Civil penalties.

1. The department shall establish, by rule, civil penalties which may be administratively or judicially assessed against a warehouse operator for a violation of this chapter . 2. The amount of a civil penalty shall not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars. Each day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation. Moneys collected in civil penalties by the department or the attorney general shall be deposited in the general fund of the state. 3. A civil penalty may be administratively assessed only after an opportunity for a contested case hearing under chapter 17A . The department may be represented in an administrative hearing or judicial proceeding by the attorney general. A civil penalty shall be paid within thirty days from the date that an order or judgment for the penalty becomes final. When a person against whom a civil penalty is administratively assessed under this section seeks timely judicial review of an order imposing the penalty as provided under chapter 17A , the order is not final until all judicial review processes are completed. When a person against whom a civil penalty is judicially assessed under this section seeks a timely appeal of judgment, the judgment is not final until the right of appeal is exhausted. 4. A person who fails to timely pay a civil penalty as provided in this section shall pay, in addition to the penalty, interest at the rate of one and one-half percent of the unpaid balance of the assessed penalty for each month or part of a month that the penalty remains unpaid. 99 Acts, ch 106, §15 ; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §250