198.13 - PENALTIES.
198.13 PENALTIES.
1. Any person convicted of violating any of the provisions of
this chapter or who shall impede, hinder or otherwise prevent, or
attempt to prevent, said secretary or the secretary's authorized
agent in performance of that person's duty in connection with the
provisions of this chapter, shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
2. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as requiring the
secretary or the secretary's representative to:
a. Report for prosecution.
b. Institute seizure proceedings.
c. Issue a withdrawal from distribution order, as a result of
minor violations of the chapter, or when the secretary or
representative believes the public interest will best be served by
suitable notice of warning in writing.
3. It shall be the duty of each county attorney to whom any
violation is reported to cause appropriate proceedings to be
instituted and prosecuted in a court of competent jurisdiction
without delay. Before the secretary reports a violation for such
prosecution, an opportunity shall be given the distributor to present
the distributor's view to the secretary.
4. The secretary may apply for and the court may grant a
temporary or permanent injunction restraining any person from
violating or continuing to violate any of the provisions of this
chapter or any rule promulgated under the chapter notwithstanding the
existence of other remedies at law. If granted, the injunction shall
be issued without bond.
5. Any person adversely affected by an act, order, or ruling made
pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may within forty-five days
thereafter bring action in the district court for judicial review of
such actions. The form of the proceeding shall be any which may be
provided by statutes of this state to review decisions of
administrative agencies, or in the absence or inadequacy thereof, any
applicable form of legal action, including actions for declaratory
judgments or writs or prohibitory or mandatory injunctions.
6. Any person who uses to the person's own advantage, or reveals
to other than the secretary, or officers of the department or to the
courts when relevant in any judicial proceeding, any information
acquired under the authority of this chapter, concerning any method,
records, formulations or processes which as a trade secret is
entitled to protection, is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. This
prohibition shall not be deemed as prohibiting the secretary, or the
secretary's duly authorized agent, from exchanging information of a
regulatory nature with appointed officials of the United States
government, or of other states, who are similarly prohibited by law
from revealing this information. Section History: Early Form
[C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 198.13]
Referred to in § 198.8, 331.756(37)