§ 1264. — Penalties; exceptions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 15USC1264]
TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND TRADE
CHAPTER 30--HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
Sec. 1264. Penalties; exceptions
(a) Criminal penalties
Any person who violates any of the provisions of section 1263 of
this title shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall on conviction
thereof be subject to a fine of not more than $500 or to imprisonment
for not more than ninety days, or both; but for offenses committed with
intent to defraud or mislead, or for second and subsequent offenses, the
penalty shall be imprisonment for not more than one year, or a fine of
not more than $3,000, or both such imprisonment and fine.
(b) Exceptions
No person shall be subject to the penalties of subsection (a) of
this section, (1) for having violated section 1263(c) of this title, if
the receipt, delivery, or proffered delivery of the hazardous substance
was made in good faith, unless he refuses to furnish on request of an
officer or employee duly designated by the Commission, the name and
address of the person from whom he purchased or received such hazardous
substance, and copies of all documents, if any there be, pertaining to
the delivery of the hazardous substance to him; or (2) for having
violated section 1263(a) of this title, if he established a guarantee or
undertaking signed by, and containing the name and address of, the
person residing in the United States from whom he received in good faith
the hazardous substance, to the effect that the hazardous substance is
not a misbranded hazardous substance or a banned hazardous substance
within the meaning of those terms in this chapter; or (3) for having
violated subsection (a) or (c) of section 1263 of this title with
respect to any hazardous substance shipped or delivered for shipment for
export to any foreign country, in a package marked for export on the
outside of the shipping container and labeled in accordance with the
specifications of the foreign purchaser and in accordance with the laws
of the foreign country, but if such hazardous substance is sold or
offered for sale in domestic commerce or if the Consumer Product Safety
Commission determines that exportation of such substance presents an
unreasonable risk of injury to persons residing within the United
States, this clause shall not apply.
(c) Civil penalties
(1) Any person who knowingly violates section 1263 of this title
shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 for each such
violation. Subject to paragraph (2), a violation of subsections (a),
(b), (c), (d), (f), (g), (i), (j), and (k) of section 1263 of this title
shall constitute a separate offense with respect to each substance
involved, except that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed
$1,250,000 for any related series of violations. A violation of section
1263(e) of this title shall constitute a separate violation with respect
to each failure or refusal to allow or perform an act required by
section 1263(e) of this title; and, if such violation is a continuing
one, each day of such violation shall constitute a separate offense,
except that the maximum civil penalty shall not exceed $1,250,000 for
any related series of violations.
(2) The second sentence of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall
not apply to violations of subsection (a) or (c) of section 1263 of this
title--
(A) if the person who violated such subsection is not the
manufacturer, importer, or private labeler or a distributor of the
substances involved; and
(B) if such person did not have either (i) actual knowledge that
such person's distribution or sale of the substance violated such
subsection, or (ii) notice from the Commission that such
distribution or sale would be a violation of such subsection.
(3) In determining the amount of any penalty to be sought upon
commencing an action seeking to assess a penalty for a violation of
section 1263 of this title, the Commission shall consider the nature of
the substance, the severity of the risk of injury, the occurrence or
absence of injury, the amount of the substance distributed, and the
appropriateness of such penalty in relation to the size of the business
of the person charged.
(4) Any civil penalty under this subsection may be compromised by
the Commission. In determining the amount of such penalty or whether it
should be remitted or mitigated, and in what amount, the Commission
shall consider the appropriateness of such penalty to the size of the
business of the persons charged, the nature of the substance involved,
the severity of the risk of injury, the occurrence or absence of injury,
and the amount of the substance distributed. The amount of such penalty
when finally determined, or the amount agreed on compromise, may be
deducted from any sums owing by the United States to the person charged.
(5) As used in the first sentence of paragraph (1), the term
``knowingly'' means (A) having actual knowledge, or (B) the presumed
having of knowledge deemed to be possessed by a reasonable person who
acts in the circumstances, including knowledge obtainable upon the
exercise of due care to ascertain the truth of representations.
(6)(A) The maximum penalty amounts authorized in paragraph (1) shall
be adjusted for inflation as provided in this paragraph.
(B) Not later than December 1, 1994, and December 1 of each fifth
calendar year thereafter, the Commission shall prescribe and publish in
the Federal Register a schedule of maximum authorized penalties that
shall apply for violations that occur after January 1 of the year
immediately following such publication.
(C) The schedule of maximum authorized penalties shall be prescribed
by increasing each of the amounts referred to in paragraph (1) by the
cost-of-living adjustment for the preceding five years. Any increase
determined under the preceding sentence shall be rounded to--
(i) in the case of penalties greater than $1,000 but less than
or equal to $10,000, the nearest multiple of $1,000;
(ii) in the case of penalties greater than $10,000 but less than
or equal to $100,000, the nearest multiple of $5,000;
(iii) in the case of penalties greater than $100,000 but less
than or equal to $200,000, the nearest multiple of $10,000; and
(iv) in the case of penalties greater than $200,000, the nearest
multiple of $25,000.
(D) For purposes of this subsection:
(i) The term ``Consumer Price Index'' means the Consumer Price
Index for all-urban consumers published by the Department of Labor.
(ii) The term ``cost-of-living adjustment for the preceding five
years'' means the percentage by which--
(I) the Consumer Price Index for the month of June of the
calendar year preceding the adjustment; exceeds
(II) the Consumer Price Index for the month of June
preceding the date on which the maximum authorized penalty was
last adjusted.
(d) Civil action for injunction
In the case of an attorney general of a State alleging a violation
that affects or may affect such State or its residents, such attorney
general may bring a civil action for an injunction to enforce any
requirement of this chapter relating to misbranded or banned hazardous
substances. The procedural requirements of section 2073 of this title
shall apply to any such action.
(Pub. L. 86-613, Sec. 5, July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 376; Pub. L. 89-756,
Secs. 2(g), 3(c), Nov. 3, 1966, 80 Stat. 1304, 1305; Pub. L. 92-573,
Sec. 30(a), Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1231; Pub. L. 95-631, Sec. 7(b),
Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3745; Pub. L. 101-608, title I, Secs. 115(b),
118(a), Nov. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 3119, 3121.)
Amendments
1990--Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 101-608, Sec. 115(b), added subsec. (c).
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 101-608, Sec. 118(a), added subsec. (d).
1978--Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 95-631 substituted ``with respect to''
for ``in respect of'' and made cl. (3) inapplicable when the Consumer
Product Safety Commission determines that exportation of the substance
presents an unreasonable risk of injury to persons residing within the
United States.
1966--Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 89-756 substituted ``a misbranded
hazardous substance or a banned hazardous substance within the meaning
of those terms'' for ``in misbranded packages within the meaning of that
term''.
Transfer of Functions
``Commission'' substituted for ``Secretary'' in subsec. (b) pursuant
to section 30(a) of Pub. L. 92-573, which is classified to section
2079(a) of this title and which transferred functions of Secretary of
Health, Education, and Welfare under this chapter to Consumer Product
Safety Commission.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in section 1263 of this title.
