§ 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.)