(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.
Added by Acts 2009, c. 24, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 2009.