Sec. 623.271. ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT. (a) The department may investigate and, except as provided by Subsection (f), may impose an administrative penalty or revoke an oversize or overweight permit issued under this chapter if the person or the holder of the permit, as applicable:

(1) provides false information on the permit application or another form required by the department for the issuance of an oversize or overweight permit;

(2) violates this chapter, Chapter 621, or Chapter 622;

(3) violates a rule or order adopted under this chapter, Chapter 621, or Chapter 622; or

(4) fails to obtain an oversize or overweight permit if a permit is required.

(b) The notice and hearing requirements of Section 643.2525 apply to the imposition of an administrative penalty or the revocation of a permit under this section as if the action were being taken under that section.

(c) It is an affirmative defense to administrative enforcement under this section that the person or holder of the permit relied on the shipper's certificate of weight.

(d) The amount of an administrative penalty imposed under this section is calculated in the same manner as the amount of an administrative penalty imposed under Section 643.251.

(e) A person who has been ordered to pay an administrative penalty under this section and the vehicle that is the subject of the enforcement order may not be issued a permit under this chapter until the amount of the penalty has been paid to the department.

(f) This subsection applies only to a vehicle or combination that is used to transport agricultural products or timber products from the place of production to the place of first marketing or first processing. In connection with a violation of a vehicle or combination weight restriction or limitation in this chapter, Chapter 621, or Chapter 622, the department may not impose an administrative penalty against a person or the holder of an overweight permit if the weight of the vehicle or combination involved in the violation did not exceed the allowable weight by more than three percent.

Added by Acts 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1396 (H.B. 2093), Sec. 15, eff. September 1, 2007.