(a) A person who violates Section 19952, 19955, 19955.5, 19956, 19956.5, or 19959 or any of the regulations implementing those sections that have been promulgated by the State Architect pursuant to Section 4450 of the Government Code and approved by the California Building Standards Commission shall be subject to a civil penalty of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation.
(b) A person who remains in violation of the statutes and regulations specified in subdivision (a) for more than 90 days after receipt of written notice from a governmental agency identifying the violation shall be subject to an additional civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) for each violation for each additional day that the violation remains. In assessing the amount of the civil penalty under this subdivision, the court may consider relevant circumstances presented by the parties to the case, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The nature and seriousness of the violations.
(2) The number of violations.
(3) The persistence of the violations.
(4) The willfulness of the defendant’s conduct.
(5) The defendant’s assets, liabilities, and net worth.
(6) Any economic benefit to the defendant resulting from the violation.
A court may suspend a portion of any penalty imposed pursuant to this subdivision to the extent that the person, despite diligent efforts, cannot complete all steps necessary to correct a violation within the 90-day period. Any suspension of daily penalties shall be conditioned on adherence to a court-ordered schedule for correcting the violation.
(c) When imposing penalties under either subdivision (a) or (b), the court shall impose a separate civil penalty for each violation of the statutes and implementing regulations mentioned in subdivision (a). Multiple identical violations at one facility may be deemed to constitute one violation if the court finds that the multiplicity of violations did not significantly increase the degree to which access was compromised.
(d) Every civil action brought under this section shall be brought in the name of the people of the state by the district attorney, the city attorney, the county counsel if the district attorney does not bring an action, the Department of Rehabilitation acting through the Attorney General, or the Attorney General. An action brought in the name of the people of the state shall not preclude an action being brought by an injured person under other applicable laws.
(e) (1) If the action is brought by the Department of Rehabilitation acting through the Attorney General, or by the Attorney General, the civil penalties shall be paid to the Treasurer. Upon prevailing, the Attorney General shall be entitled to recover all costs of investigating and prosecuting the action, including expert fees, reasonable attorney’s fees, and costs.
(2) If the action is brought by the district attorney, or the county counsel, the civil penalties shall be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the judgment was entered.
(3) If the action is brought by the city attorney, the civil penalties shall be paid to the treasurer of the city bringing the action. Upon prevailing, the city attorney shall be entitled to recover all costs of investigating and prosecuting the action, including, but not limited to, expert fees, reasonable attorney’s fees, and costs.
(Added by Stats. 2003, Ch. 872, Sec. 8. Effective January 1, 2004.)