1. (a) Purpose. The purpose of this rule is to establish a classification system for violations of certain provisions of the Business and Commerce Code, the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA), and related commission rules and orders, and to establish a range of penalties that may be assessed for each class of violations.

2. (b) Classification system.

   1. (1) Class C violations.

      1. (A) Penalties for Class C violations may not exceed $1,000 per violation per day.

      2. (B) The following violations are Class C violations:

         1. (i) Failure to file a report or provide information required to be submitted to the commission under this chapter within the timeline required;
         2. (ii) Failure by a certificated telecommunications utility to investigate a complaint by a customer and appropriately report the results within the timeline required;
         3. (iii) Failure to update information relating to a registration or certificate by the commission within the timeline required;
         4. (iv) Failure to comply with the requirements for the use and permitting of an automatic dial announcing device (ADAD); and
         5. (v) A violation of the Texas no-call list.

   2. (2) Class B violations.

      1. (A) Penalties for Class B violations may not exceed $5,000 per violation per day.
      2. (B) All violations not specifically enumerated as a Class C or Class A violation shall be considered Class B violations.

   3. (3) Class A violations.

      1. (A) Penalties for Class A violations may not exceed $25,000 per violation per day.

      2. (B) The following types of violations are Class A violations if they create economic harm in excess of $5,000 to a person or persons, property, or the environment, or create an economic benefit to the violator in excess of $5,000; create a hazard or potential hazard to the health or safety of the public; or cause a risk to the reliability of the telecommunications network or a portion thereof.

         1. (i) A violation related to service quality, service objectives, or performance benchmarks;
         2. (ii) A violation related to prohibited discrimination in the provision of telecommunications service;
         3. (iii) A violation related to prohibited discrimination by a cable service provider or video service provider that has been granted a state-issued certificate of franchise authority;
         4. (iv) Engaging in acts that adversely affect the integrity of the state's 9-1-1 system relating to network interoperability, service quality standards and database integrity standards;
         5. (v) A violation relating to improper suspension or disconnection of a customer;
         6. (vi) A violation related to fraudulent, unfair, misleading, deceptive, or anticompetitive business practices;
         7. (vii) Conducting business subject to the jurisdiction of the commission without proper commission authorization, registration, licensing, or certification;
         8. (viii) A violation not otherwise enumerated in this paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection that creates a hazard or potential hazard to the health or safety of the public;
         9. (ix) A violation not otherwise enumerated in this paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection that creates economic harm to a person or persons, property, or the environment in excess of $5,000, or creates an economic benefit to the violator in excess of $5,000; and
         10. (x) A violation not otherwise enumerated in this paragraph (3)(B) of this subsection that causes a risk to the reliability of the telecommunications network or a portion thereof.
3. (c) Application of enforcement provisions of other rules. To the extent that the Business and Commerce Code, PURA, or other rules in this chapter establish a range of administrative penalties that are inconsistent with the penalty ranges provided for in subsection (b) of this section, the other provisions control with respect to violations of those rules.
4. (d) Assessment of administrative penalties. In addition to the requirements of §22.246 of this title (relating to Administrative Penalties), a notice of violation recommending administrative penalties shall indicate the class of violation.

Source Note:The provisions of this §26.9 adopted to be effective October 17, 2006, 31 TexReg 8514.