(a) (1) The department may impose an administrative penalty on any covered entity, program operator, stewardship organization, or authorized collector that sells, offers for sale, or provides a covered product in violation of this chapter.
(2) The amount of the administrative penalty imposed pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per day unless the violation is intentional, knowing, or reckless, in which case the administrative penalty shall not exceed fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per day.
(b) The department shall not impose a penalty on a program operator pursuant to this section for failure to comply with this chapter if the program operator demonstrates it received false or misleading information that contributed to its failure to comply, including, for a stewardship organization, from a participating covered entity.
(c) The department shall deposit all penalties collected pursuant to this section in the Pharmaceutical and Sharps Stewardship Penalty Account, which is hereby created in the Pharmaceutical and Sharps Stewardship Fund established in Section 42034.2. Upon appropriation by the Legislature, moneys in the Pharmaceutical and Sharps Stewardship Penalty Account may be expended by the department on activities including, but not limited to, the promotion of safe handling and disposal of covered products, grants for related purposes, and the administration and enforcement of this chapter.
(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 497, Sec. 232. (AB 991) Effective January 1, 2020.)