§ 3661. Cease and desist powers; prosecutions and penalties

(a) When the Commissioner believes that an insurer or an officer or agent thereof, or any other person, has violated the law, an administrative rule of the Department, or an order of the Commissioner relating to insurance, or has not complied with its requirements, he or she:

(1) may issue an order to cease and desist such violation or activity. Such an order shall be subject to de novo judicial review in the Washington Superior Court, but such review shall not stay the enforcement of the Commissioner's order while under review, unless the court shall so determine after a preliminary hearing that a stay of enforcement will not unduly injure the interests of the people of the State, in which case a stay of execution may be granted;

(2) may report each violation with any information he or she has relating thereto to the Attorney General who shall prosecute therefor if he or she deems it advisable. The offender shall be fined not more than $2,000.00 as a result of any such prosecution by the Attorney General; and

(3) may, after notice and opportunity for hearing, impose a civil administrative penalty of not more than $1,000.00 for each violation, and not more than $10,000.00 for each willful violation.

(b) The powers vested in the Commissioner by this section shall be in addition to any other powers to enforce penalties, fines, or forfeitures authorized by law with respect to violations of the law relating to insurance, except that the Commissioner shall not impose an administrative penalty under subdivision (a)(3) of this section if the Commissioner may impose another administrative penalty authorized by law for the same violation.

(c) An employer who makes a false statement or representation that results in a lower workers' compensation premium, after notice and opportunity for hearing before the Commissioner, may be assessed an administrative penalty of not more than $20,000.00 in addition to any other appropriate penalty. In addition, an employer found to have violated this section is prohibited from contracting, directly or indirectly, with the State or any of its subdivisions for up to three years following the date the employer was found to have made a false statement or misrepresentation, as determined by the Commissioner in consultation with the Commissioner of Buildings and General Services or the Secretary of Transportation, as appropriate. Either the Secretary or the Commissioner, as appropriate, shall be consulted in any appeal relating to prohibiting the employer from contracting with the State or its subdivisions.

(d) Any person who knowingly makes a false statement or representation in an application, petition, certification or verification made in accordance with the provisions of this title, or of 18 V.S.A. chapter 221, or a certification or other filing with the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commissioner under chapter 165 of this title, after notice and opportunity for hearing before the Commissioner of Financial Regulation may be assessed an administrative penalty of not more than $5,000.00. The authority granted to the Commissioner by this subsection shall be in addition to any other authority granted to the Commissioner by law. (Added 1967, No. 344 (Adj. Sess.), § 1 (ch. 1, subch. 13, § 1); amended 1983, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.); 2003, No. 105 (Adj. Sess.), § 7; 2009, No. 42, § 9; 2009, No. 54, § 78, eff. June 1, 2009; 2009, No. 142 (Adj. Sess.), § 5a; 2011, No. 78 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 2, 2012.)