(1) (a) The director of the commission or his or her designee shall have the authority to issue civil penalty assessments for the violations enumerated in section 40-7-113.5, subject to hearing before the commission as set forth in this section. When a public utility is cited for a violation, the public utility shall be given notice of the violation in the form of a civil penalty assessment notice.
(b) The notice shall be tendered by the director or his or her designee, either in person or by certified mail, or by personal service by any person authorized to serve process under rule 4 (d) of the Colorado rules of civil procedure, and shall contain:
(I) The name and address of the person cited for the violation;
(II) A citation to the specific statute or rule alleged to have been violated;
(III) A brief description of the alleged violation;
(IV) The date and approximate location of the alleged violation;
(V) The maximum penalty amounts prescribed for the violation;
(VI) The date of the notice;
(VII) A place for the public utility to execute a signed acknowledgment of receipt of the civil penalty assessment notice;
(VIII) A place for the public utility to execute a signed acknowledgment of liability for the violation; and
(IX) Any other information as may be required by law to constitute notice of a complaint to appear for hearing if the prescribed penalty is not paid within ten days.
(c) Every cited public utility shall execute the signed acknowledgment of receipt of the civil penalty assessment notice. The acknowledgment of liability shall be executed at the time the public utility cited pays the prescribed penalty. The public utility cited shall pay the civil penalty specified for the violation involved at the office of the commission, either in person or by depositing the payment postpaid in the United States mail within ten days after the issuance of the citation.
(d) If the public utility cited does not pay the prescribed penalty within ten days after the issuance of the notice, the civil penalty assessment notice shall constitute a complaint to appear before the commission. The public utility cited shall contact the commission on or before the time and date specified in the notice to set the complaint for a hearing on the merits in accordance with section 40-6-109. If the public utility cited fails to contact the commission on or before the time and date specified, the commission shall set the complaint for hearing. At the hearing, the commission shall have the burden of demonstrating a violation by a preponderance of the evidence.
(2) A civil penalty assessment notice shall not be considered defective so as to provide cause for dismissal solely because of a defect in the content of the civil penalty assessment notice. Any defect in the content of a civil penalty assessment notice issued as described in subsection (1) of this section may be cured by a motion to amend the same filed with the commission prior to hearing on the merits; except that no such amendment shall be permitted if substantial rights of the public utility cited are prejudiced.
(3) In the case of an alleged continuing violation for which daily penalties would accrue under section 40-7-115, the issuance of a civil penalty assessment notice shall toll the accrual of daily penalties until the later to occur of the expiration of the ten-day period provided for payment pursuant to subsection (1) of this section or, if the matter is set for hearing, upon the conclusion of the proceedings through issuance of an order, dismissal of the complaint, or other final agency action, including judicial review and appeal, if any.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the assessment of a civil penalty against an individual employee of a public utility.
Source: L. 2008: Entire section added, p.1799, � 22, effective July 1.
40-7-117. Gas pipeline safety rules - civil penalty for violations - other remedies. (1) Any person violating any rule adopted or order issued by the commission pursuant to the authority granted in section 40-2-115 (1)(c), (1)(d), or (1)(e) is subject to a civil penalty of up to two hundred thousand dollars per violation; except that, in the case of a group or series of related violations, the aggregate amount of such penalties shall not exceed two million dollars. Each day of a continuing violation constitutes a separate violation.
(2) Any civil penalty authorized by this section may be reduced by the commission based on consideration of objective metrics and factors set forth in rules. The metrics and factors must include:
(a) An evaluation of the severity of the violation, in terms of its actual or potential effect on public safety or pipeline system integrity;
(b) The extent to which the violation and any underlying conditions that may have contributed to the likelihood or severity of the violation have been remedied; and
(c) The extent to which the violator agrees to spend, in lieu of payment of part of the civil penalty, a specified dollar amount on commission-approved measures to reduce the overall risk to pipeline system safety or integrity; except that the amount of the penalty payable to the commission shall be no less than five thousand dollars.
(3) If a violator does not remit the assessed penalty or the lesser amount agreed upon pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, the commission may recover the amount due plus court costs in a civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(4) The remedy provided in this section is in addition to any other remedies available to the commission under the constitution or laws of this state or of the United States.
Source: L. 93: Entire section added, p. 2071, � 30, effective July 1. L. 2003: (1) amended, p. 1700, � 6, effective May 14. L. 2021: Entire section amended, (SB 21-108), ch. 465, p. 3355, � 3, effective July 6.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 21-108, see section 1 of chapter 465, Session Laws of Colorado 2021.
40-7-118. Legal services offset fund - creation - exemption from maximum reserve. (1) (a) The legal services offset fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund consists of the civil penalties that are collected and credited to the fund pursuant to section 40-7-112 (1)(b) for violations of article 10.1 of this title 40 or commission rules promulgated pursuant to article 10.1 of this title 40. The money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department of regulatory agencies for use to offset the costs of legal representation of the staff of the commission in proceedings before the commission concerning the enforcement of article 10.1 of this title 40. The department of regulatory agencies shall use the money in the legal services offset fund to support appropriations made to the department that are used for legal representation of the staff of the commission in proceedings concerning the enforcement of article 10.1 of this title 40.
(b) The money in the fund and any interest earned on money in the fund at the end of any fiscal year remains in the fund and shall not be transferred to the general fund or any other fund; except that, if the balance in the fund exceeds two hundred fifty thousand dollars, the state treasurer shall transfer the money in excess of two hundred fifty thousand dollars to the general fund.
(2) In accordance with section 24-75-402 (2)(a) and for each fiscal year, the alternative maximum reserve for the legal services offset fund is two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
Source: L. 2017: Entire section added, (SB 17-180), ch. 281, p. 1532, � 3, effective August 9. L. 2019: (1)(a) amended, (SB 19-236), ch. 359, p. 3312, � 18, effective May 30.