Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1999, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 110-S.F.No. 1041
An act relating to agriculture; changing and
clarifying provisions of the warehouse law; amending
Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 231.01; 231.04;
231.08; 231.09; 231.11; 231.12; 231.13; 231.14;
231.15; 231.16; 231.17; 231.18, subdivisions 1 and 6;
231.24; 231.28; 231.34; 231.36; 231.37; 231.38; and
231.39; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota
Statutes, chapter 231; repealing Minnesota Statutes
1998, sections 231.02; 231.03; 231.05; 231.06; 231.07;
231.10; 231.15; and 231.35.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.01, is
amended to read:
231.01 [DEFINITIONS.]
Subdivision 1. [DEPARTMENT SCOPE.] The word "department,"
as used in this chapter, means the Minnesota state department of
agriculture. The definitions in this section apply to this
chapter.
Subd. 2. [COMMISSIONER.] The term "Commissioner," as used
in this chapter, means the commissioner of agriculture.
Subd. 3. [PERSON COMPENSATION.] The term "person," as used
in this chapter, includes any individual, firm, or
copartnership. "Compensation" means any remuneration,
recompense, indemnification, requital, or satisfaction assessed,
collected, or received for the storage or warehousing of goods,
wares, or merchandise of another by a warehouse operator.
Subd. 4. [CORPORATION.] The term "Corporation," as used in
this chapter, includes any corporation, company, association,
joint stock company, or association.
Subd. 5. [WAREHOUSE OPERATOR DEPARTMENT.] The term
"warehouse operator," as used in this chapter, means and
includes every corporation, company, association, joint stock
company or association, firm, partnership, or individual, their
trustees, assignees, or receivers appointed by any court,
controlling, operating, or managing within this state directly
or indirectly, any building or structure, or any part thereof,
or any buildings or structures, or any other property, and using
the same for the storage or warehousing of goods, wares, or
merchandise for compensation, or who shall hold itself out as
being in the storage or warehouse business, or as offering
storage or warehouse facilities, or advertise for, solicit or
accept goods, wares, or merchandise for storage for
compensation, but shall not include persons, corporations, or
other parties operating storage facilities containing minerals,
ores, or rock products such as, but not limited to, aggregates,
clays, railroad ballast, iron ore, copper ore, nickel ore,
limestone, coal, and salt or operating grain or cold storage
warehouses, or storing on a seasonal basis boats, boating
accessories, recreational vehicles or recreational equipment or
facilities in which the party storing goods rents and occupies
space as a tenant and the entire risk of loss is with the tenant
pursuant to written contract between the landlord and tenant.
"Department" means the department of agriculture.
Subd. 6. [SERVICE HOUSEHOLD GOODS.] The term "service," as
used in this chapter, is used in its broadest sense and includes
not only the use and occupancy of space for storage purposes,
but also any labor expended, and the use of any equipment,
apparatus, and appliances or any drayage or other facilities,
employed, furnished, or used in connection with the storage of
goods, wares, and merchandise, subject to the provisions of this
chapter. "Household goods" means:
(1) personal effects and property used or to be used in a
dwelling if it is part of the equipment or supply of the
dwelling;
(2) furniture, fixtures, equipment, and the property of
business places and institutions, public or private, when a part
of the stock, equipment, supplies, or property of such
establishments. It does not mean the storage of property of a
business concern in the usual course of its business activities;
(3) articles which, because of their unusual nature or
value, require specialized handling and equipment customarily
employed in moving household goods.
Subd. 7. [RATE HOUSEHOLD GOODS WAREHOUSE OPERATOR.] The
term "rate," as used in this chapter, includes every individual
or joint rate, charge, or other compensation of every warehouse
operator, either for storage or for any other service furnished
in connection therewith, or any two or more such individual or
joint rates, charges, or other compensations of any warehouse
operator, or any schedule or tariff thereof, and any rule,
regulation, charge, practice, or contract relating thereto.
