REGULATORY PENALTY REDUCTION REQUEST

PETITION FOR MITIGATION / PENALTY REDUCTION

Date: [__/__/____]

VIA: ☐ Certified Mail ☐ Email ☐ Electronic Filing ☐ Hand Delivery

TO:
[________________________________]
State Regulatory Agency
Enforcement Division / Penalty Assessment Unit
[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

FROM:
Petitioner Name: [________________________________]
Business Name (if applicable): [________________________________]
License/Permit Number (if applicable): [________________________________]
Mailing Address: [________________________________]
City, State, ZIP: [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Fax: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

RE: Petition for Penalty Mitigation / Reduction
Case/Violation Number: [________________________________]
Date of Penalty Notice/Order: [__/__/____]
Current Penalty Amount: $[________________________________]
Requested Reduced Amount: $[________________________________]

SECTION 1: PENALTY INFORMATION

Current Penalty Assessment

Type of Violation(s):
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Statutory/Regulatory Citation(s):
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Date(s) of Alleged Violation(s): [__/__/____] to [__/__/____]

Penalty Components:

Payment Deadline: [__/__/____]

SECTION 2: ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF VIOLATION

☐ Full Acknowledgment: Petitioner acknowledges the violations as cited and accepts responsibility.

☐ Partial Acknowledgment: Petitioner acknowledges [________________________________] but disputes [________________________________].

☐ No Acknowledgment: Petitioner does not admit to the violations but seeks penalty reduction if liability is established.

Statement:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

SECTION 3: REQUEST FOR PENALTY REDUCTION

Requested Relief

Current Penalty Amount: $[________________________________]
Requested Penalty Amount: $[________________________________]
Amount of Reduction Requested: $[________________________________]
Percentage Reduction Requested: [____]%

Basis for Request

☐ Mitigating factors (see Section 4)
☐ Economic hardship (see Section 5)
☐ Corrective actions taken (see Section 6)
☐ Penalty calculation error
☐ Disproportionate to violation
☐ First-time violator
☐ Other: [________________________________]

SECTION 4: MITIGATING FACTORS

A. Nature of Violation

☐ Inadvertent Violation
The violation was inadvertent and unintentional because:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

☐ Good Faith Effort to Comply
Petitioner made good faith efforts to comply as evidenced by:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

☐ Isolated Incident
This was an isolated occurrence, not a pattern of violations:
[________________________________]

☐ Minor Violation
The violation was technical/minor in nature with minimal impact:
[________________________________]

☐ No Harm Resulted
No actual harm to public, environment, or consumers resulted:
[________________________________]

☐ Prompt Discovery and Correction
Violation was promptly discovered and corrected:
Discovery Date: [__/__/____]
Correction Date: [__/__/____]
Description: [________________________________]

B. Compliance History

☐ First Offense
This is Petitioner's first violation of this type.

☐ Clean Prior Record
Petitioner has operated for [____] years without prior violations.

☐ No Prior Discipline
Petitioner has never been subject to formal enforcement action.

☐ Prior Good Standing
Petitioner has maintained good standing with the agency:
[________________________________]

Compliance History Summary:

C. Cooperation with Investigation

☐ Full Cooperation
Petitioner fully cooperated with the investigation by:
- Providing all requested documents
- Making personnel available for interviews
- Responding promptly to inquiries
- Other: [________________________________]

☐ Self-Reporting
Petitioner self-reported the violation on [__/__/____]:
[________________________________]

☐ Voluntary Disclosure
Petitioner voluntarily disclosed information beyond what was required:
[________________________________]

D. Corrective Actions (see also Section 6)

☐ Immediate corrective action was taken
☐ Long-term compliance measures implemented
☐ Staff training conducted
☐ Policies and procedures revised
☐ Third-party audit conducted
☐ Other: [________________________________]

E. Other Mitigating Factors

☐ Changed Circumstances
Circumstances have changed since the violation:
[________________________________]

☐ Regulatory Ambiguity
The regulation was unclear or ambiguous:
[________________________________]

☐ Third-Party Responsibility
A third party contributed to the violation:
[________________________________]

☐ Reliance on Professional Advice
Petitioner relied on advice from [________________________________]

☐ Other:
[________________________________]

SECTION 5: ECONOMIC HARDSHIP

Financial Inability to Pay Full Penalty

☐ Payment of the full penalty would cause significant financial hardship.

Type of Entity:
☐ Individual
☐ Small Business (fewer than [____] employees)
☐ Non-Profit Organization
☐ Other: [________________________________]

Annual Revenue/Income: $[________________________________]
Net Worth/Assets: $[________________________________]
Current Debts/Liabilities: $[________________________________]
Number of Employees: [________________________________]

Financial Documentation Attached

☐ Tax Returns (most recent [____] years)
☐ Financial Statements
☐ Bank Statements
☐ Profit and Loss Statement
☐ Balance Sheet
☐ Other: [________________________________]

Impact of Full Penalty

☐ Would require business closure
☐ Would require employee layoffs - Number: [____]
☐ Would result in personal bankruptcy
☐ Would impair ability to comply with other regulatory requirements
☐ Other: [________________________________]

Detailed Statement of Financial Impact:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

