50.377 Forfeiture.

(1) Whoever violates a requirement under s. 50.375 (2) or (3) may be required to forfeit not less than $2,500 nor more than $5,000 for each violation.

(2) The department may directly assess forfeitures provided for under sub. (1). If the department determines that a forfeiture should be assessed for a particular violation, the department shall send a notice of assessment to the hospital. The notice shall specify the amount of the forfeiture assessed, the violation and the statute or rule alleged to have been violated, and shall inform the hospital of the right to a hearing under sub. (3).

(3) A hospital may contest an assessment of a forfeiture by sending, within 10 days after receipt of notice under sub. (2), a written request for a hearing under s. 227.44 to the division of hearings and appeals created under s. 15.103 (1). The administrator of the division may designate a hearing examiner to preside over the case and recommend a decision to the administrator under s. 227.46. The decision of the administrator of the division shall be the final administrative decision. The division shall commence the hearing within 30 days after receipt of the request for a hearing and shall issue a final decision within 15 days after the close of the hearing. Proceedings before the division are governed by ch. 227. In any petition for judicial review of a decision by the division, the party, other than the petitioner, who was in the proceeding before the division shall be the named respondent.

(4) All forfeitures shall be paid to the department within 10 days after receipt of notice of assessment or, if the forfeiture is contested under sub. (3), within 10 days after receipt of the final decision after exhaustion of administrative review, unless the final decision is appealed and the order is stayed by court order. The department shall remit all forfeitures paid to the secretary of administration for deposit in the school fund.

(5) The attorney general may bring an action in the name of the state to collect any forfeiture imposed under this section if the forfeiture has not been paid following the exhaustion of all administrative and judicial reviews. The only issue to be contested in any such action shall be whether the forfeiture has been paid.

History: 2007 a. 102; 2009 a. 2 s. 70.