Subd. 1. Criminal penalties.

Any person, duly licensed or otherwise, who violates this chapter, for which violation a penalty has not been specifically set out, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Any subsequent violation is a gross misdemeanor.

Subd. 2. Civil penalties.

1. (a) The commissioner, as an alternate to misdemeanor prosecution, may impose a civil penalty on a person who violates a statute or rule enforceable by the commissioner. For a first violation, the commissioner may impose a civil penalty of not more than $500 for each violation. For a second or succeeding violation, the commissioner may impose a penalty of not more than $1,000 for each violation.

2. (b) In determining the amount of the civil penalty, the commissioner may consider:

   1. (1) the willfulness of the violation;
   2. (2) the gravity of the violation;
   3. (3) the person's history of past violations;
   4. (4) the number of violations;
   5. (5) the economic benefit from the violations; and
   6. (6) other factors identified in the commissioner's citation.

3. (c) For a second or succeeding violation, the commissioner shall determine the amount of a penalty by considering the factors in paragraph (b) and:

   1. (1) similarity between the violations;
   2. (2) time elapsed since the last violation; and
   3. (3) the person's response to the most recent violation.