17-38-102. Prohibitions and penalties.

17-38-102. Prohibitions and penalties. (a) Any person, firm, or corporation that engages in or follows the business or occupation of, or advertises or holds himself or herself or itself out as, or acts temporarily or otherwise as a plumber without first having secured the required license or permit, or that otherwise violates any provisions of this chapter shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than thirty (30) days, or by both fine and imprisonment. Each day during which a violation continues shall be a separate offense. (b) Any person who shall do any act prohibited in this chapter or fail to obey a lawful order of the Department of Health or a judgment or decree of a court in connection with this chapter shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than three (3) months or by a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500). Each day during which the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense. (c) Any person, firm, or corporation that shall employ an apprentice of plumbing representing him or her to be a journeyman or that shall charge for an apprentice a journeyman's wage shall be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than thirty (30) days. Each day of violation shall be a separate offense. (d)(1) Every firm, person, or corporation that violates any of the provisions of this chapter or the rules or orders issued or promulgated by the State Board of Health or that violates any condition of a license, permit, certificate, or any other type of registration issued by the committee may be assessed a civil penalty by the committee. (2) The penalty shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each violation. (3) Each day of a continuing violation may be deemed a separate violation for purposes of penalty assessments. (e) All fines collected under this section shall be deposited into the State Treasury and credited to the Plumbers Licensing Fund to be used to defray the costs of administering this chapter. (f) Subject to such rules as may be implemented by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, the disbursing officer for the department is authorized to transfer all unexpended funds relative to fines collected under this section, as certified by the Chief Fiscal Officer of the State, to be carried forward and made available for expenditures for the same purpose for any following fiscal year. (g) All rules promulgated pursuant to this section shall be reviewed by the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor and the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor or appropriate subcommittees thereof.