Rule 19-7-1.08 - Violations and PenaltiesThe State Fire Marshal may impose, after giving notice of hearing to the licensee by serving a written statement of charges on the licensee at least twenty (20) days prior to hearing, penalties for violations under the Act and this Regulation. Violations and penalties are set forth as follows:
A. Class I offenses: 1. Failure of an alarm contracting company or closed circuit television company to timely notify the State Fire Marshal of certain changes in the status of the licensee as required by the Act and Rule 1.05 (F) of this Regulation.2. Failure of an alarm contracting company to do any of the following: a. Clearly display the company's license at its place of business; orb. Replace a required Class B license holder or its designated agent and to timely notify the State Fire Marshal as required by the Act and Rule 1.05 (F) of this Regulation; orc. Clearly display the company's license number on both sides and the rear of all company vehicles as required by these regulations.3. Failure of an individual license holder to maintain his license on his person and to present it for inspection;4. Assisting an unlicensed person or company to engage in alarm contracting as prohibited;5. Refuse to admit the State Fire Marshal or his designated representative to an operating location or refuse to cooperate in the purposes of such admittance as required.B. Class I Penalties - may be any or all of the following:1. Written reprimand by the State Fire Marshal. Such reprimand shall be a part of the record of the licensee and shall be maintained by the State Fire Marshal for a period of three (3) years, during such time the reprimand may be taken into consideration during any subsequent disciplinary action;2. Probation of licensure for not more than twelve (12) months. Such probation may include placement of restrictions on the alarm contracting activities and the license of the offender. Any subsequent offense committed during probation will make the offender subject to penalties for a Class II offense;3. A fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per offense.C. Class II Offenses: 1. Commission of a second Class I offense;2. A Class I offense committed during a probation of one's licensure for a Class I offense.D. Class II Penalties - may be any or all of the following: 1. Any penalty authorized for a Class I offense;2. Suspension of licensure for not more than twenty-four (24) months;3. A fine of not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) per offense.E. Class III Offenses: 1. The signature of or submission by an applicant or licensee of any document to the State Fire Marshal when the applicant or licensee knew that document contained false or intentionally misleading information;2. Engaging in alarm contracting without a license;3. Engaging in alarm contracting during suspension of one's license;4. The repeated willful commission of Class I or Class II offenses;5. Failure by an alarm contracting company to maintain a general liability and errors and omissions insurance policy as required, or to maintain a workers' compensation insurance policy as required by state law;6. Engaging in false, misleading or deceptive acts or practices.F. Class III Penalties - may be any or all of the following:1. Any penalty authorized for a Class I or Class II offense;2. Revocation of licensure;3. A fine of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) per offense.G. Additional Penalties - in addition to the penalties stated, the State Fire Marshal may: 1. Issue in any court of competent jurisdiction an injunction without bond enjoining any person from violating or continuing to violate the provisions of this Regulation or the Act; and,2. In the suit for an injunction, may demand of the defendant a penalty of Fifty Dollars ($50.00) per day for each violation, reasonable attorney fees and court costs.3. Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any of the provisions of the Residential Alarm Licensing Act or any rules and regulations made hereunder shall be liable to the State of Mississippi for a civil penalty of not more than Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) for each such violation. Each violation of a provision of this chapter or a rule or regulation made hereunder shall constitute a separate violation with respect to each failure or refusal to allow or perform an act required thereby, except that the maximum civil penalty may not exceed Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000.00) for any related series of violations occurring within one (1) year from the date of the first violation.4. In addition to any other penalty provided in the statutes and regulations, an alarm contracting company, individual director, officer or agent of an alarm contracting company who knowingly and willfully fails to obtain the applicable license under this chapter and who is required to obtain such license under this chapter, and who may knowingly and willfully violate any provisions of this chapter or any rules and regulations made hereafter with respect to, including, but not limited to, the sale, lease, rent, design or planning with the intent to pre-wire, pre-wiring, installation, maintenance, repair, testing modification, improvement, alteration, inspection or servicing of an electronic protective system, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or imprisoned not more than one (1) year, or both.H. Alarm Contracting Company - Cancellation of contract:1. An alarm contracting company who sells an electronic protective system to a consumer shall immediately return the lockout, installer or programming code of the electronic protective system to the factory default setting when the consumer cancels the contract with the alarm contracting company and contracts with another alarm contracting company provided all contractual obligations are fulfilled. This requirement extends to all components of the electronic protective system that must be reset to make it usable to other companies, including but not limited to radio links.2. Any violation of Rule 1.07 (F)(1) by an alarm contracting company will result in the company's license being revoked and a civil fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) but not more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) per occurrence.Miss. Code Ann. § 73-69-23; § 73-69-25 (Rev. 2023)