| (a) The Department shall issue a notice of violation
to each person against whom the Department has proposed to assess
a penalty under §27.303 of this title (relating to Penalties
for Non-Payment of Assessment and Failure to Timely Report Acreage).
The notice of violation, with attachments, shall include a brief statement
of the matters alleged, the amount of the recommended penalty, the
date on which the penalty will be assessed, the dates and amounts
of any penalty increases in accordance with the Department's penalty
matrix, and the right of the person charged to request a hearing.
(b) A person against whom a penalty has been assessed
may accept the determination of the Department, including the recommended
penalty, or may protest the determination and request a hearing. A
notice of protest and request for hearing may be filed with the Texas
Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 12847, Austin, Texas 78711.
(c) If the person accepts the determination of the
Department, the Commissioner shall issue an order approving the determination
and ordering payment of the penalty.
(d) If the person protests the determination of the
Department and requests a hearing, or fails to respond to the Notice
of Violation, a hearing on the matter shall be provided and conducted
in accordance with the procedures provided for contested cases in
the Texas Administrative Procedure Act, Government Code, Chapter 2001,
Chapter 1 of this title (relating to General Procedures), and 1 TAC
Chapter 155 (Rules of Procedure of the State Office of Administrative
Hearings).
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