Unlicensed agencies—Department may seek injunctive or other relief—Injunctive relief does not prohibit criminal or civil penalties—Fines.
(1) Notwithstanding the existence or use of any other remedy, the department may, in the manner provided by law and upon the advice of the attorney general, who shall represent the department in the proceedings, maintain an action in the name of the state for an injunction or other process against any person to restrain or prevent the advertising, operating, maintaining, managing, or opening of a home health, hospice, hospice care center, or home care agency without an in-home services agency license under this chapter.
(2) The injunction shall not relieve the person operating an in-home services agency without a license from criminal prosecution, or the imposition of a civil fine under *RCW
70.127.213(2), but the remedy by injunction shall be in addition to any criminal liability or civil fine. A person that violates an injunction issued under this chapter shall pay a civil penalty, as determined by the court, of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars, which shall be deposited in the department's local fee account. For the purpose of this section, the superior court issuing any injunction shall retain jurisdiction and the cause shall be continued, and in such cases the attorney general acting in the name of the state may petition for the recovery of civil penalties. All fines, forfeitures, and penalties collected or assessed by a court because of a violation of RCW
70.127.020 shall be deposited in the department's local fee account.
NOTES:
*Reviser's note: RCW
70.127.213 was amended by 2024 c 121 s 14, moving the discussion of "the imposition of civil fines" from subsection (2) to subsection (5).
Effective date—2000 c 175: See note following RCW
70.127.010.