§ 51.364 Enforcement against contractors, stations and inspectors.

Enforcement against licensed stations or contractors, and inspectors shall include swift, sure, effective, and consistent penalties for violation of program requirements.

(a) Imposition of penalties. A penalty schedule shall be developed that establishes minimum penalties for violations of program rules and procedures.

(1) The schedule shall categorize and list violations and the minimum penalties to be imposed for first, second, and subsequent violations and for multiple violation of different requirements. In the case of contracted systems, the State may use compensation retainage in lieu of penalties.

(2) Substantial penalties or retainage shall be imposed on the first offense for violations that directly affect emission reduction benefits. At a minimum, in test-and-repair programs inspector and station license suspension shall be imposed for at least 6 months whenever a vehicle is intentionally improperly passed for any required portion of the test. In test-only programs, inspectors shall be removed from inspector duty for at least 6 months (or a retainage penalty equivalent to the inspector's salary for that period shall be imposed).