1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to local government; authorizing county 
  1.3             boards to establish by ordinance procedures for 
  1.4             imposing civil penalties for ordinance violations and 
  1.5             allowing a county to certify fines to its county 
  1.6             auditor as a special tax against the land; proposing 
  1.7             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 375. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  [375.511] [CIVIL PENALTIES.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS; PROCEDURE.] A county 
  1.11  board may establish a procedure for imposing civil penalties for 
  1.12  violations of its ordinances enacted under chapters 103F and 
  1.13  394.  The procedure must meet the minimum requirements in 
  1.14  paragraphs (a) to (e). 
  1.15     (a) The alleged violator must be given notice of the 
  1.16  violation and an opportunity to be heard by the county board or 
  1.17  the county board's designee. 
  1.18     (b) A full record of the hearing must be kept and the 
  1.19  decision must be in writing. 
  1.20     (c) A party may, by a writ of certiorari, appeal a decision 
  1.21  of the county board or the county board's designee to the 
  1.22  district court that has jurisdiction over the location of the 
  1.23  alleged violation.  In the alternative, the procedure may allow 
  1.24  an appeal from a decision of the county board's designee to the 
  1.25  county board.  If the decision is appealed to the county board, 
  1.26  a party may, by writ of certiorari, appeal a decision of the 
  2.1   county board to the appropriate district court. 
  2.2      (d) The amount of a civil penalty must not exceed the 
  2.3   amount of the maximum fine allowed if the ordinance violation 
  2.4   had been prosecuted as a crime or petty misdemeanor. 
  2.5      (e) If under the procedure, a determination is made that a 
  2.6   violation did not occur, the county must not proceed with 
  2.7   criminal prosecution for the same set of circumstances. 
  2.8      Subd. 2.  [SUBPOENA POWER.] A county board or its designee, 
  2.9   acting under this section, may subpoena and compel the 
  2.10  attendance of witnesses and the production of documents, 
  2.11  administer oaths to witnesses, and take testimony under oath.  A 
  2.12  subpoena under this section is enforceable through the district 
  2.13  court in the judicial district in which the subpoena was issued. 
  2.14     Subd. 3.  [CIVIL PENALTIES AS SPECIAL TAX AGAINST THE 
  2.15  LAND.] If a violator fails to pay any civil penalties imposed 
  2.16  under the authority of this section, the county may, at the 
  2.17  discretion of the county board, have the civil penalty certified 
  2.18  to the county auditor as a special tax against the land on which 
  2.19  the violation occurred.  A penalty imposed against the land is 
  2.20  payable within one year, or the county may bring other action 
  2.21  against the violator as allowed by law to collect the civil 
  2.22  penalty.