Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 80. AGRICULTURE

CHAPTER 7. DISEASE, PEST, AND WEED CONTROL

Part 4. Quarantine and Pest Management

Penalty

80-7-404. Penalty. (1) A person who violates the quarantines, procedures, or rules of the department adopted under 80-7-402 commits a civil offense and is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation.

(2) Assessment of a civil penalty may be made in conjunction with another warning, order, or administrative action authorized by this part. A civil penalty collected under this section must be deposited in the general fund.

(3) The department shall establish by rule:

(a) a penalty schedule that establishes the types of penalties and the amounts, not to exceed $5,000, for initial and subsequent offenses; and

(b) other matters necessary for the enforcement of civil penalties.

(4) This section may not be construed as requiring the department or its agents to report violations of 80-7-402 when the department believes that the public interest will be best served by a suitable notice of warning.

History: En. Sec. 4, Ch. 7, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 303, L. 2011.