461A.5B  Penalties.
  1.  Except as provided in subsection 2, a person who violates a provision of section 461A.4 or of a departmental rule or refuses to comply with an order issued by the commission pursuant to section 461A.4 is guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
  2.  The state may proceed against a person who violates a provision of section 461A.4 or refuses to comply with an order issued by the commission pursuant to section 461A.4 by initiating an alternative civil enforcement action in lieu of a criminal prosecution. The amount of the civil penalty shall not exceed five thousand dollars. Each day of a violation shall be considered a separate offense. The alternative civil enforcement action may be brought against the person as a contested case proceeding by the department under chapter 17A if the amount of the civil penalty is not more than ten thousand dollars or as a civil judicial proceeding by the attorney general upon referral by the department. In a contested case proceeding, the department may impose, assess, and collect the civil penalty.
2008 Acts, ch 1161, §8