Colorado § 25-5-1406 - Enforcement - verifications of compliance - civil action by attorney general - penalties.

§ 25-5-1406. Enforcement - verifications of compliance - civil action by attorney general - penalties.

(1) The executive director shall:

(a) Verify major retailers' and distributors' compliance with the provisions of this part 14 through online spot-checks, coordination with other states that have similar standards, or both;

(b) Conduct such verifications at least once before January 1, 2026, and again at least once before January 1, 2031;

(c) Deliver a report on the method and findings of the verifications to the energy and environment committee of the house of representatives and to the transportation and energy committee of the senate, or to any successor committees, and post the report to the department of public health and environment's website within one month after its completion; and

(d) Deliver any findings of violations to the attorney general.

(2) On or before January 1, 2025, the executive director shall establish a process whereby individuals may anonymously report potential violations of this part 14 on the department of public health and environment's public website. The executive director shall investigate any reported potential violation and shall report any confirmed violations to the attorney general.

(3) (a) If the attorney general has probable cause to believe that any person or group of persons has violated or caused another person to violate section 25-5-1405, the attorney general may bring a civil action on behalf of the state to seek the imposition of civil penalties as specified in this subsection (3). Any person who violates or causes another person to violate section 25-5-1405 shall pay a civil penalty of not more than five hundred dollars for each violation, which amount shall be transferred to the state treasurer to be credited to the energy fund created in section 24-38.5-102.4.

(b) For purposes of subsection (3)(a) of this section:

(I) Each transaction or online for-sale product listing involved constitutes a separate violation; except that the maximum civil penalty may not exceed five hundred thousand dollars for any related series of violations; and

(II) A court shall not impose a fine against a nonmanagerial employee of a contractor that installs, repairs, or replaces linear or compact fluorescent lamps and collects from the customer an amount representing both parts and labor.

Source: L. 2023: Entire part added, (HB 23-1161), ch. 285, p. 1711, § 8, effective August 7.

PART 15

REGULATION OF SODIUM NITRITE

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 24-1081, see section 1 of chapter 72, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.