Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. v. State

OPINION

BEA ANN SMITH, Justice.

In this case, we construe finance code section 153.402(c) 1 to determine whether the phrase “may collect from the proceeds of a bond” allows the State 2 to collect from a surety an administrative penalty assessed against the surety’s principal without first providing the surety with notice and opportunity for a hearing. Appellant, Hartford Casualty Insurance Company (Hartford), contends that since the statutory grant of authority regarding administrative penalties found in finance code section 153.402(c) is discretionary, its constitutional right to procedural…