9I.10  Enforcement.
  1.  If the secretary of state finds that a nonresident alien, foreign business, foreign government, or an agent, trustee, or other fiduciary thereof, has acquired or holds title to or interest in agricultural land in this state in violation of this chapter or has failed to timely register as required under section 9I.7 or has failed to timely report as required under section 10B.4, the secretary shall report the violation to the attorney general.
  2.  Upon receipt of the report from the secretary of state, the attorney general shall initiate an action in the district court of any county in which the land is located.
  3.  The attorney general shall file a notice of the pendency of the action with the recorder of deeds of each county in which any of the land is located. If the court finds that the land in question has been acquired or held in violation of this chapter or the required registration has not been timely filed, it shall enter an order so declaring and shall file a copy of the order with the recorder of deeds of each county in which any portion of the land is located.
  4.  The attorney general may conduct an inquiry or investigation regarding a violation of this chapter or section 10B.4. As part of that inquiry or investigation, and in accordance with the Iowa rules of civil procedure, the attorney general may issue a subpoena for the production of records, including but not limited to books, accounts, papers, correspondence, memoranda, purchase agreements, files, or other documents in a print or electronic format. If a person refuses compliance, the attorney general may seek enforcement by the district court.
[C97, §2891; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §10218; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §567.5; C81, §567.9]
2002 Acts, ch 1095, §10
C2003, §9I.10
2024 Acts, ch 1007, §3, 4
Referred to in §10B.4