Civil penalties; violations; adoption of schedule of penalties

A. (1) All civil penalties for violations of this Chapter, Chapter 2 of this Title, or any rule of the board governing this Chapter shall be adopted as a schedule of penalties. (2) The Louisiana Gaming Control Board shall adopt as a rule the schedule of penalties provided for by this Subsection. All rules shall be adopted pursuant to the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act. B. (1) The board or division, as may be applicable, shall review the penalty schedule provided for in Subsection A of this Section to determine whether a penalty provided for in the penalty schedule is appropriate and applicable to a particular violation and, if the issuance of a civil penalty is warranted, may impose the applicable appropriate penalty. (2) Any hearing officer of the board shall review the penalty schedule provided for in Subsection A of this Section to determine whether a penalty provided for in the penalty schedule and issued by the board or division, as may be applicable, is appropriate and applicable to a particular violation. C. A civil penalty shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars for each violation of any provision of this Chapter, Chapter 2 of this Title, or rule of the board. D. (1) For the purposes of this Chapter and the provisions of R.S. 27:15(F), violations shall be determined as follows: (a) A licensee shall be provided notice of the charged violation and may admit the violation and accept the penalty or may deny the violation and demand a hearing be held, pursuant to R.S. 27:25, to make a determination regarding the charge. (b) For the purposes of determining whether a second or subsequent violation has occurred, each violation of the same rule or statutory provision shall have occurred on a separate occasion, by the same licensee or permittee, and only violations that have occurred within a one-year period, regardless of when they were charged, admitted, or found to have occurred, shall be considered. (2) For persons having more than one license issued pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, civil penalties as provided in this Subsection shall only apply to the license incurring the violation. E. (1) Payment of the civil penalty shall be a requirement for the retention of any permit or license held by the entity which violated any such provisions. (2)(a) Failure to remit civil penalties shall result in the remote shutdown of video draw poker devices operated at or owned by the location refusing to remit the civil penalty. The provisions of this Subparagraph shall apply only in those instances where no administrative hearing has been timely requested. (b) Upon payment of the penalty, the devices shall be reactivated. F. If the licensee or permittee contests the imposition of the civil penalty, the penalty shall be imposed only after an adjudicatory hearing is conducted pursuant to R.S. 27:25 and a basis for imposition of the penalty is determined to exist.