(A) The department may refer any reports of violations of this chapter and Article 1, Chapter 1 of this title or any reports of violations of regulations promulgated under this chapter directly to the commission or may issue administrative citations and cease and desist orders in person or by certified mail and may assess administrative penalties against any individual or entity, including unlicensed individuals, for violations of this chapter as specified by the commission.(B) Administrative penalties authorized under this section are separate from and in addition to all other remedies, either civil or criminal.(C) Administrative penalties assessed pursuant to this section may not exceed the following limits:(1) for a first violation of a particular provision of this chapter or Article 1, Chapter 1 of this title, or any commission regulation, not more than a five-hundred-dollar penalty;(2) for the second of two violations of the same or substantially similar provision in a five-year period, not more than a one-thousand-dollar penalty; and(3) for the third or subsequent violation of the same or substantially similar provision in a five-year period, not more than a ten-thousand-dollar penalty.(D) An individual or entity assessed administrative penalties may appeal those penalties to the commission within ten days of receipt of the citation. If an appeal is filed, the department shall schedule a hearing before the commission, which shall make a determination in the matter. If no appeal is filed, the citation is deemed a final order and the administrative penalties must be paid within thirty days of receipt of the citation.Added by 2024 S.C. Acts, Act No. 204 (HB 4754),s 2, eff. 5/21/2024.