SECTION 6: CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TAKEN

Immediate Corrective Actions

Compliance Program Improvements

☐ Written Compliance Program
Petitioner has developed/updated written compliance procedures:
Date Implemented: [__/__/____]
Description: [________________________________]

☐ Training Program
Staff training has been conducted/enhanced:
Training Date(s): [________________________________]
Topics Covered: [________________________________]
Personnel Trained: [________________________________]

☐ Internal Auditing
Internal compliance auditing has been implemented:
Frequency: [________________________________]
Responsible Party: [________________________________]

☐ Third-Party Audit
An independent third-party audit was conducted:
Auditor: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]
Findings Addressed: ☐ Yes ☐ In Progress

☐ Personnel Changes
Responsible personnel have been retrained or reassigned:
[________________________________]

☐ System Improvements
Systems or equipment have been upgraded:
[________________________________]

☐ Other Improvements:
[________________________________]

Certification of Compliance

☐ Petitioner certifies that the conditions giving rise to the violation have been fully corrected.

☐ Petitioner certifies that measures have been implemented to prevent recurrence.

SECTION 7: ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFIT PROJECT / SUPPLEMENTAL PENALTY (if applicable)

Proposal for Alternative Penalty Project

☐ Petitioner proposes to undertake an environmental benefit project / supplemental project in lieu of part of the monetary penalty.

Project Description:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Estimated Project Cost: $[________________________________]
Penalty Credit Requested: $[________________________________]
Timeline for Completion: [________________________________]

Public Benefit:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Note: The project must:
☐ Exceed legal compliance requirements
☐ Provide environmental/public benefit beyond full compliance
☐ Not be a substitute for required compliance measures
☐ Be identified in the settlement order

SECTION 8: PAYMENT PROPOSAL

Proposed Payment Terms

☐ Lump Sum Payment
Petitioner will pay $[________________________________] within [____] days of penalty approval.

☐ Installment Plan
Petitioner requests a payment plan as follows:

☐ Suspended Penalty
Petitioner requests that $[________________________________] be suspended contingent upon:
[________________________________]

SECTION 9: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Similar Cases

☐ Petitioner provides the following information about penalties in similar cases:

Disparity Argument

The current penalty is disproportionate because:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

SECTION 10: STATE-SPECIFIC CONSIDERATIONS

California

Penalty Mitigation Authority:
- Government Code § 11519
- Agency-specific penalty matrices

Factors Considered:
- Extent of harm
- Nature and persistence of violation
- Economic benefit gained
- Compliance history
- Good faith efforts

Texas

Penalty Mitigation:
- Agency penalty policies
- Economic hardship consideration

Relevant Factors:
- Seriousness of violation
- Hazard to health, safety, or environment
- Economic benefit
- Compliance history
- Good faith efforts

Florida

Penalty Guidelines:
- Florida Statutes § 120.695
- Agency-specific penalty guidelines

Mitigation Factors:
- First-time violation
- Immediate corrective action
- Cooperation

New York (DEC Example)

Civil Penalty Policy (DEE-1):
- Gravity component
- Economic benefit component
- Adjustment factors

Mitigation:
- Absence of negligence, recklessness, or intent
- Environmental benefit projects
- Cooperation

SECTION 11: SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION

SECTION 12: REQUEST FOR MEETING

☐ Petitioner requests an in-person meeting to discuss this petition.

Proposed Dates:
1. [__/__/____]
2. [__/__/____]
3. [__/__/____]

Attendees:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

SECTION 13: CERTIFICATION

I, the undersigned, certify under penalty of perjury that:

1. The information provided in this petition is true, complete, and accurate to the best of my knowledge.

2. All supporting documentation is authentic.

3. The financial information provided is accurate (if applicable).

4. I understand this petition does not automatically stay the penalty payment deadline unless specifically granted.

5. I understand that the agency is not required to grant any reduction.

6. I am authorized to submit this petition on behalf of the named Petitioner.

Petitioner Signature: [________________________________]
Printed Name: [________________________________]
Title (if applicable): [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

SECTION 14: REPRESENTATIVE

☐ Petitioner is self-represented

☐ Petitioner is represented by:

Attorney/Representative Name: [________________________________]
Firm/Organization: [________________________________]
Bar Number (if attorney): [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
Telephone: [________________________________]
Email: [________________________________]

Please direct all communications to the representative above.

Representative Signature: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

PETITION CHECKLIST

☐ Petition form completed
☐ Case/Violation number included
☐ Specific reduction amount requested
☐ All mitigating factors documented
☐ Financial hardship documented (if claimed)
☐ Corrective actions detailed
☐ Supporting documentation attached
☐ Payment proposal included
☐ Petition signed and dated
☐ Copy retained for records
☐ Deadline verified (penalty mitigation may need to be requested before hearing deadline)

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Submit To:
[________________________________]
Enforcement Division / Penalty Assessment
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

Reference: Case/Violation No. [________________________________]

Note: Filing this petition may or may not toll the penalty payment deadline. Check with the agency regarding the effect on deadlines.

This template provides general guidance for requesting regulatory penalty reductions. Each agency has its own policies and procedures for penalty assessment and mitigation. Agency decisions on mitigation requests should be in writing with grounds stated. You may have the right to administrative review if a mitigation request is denied. Consult with an attorney experienced in the relevant regulatory area for specific guidance.