(a) Any food service establishment that violates this article or the rules adopted thereunder, after notice and a hearing, shall be subject to civil penalties. The State Health Officer shall impose these penalties on a graduated scale in accordance with the following schedule for all violations within a 24-month period:
(1) For a first offense, a written warning.
(2) For a second offense, a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).
(3) For a third offense, a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(4) For a fourth offense, a fine of five hundred dollars ($500).
(5) For a fifth and any subsequent offense, a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(b) Any food service establishment that unknowingly violates this article due to a good faith reliance upon the establishment’s supplier’s attestation of the covered commodity’s country of origin shall be held harmless against penalties for a violation of this article.
(c) A food service establishment may appeal any penalty assessed pursuant to this section in accordance with the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act. Judicial review of a final action of the department shall be pursuant to Section 41-22-20.
(d) All fines and other monies collected pursuant to this section shall be distributed to the department and used to implement, enforce, and administer this article.
(e) The State Health Officer or Attorney General may file an action to collect any unpaid penalty levied pursuant to this section in a court of competent jurisdiction. The defendant establishment shall be liable for all costs associated with the collection of any unpaid penalty.
History: (Act 2009-582, p. 1715, §9; Act 2024-339, §1.)