H.__Has, within the last 5 years, entered into a consent agreement with a state or federal enforcement or regulatory agency in which the person agreed to discontinue engaging in one or more practices alleged by the agency to have been an unfair or deceptive act or practice.

Sec. 44. 35-A MRSA §7107, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 59, §1 and affected by §3, is amended to read:

5. Enforcement authority. In addition to any authority the commission may have pursuant to other law, the commission may enforce this section in accordance with this subsection.

A. In an adjudicatory proceeding, the commission may impose an administrative penalty upon the following entities for the following violations:

(1) A service provider who provides or charges for an unauthorized service;

(2) A service provider or billing aggregator who is required to be registered under subsection 2 and who is not properly registered pursuant to that subsection;

(3) A billing agent who knowingly bills on behalf of a service provider who is required to be registered under subsection 2 and who is not properly registered pursuant to that subsection at the time the billing agent's bill is generated; and

(4) A billing agent that fails to comply with any of the requirements of subsection 4.

B. The amount of any administrative penalty imposed under paragraph A may not exceed $1,000 per violator for violations arising out of the same incident or complaint and must be based on:

(1) The severity of the violation, including the intent of the violator, the nature, circumstances, extent and gravity of any prohibited acts;

(2) The history of previous violations; and

(3) The amount necessary to deter future violations.;