"Household goods warehouse operator" means an individual,
corporation, partnership, or any other business association or
their trustees, assignees, or receivers appointed by a court who
control, operate, or manage, directly or indirectly, a building
or structure or any part of a building or structure in this
state used for the storage or warehousing of household goods for
compensation. "Household goods warehouse operator" does not
include persons, corporations, or other parties operating
storage facilities for storage on a seasonal basis of boats,
boating accessories, recreational vehicles, or recreational
equipment, or facilities in which the party storing goods rents
and occupies space as a tenant and the entire risk of loss is
with the tenant pursuant to written contract between the
landlord and tenant.
Subd. 8. [COMPENSATION RATE.] The term "compensation," as
used in this chapter, means any remuneration, recompense,
indemnification, requital, or satisfaction assessed, collected,
or received for the storage or warehousing of goods, wares, or
merchandise of another by a warehouse operator. "Rate" includes
every individual or joint rate, charge, or other compensation of
a household goods warehouse operator, either for storage or for
any other service furnished in connection with storage; any
schedule or tariff of rates, charges, or compensation of a
household goods warehouse operator; and any rule, regulation,
charge, practice, or contract relating to the rates, charges, or
compensation.
Subd. 9. [HOUSEHOLD GOODS SERVICE.] "Household goods"
means:
(a) personal effects and property used or to be used in a
dwelling if it is part of the equipment or supply of the
dwelling;
(b) furniture, fixtures, equipment, and the property of
business places and institutions, public or private, when a part
of the stock, equipment, supplies, or property of such
establishments. It does not mean the storage of property of a
business concern in the usual course of its business activities;
(c) articles which, because of their unusual nature or
value, require specialized handling and equipment customarily
employed in moving household goods. "Service" is used in its
broadest sense and includes not only the use and occupancy of
space for storage purposes, but also any labor expended, and the
use of any equipment, apparatus, and appliances or any drayage
or other facilities employed, furnished, or used in connection
with the storage of goods, wares, and merchandise subject to
this chapter.
Subd. 10. [WAREHOUSE OPERATOR.] "Warehouse operator" means
a corporation, company, association, joint stock company or
association, firm, partnership, or individual and their
trustees, assignees, or receivers appointed by any court, that
directly or indirectly controls, operates, or manages within
this state one or more buildings or structures, any part thereof
of a building or structure, or any other property which is used
for the storage or warehousing of goods, wares, business or
other records, or merchandise for compensation, or who holds
itself out as being in the storage or warehouse business or as
offering storage or warehouse facilities, or who advertises for,
solicits, or accepts goods, wares, business or other records, or
merchandise for storage for compensation. "Warehouse operator"
does not include household goods warehouse operators or persons,
corporations, or other parties operating storage facilities
containing minerals, ores, or rock products such as, but not
limited to, aggregates, clays, railroad ballast, iron ore,
steel, aluminum, copper ore, nickel ore, limestone, coal, and
salt or operating grain warehouses, or storing on a seasonal
basis boats, boating accessories, recreational vehicles, or
recreational equipment or facilities in which the party storing
goods rents and occupies space as a tenant and the entire risk
of loss is with the tenant pursuant to written contract between
the landlord and tenant or provided by a railroad or common
carrier.
Sec. 2. [231.035] [INSPECTION AUTHORITY.]
The commissioner or the commissioner's designee may, upon
presentation of appropriate credentials and during regular
working hours or at other reasonable times, inspect premises
including equipment and stored goods subject to and for reasons
relating to the commissioner's enforcement and licensing
authority; request information from persons with information
relevant to an inspection; and inspect relevant papers and
records relating to the storage of goods.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.04, is
amended to read:
231.04 [DEPARTMENT TO ENFORCE WAREHOUSE LAW.]
It is hereby made a duty of The department to shall see
that the provisions of the constitution and the statutes of this
state affecting warehouse operators or household goods warehouse
operators, the enforcement of which is not specifically vested
in some other officer or tribunal, are enforced and obeyed, that
violations thereof are promptly prosecuted, and that penalties
due the state therefor are recovered and collected; and, to this
end, it may sue in the name of the state.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.08, is
amended to read:
231.08 [WHAT IS REQUIRED OF WAREHOUSE OPERATORS AND
HOUSEHOLD GOODS WAREHOUSE OPERATORS.]
