2013 Maryland Code
AGRICULTURE
§ 2-519 - Imposition of civil penalties

§2-519.

(a) (1) In addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity and after an opportunity for a hearing, the board of trustees of the Foundation may impose a penalty on an owner of property that is subject to an easement granted under this subtitle for a violation of any provision of this subtitle, any regulation adopted in accordance with § 2-504 of this subtitle, or an easement acquired by the Foundation.

(2) Each day a violation occurs is a separate violation for purposes of this section.

(b) Before taking any action under this section, the Foundation shall provide the alleged violator with written notice of the proposed action, an opportunity for an informal meeting, and a reasonable time to correct the alleged violation.

(c) The penalty imposed on a person under this section shall be:

(1) Up to $2,500 for each violation;

(2) Not more than $50,000 total for any single administrative hearing; and

(3) Assessed with consideration given to the willfulness of the violation and the extent to which the existence of the violation was known to the violator but uncorrected by the violator.

(d) Penalties collected by the Foundation under this section shall be paid into the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Fund established under § 2-505 of this subtitle.

(e) The Foundation shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this section.