§ 40:1749.23 — Enforcement and adjudication; administration; levy of civil penalties

Louisiana § 40:1749.23

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 40: Public Health and Safety

Text

§1749.23. Enforcement and adjudication; administration; levy of civil penalties
A. Except as provided in R.S. 40:1749.27, the provisions of this Part may be
enforced by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or by any local law
enforcement agency. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections or its designee may
provide forms, including citation, complaint, and incident report forms, to other law
enforcement agencies for use in enforcement of the provisions of this Part.
B. The deputy secretary for the office of public safety services in the Department of
Public Safety and Corrections or any local law enforcement agency shall have the right to:
(1) Exclusively monitor excavation or demolition that is subject to the provisions of
this Part to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Part, including requesting the
production by the excavator or demolisher of the locate request number issued by the
regional notification center.
(2) Issue citations for violations of the provisions of this Part in addition to other
enforcement powers provided by law.
(3) Seek restraining orders, injunctions, or other civil remedies to halt or prevent
violations of the provisions of this Part.
C. Proceedings and adjudications for the levying of civil penalties under this Part
shall be conducted by the division of administrative law in accordance with regulations
adopted pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act.
D. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or his designee
may promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation and administration of the
provisions of this Part relative to enforcement, which shall include developing a procedure
for reporting and investigating complaints of violations of this Part that includes the
following:
(1) Establishing a centralized complaint reporting point using a toll-free phone
number that is available to contractors, utility operators, and the general public.
(2) Establishing a uniform complaint form to record the complainant's name and
identifying information, the nature and details of the complaint, the geographic location of
the complaint, any information about excavators, the date and time of the complaint, the date
and time of the complaint report, and whether any collateral damage or off-site impact
occurred including information about that impact or damage.
(3) Establishing a procedure to investigate the validity of the complaint using
information provided by but not limited to certified regional notification centers with
jurisdiction in the reported geographic area.
(4) Establishing a procedure for determining the appropriate law enforcement agency
in the reported geographic area that will be responsible for investigating the complaint and
for forwarding the complaint report to that law enforcement agency.
(5) Establishing a procedure for the law enforcement agency to completely
investigate a complaint and obtain the information needed to issue a citation and adjudicate
the complaint.
(6) Establishing a procedure for receiving citations issued by law enforcement
agencies, determining whether the cited party wishes to contest the charge, and transferring
contested citations to the division of administrative law for adjudication.
(7) Establishing a procedure for recording the number of citations issued and their
disposition.
(8) Establishing procedures for collecting civil penalties for deposit into the
Underground Damages Prevention Fund and disbursing those civil penalties according to the
provisions of this Part.

Legislative History

Acts 1997, No. 1050, §1, eff. July 11, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 506, §1, eff. June 29, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 162, §1; Acts 2017, No. 218, §2, eff. June 14, 2017.