Subdivision 1. [TO FURNISH INFORMATION.] Every warehouse
operator and household goods warehouse operator shall furnish
all information required by the department to carry into effect
the provisions of administer this chapter and make specific
answers to all questions submitted by the department, under
oath; and if such. A warehouse operator or household goods
warehouse operator which is a corporation, it shall answer under
the oath of one of its duly authorized officers.
Every A warehouse operator or household goods warehouse
operator shall obey and comply with each and every requirement
of every order, decision, direction, or rule made or prescribed
by the department in the matters specified in this chapter; and
do everything necessary or proper to secure the compliance with
and the observance of the same, by all its officers, agents, and
employees.
Subd. 2. [RIGHTS NOT LIMITED.] Nothing in this chapter
shall be construed as limiting the rights of any warehouse
operator or household goods warehouse operator to lease or let
for any storage purpose any floor portion of a building or any
portion thereof. Any warehouse operator who so leases any
portion or portions of a warehouse shall first file with the
department a schedule showing the rates for such spaces and the
monthly rental per square foot or per cubic foot.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.09, is
amended to read:
231.09 [OBLIGATION TO ISSUE UNIFORM RECEIPTS.]
Every A warehouse operator receiving goods in store shall
issue for all such the goods a receipt embodying the terms of
such receipts as authorized by article 7 of the Uniform
Commercial Code. Receipts or records of storage in electronic
form are acceptable.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.11, is
amended to read:
231.11 [SCHEDULE OF RATES; STORING HOUSEHOLD GOODS.]
In order to insure ensure nondiscriminatory rates and
charges for all depositors of household goods, the commissioner
shall establish a collective rate-making procedure which
will insure ensure the publication and maintenance of just and
reasonable rates and charges under uniform, reasonably related
rate structures. These procedures shall must provide for the
joint consideration, initiation, and establishment of rates and
charges, and shall assure ensure that the respective revenues
and expenses of household goods warehouse operators engaged in
warehouse services for household goods are ascertained. Any
participating household goods warehouse operator party to a
collectively mandated rate or charge has the right to petition
the commissioner for the establishment of a rate or charge which
deviates from the collectively set rate. Upon receiving the
commissioner's approval, that household goods warehouse operator
may proceed to establish the requested rate or charge.
All household goods warehouse operators subject to rate
regulation under this chapter must comply with the
commissioner's rate-making procedures. No household goods
warehouse operator shall undertake to perform any service or
store any household goods until a schedule of rates has been
filed and published in accordance with this chapter. In case of
emergency, however, a service or storage not specifically
covered by the schedules filed, may be performed or furnished at
a reasonable rate, which must then be promptly filed, and which
is subject to review in accordance with this chapter.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.12, is
amended to read:
231.12 [CHANGE OF RATES; STORING HOUSEHOLD GOODS.]
Unless the department otherwise orders, no household goods
warehouse operator storing household goods may change any rate
except after ten days' notice to the department and to the
public pursuant to this section. Notice shall must be given by
filing with the department and keeping open for public
inspection new schedules or supplements stating plainly the
changes to be made in the schedules then in force and the time
when the changes will go into effect. The department for good
cause shown, may, after hearing, allow changes without requiring
the ten days' notice by an order specifying the changes to be
made, the time when they shall take effect, and the manner in
which they shall be filed and published.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.13, is
amended to read:
231.13 [CHARGING MORE OR LESS THAN THE PUBLISHED RATE;
STORING HOUSEHOLD GOODS.]
Except as specified in sections 231.11 and 231.12, no
household goods warehouse operator storing household goods shall
have, demand, collect, or receive, a greater or less or
different compensation for any service rendered or for storing
any household goods than the rates applicable to such that
service or storage, as specified in the schedules of rates on
file with the commissioner and in effect at the time.
When If a household goods warehouse operator shall have
has had household goods in store for such a period so long that
the storage charges thereon accumulated on them are more than
such the household goods would bring at a forced sale, the
department, upon written application and proof thereof, may
authorize such the household goods warehouse operator to
compromise such the charges for a sum not less than the amount
which such the household goods would bring at such a forced
sale.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.14, is
amended to read:
231.14 [DISCRIMINATION IN RATES; STORING HOUSEHOLD GOODS.]
