(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).

Source Note: The provisions of this §27.304 adopted to be effective December 6, 2015, 40 TexReg 8637