commission pursuant to this section, upon granting relief, the court shall award to the commission the reasonable costs incurred by the commission in investigating and prosecuting the action.

(g) The commission shall not initiate an administrative enforcement process pursuant to the regulations adopted pursuant to this section against an entity for the unlawful sale or the unlawful offer for sale of an appliance if both of the following apply:

(1) The appliance fully complies with all of the requirements of the regulations adopted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (f) of Section 25402.

(2) The only basis for the commission’s potential enforcement action is that the appliance is not considered to be in compliance because of the commission’s delay in reviewing and processing information submitted to it that demonstrates full compliance.

(h) In addition to the prohibitions specified in subdivision (g), the commission shall not initiate an administrative enforcement process pursuant to the regulations adopted pursuant to this section for a violation of a standard adopted pursuant to subdivisions (c) and (f) of Section 25402 until both of the following occur:

(1) No fewer than 60 days have elapsed since the date when the standard was published in the California Register.

(2) No fewer than 30 days have elapsed since the date when the alleged violator received written notice of the alleged violation and date when the commission provided public notice of the standard.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 697, Sec. 3. (SB 49) Effective January 1, 2020.)