§ 160-OO — Violations; penalties; appeals

§ 160-oo. Violations; penalties; appeals. 1. (a) If the secretary\nbelieves a violation of this article by a fund member may have occurred,\nthe secretary shall notify the local licensing authority of such fact\nand, upon notice to the fund member, a hearing shall be held by such\nlocal licensing authority to determine whether such violation occurred.\nIn the absence of a local licensing authority, or if the local licensing\nauthority chooses not to hold such hearing, the hearing shall be held by\nthe secretary.\n (b) If the fund believes that a central dispatch facility has failed\nto pay the fund the assessments due pursuant to this article, or has\nfailed to pay the reimbursement due pursuant to paragraph (g) of\nsubdivision two of section one hundred sixty-gg of this article, it\nshall make a referral to the a local licensing authority, or, in the\nabsence of a local licensing authority, to the department. Upon receipt\nof such a referral, the local licensing authority or the department\nshall be required to hold a hearing pursuant to paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision.\n 2. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a fund member that is\nfound, after a hearing held pursuant to subdivision one of this section,\nto have violated a provision of this article, or a rule promulgated by\nthe department pursuant to this article, shall be liable for a fine in\nan amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars per violation.\nNotwithstanding the foregoing, a fund member that fails to bill or that\ncollects and fails to submit to the fund the required surcharges shall\nbe subject, in addition to payment to the fund of the amount overdue\nplus interest on such amount as herein provided, to a penalty, at the\ndiscretion of the local licensing authority, if any, or, in the absence\nof such authority, of the department, of (a) up to five thousand dollars\nfor each twenty days the payment is overdue, or (b) revocation of its\nmembership in the fund and of its certificate of registration, or (c)\nboth a monetary penalty and revocation of its membership in the fund and\nof its certificate of registration. The rate of interest applicable\npursuant to this section shall be twelve percent per annum. Any monetary\npenalty imposed pursuant to this subdivision shall be retained by the\ndepartment or the local licensing authority and be used to defray the\ncosts of administering this article. The responsible persons, of a\ncentral dispatch facility that are found, after a hearing held pursuant\nto subdivision one of this section, to be in default to the fund for\nassessments owed pursuant to this article, shall be personally liable\nfor the amount of such assessments determined to be then due and\noutstanding, including interest on such assessments awarded pursuant to\nthis subdivision, and for all monetary penalties imposed pursuant to\nthis subdivision.\n "Responsible persons," for purposes of this subdivision, include: (i)\nthe directors of a central dispatch facility that is a corporation; (ii)\nthe managers of a central dispatch facility that is a limited liability\ncompany or its members if management of the central dispatch facility is\nvested in its members; (iii) the general partner or partners of a\ncentral dispatch facility that is a partnership; (iv) all individuals\nwho directly or indirectly own, control or hold the power to vote ten\npercent or more of the voting interests of any corporation, joint stock\ncompany, partnership, association, trust, limited liability company or\nsimilar entity that manages a central dispatch facility; and (v) the\npresident, secretary and treasurer of a central dispatch facility,\nregardless of its form of organization.\n Failure of the central dispatch facility, or of its responsible\npersons to pay any assessments or penalties awarded pursuant to this\nsubdivision within twenty days of issuance of a valid order so to do, or\nin the event an appeal has been taken from the determination of the\ndepartment or the local licensing authority, to deposit with the\nsecretary or the local licensing authority within twenty days of the\nissuance of the determination from which the appeal is taken the total\namount of the award as security for its payment, shall entitle the\nsecretary or the local licensing authority to file with the clerk of\nAlbany county a certified copy of the determination of the department or\nlocal licensing authority, and thereupon judgment shall be entered in\nthe supreme court by the clerk of Albany county in conformity therewith\nimmediately upon such filing. Such judgment shall be entered in the same\nmanner, have the same effect and be subject to the same proceedings as\nthough rendered in a suit duly heard and determined by the supreme\ncourt, except that no appeal may be taken therefrom.\n 3. Within twenty days after issuance by the department or local\nlicensing authority of a determination adverse to a central dispatch\nfacility following a hearing held pursuant to subdivision one of this\nsection, an appeal may be taken therefrom to the appellate division of\nthe supreme court, third department, by the aggrieved central dispatch\nfacility. The attorney general shall represent the department or the\nlocal licensing authority thereon.\n