120 STAT. 3622
PUBLIC LAW 109–479—JAN. 12, 2007
(1) by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$200,000’’; (2) by striking ‘‘violation, the degree of culpability, and history of prior offenses, ability to pay,’’ in the fifth sentence and inserting ‘‘violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses,’’; and (3) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘In assessing such penalty, the Secretary may also consider any information provided by the violator relating to the ability of the violator to pay if the information is provided to the Secretary at least 30 days prior to an administrative hearing.’’. (b) PERMIT SANCTIONS.—Section 8 of the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 (16 U.S.C. 773f) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(e) REVOCATION OR SUSPENSION OF PERMIT.— ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may take any action described in paragraph (2) in any case in which— ‘‘(A) a vessel has been used in the commission of any act prohibited under section 7; ‘‘(B) the owner or operator of a vessel or any other person who has been issued or has applied for a permit under this Act has acted in violation of section 7; or ‘‘(C) any amount in settlement of a civil forfeiture imposed on a vessel or other property, or any civil penalty or criminal fine imposed on a vessel or owner or operator of a vessel or any other person who has been issued or has applied for a permit under any marine resource law enforced by the Secretary has not been paid and is overdue. ‘‘(2) PERMIT-RELATED ACTIONS.—Under the circumstances described in paragraph (1) the Secretary may— ‘‘(A) revoke any permit issued with respect to such vessel or person, with or without prejudice to the issuance of subsequent permits; ‘‘(B) suspend such permit for a period of time considered by the Secretary to be appropriate; ‘‘(C) deny such permit; or ‘‘(D) impose additional conditions and restrictions on any permit issued to or applied for by such vessel or person under this Act and, with respect to any foreign fishing vessel, on the approved application of the foreign nation involved and on any permit issued under that application. ‘‘(3) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In imposing a sanction under this subsection, the Secretary shall take into account— ‘‘(A) the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the prohibited acts for which the sanction is imposed; and ‘‘(B) with respect to the violator, the degree of culpability, any history of prior offenses, and such other matters as justice may require. ‘‘(4) TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP.—Transfer of ownership of a vessel, a permit, or any interest in a permit, by sale or otherwise, shall not extinguish any permit sanction that is in effect or is pending at the time of transfer of ownership. Before executing the transfer of ownership of a vessel, permit, or interest in a permit, by sale or otherwise, the owner shall disclose in writing to the prospective transferee the existence of any permit sanction that will be in effect or pending with respect to the vessel, permit, or interest at the time of the transfer.
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