Except as herein otherwise specified, no household goods
warehouse operator storing household goods, or any officer,
agent, or employee thereof, shall, directly or indirectly, by
remittance, rebate, or any device, inducement, or other means,
suffer or permit any corporation or person to obtain any
service, or the storage of any household goods at less than the
rates then established and in force as shown by the schedule of
rates filed and in effect at the time. No person or corporation
shall, directly or indirectly, by any device, inducement, or
means, either with or without the consent or connivance of
a household goods warehouse operator storing household goods, or
any of the officers, agents, or employees thereof, obtain, or
seek to obtain, any service, or the storage of any household
goods at less than the rates then established and in force
therefor. Any household goods warehouse operator storing
household goods, or the officers, agents, or employees thereof,
or any person acting for or employed by it, or transacting
business with it, or any other person, who shall violate any
provision of violates this section, shall be is guilty of a
gross misdemeanor; and is, upon conviction, subject to
imprisonment not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding
$3,000, or both.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.15, is
amended to read:
231.15 [DEPARTMENT TO FIX RATES AND RULES; STORAGE OF
HOUSEHOLD GOODS.]
When If the department after a hearing upon its own motion,
or upon complaint finds that the rates demanded, observed,
charged, or collected by any warehouse operator a household
goods warehouse operator for or in connection with any service
or storage of goods, wares, or merchandise, or in connection
with such service or storage, are unjust, unreasonable,
discriminatory, preferential, or in any wise in violation of any
provision of law otherwise illegal, the department shall
determine the just and reasonable rates to be thereafter
effective and in force in such for that household goods
warehouse operator and fix the same rates by an order, which
shall determine when such the rates shall go into effect.
Before making any an order is issued under the provisions of
this section, the household goods warehouse operator shall have
an opportunity to be heard upon reasonable notice to be
determined by the department.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.16, is
amended to read:
231.16 [WAREHOUSE OPERATOR OR HOUSEHOLD GOODS WAREHOUSE
OPERATOR TO OBTAIN LICENSE.]
Every person desiring to engage in the business of A
warehouse operator, before engaging therein, shall or household
goods warehouse operator must be licensed annually by, and shall
be under the supervision and subject to the inspection of, the
department. The department shall prescribe the form of the
written application. in the form prescribed by the department
shall be made to the department for license, specifying the city
in which it is proposed to carry on the business of warehousing,
the location, size, character, and equipment of the buildings or
premises to be used by the warehouse operator, the kind of
goods, wares, and merchandise intended to be stored therein, the
name of the person or corporation operating the same, and of
each member of the firm or officer of the corporation, and any
other facts necessary to satisfy the department that the
property proposed to be used is suitable for warehouse purposes
and that the warehouse operator making the application is
qualified to carry on the business of warehousing. Should If
the department decide that the building or other property
proposed to be used as a warehouse is suitable for the proposed
purpose and that the applicants are entitled to a license,
notice of the decision shall be given the interested parties
and, upon the applicants filing approves the license application
and the applicant files with the department the necessary
bond, in the case of household goods warehouse operators, or
proof of warehouse operators legal liability insurance coverage
in an amount of $50,000 or more, as provided for in this
chapter, the department shall issue the license provided for,
upon payment of the license fee, as required in this section
provided. A warehouse operator or household goods warehouse
operator to whom a license is issued shall pay for the license a
fee based on the storage capacity of the warehouse as follows:
Storage capacity in square feet
Building square footage used for public storage
(1) 5,000 or less $ 80
(2) 5,001 to 10,000 $155
(3) 10,001 to 20,000 $250
(4) 20,001 to 100,000 $315
(5) 100,001 to 200,000 $410
(6) over 200,000 $470
Fees collected under this chapter shall must be paid into
the grain buyers and storage fund established in section 232.22.
The license shall must be renewed annually on or before
July 1, and always upon payment of the full license fee, as
provided for required in this section for such renewal; and. No
license shall be issued for any portion of a year for less than
the full amount of the license fee, as provided for required in
this section. Each license obtained under this chapter shall
must be publicly displayed in the main office of the place of
business of the warehouse operator or household goods warehouse
operator to whom it is issued. The license shall authorize
authorizes the warehouse operator or household goods warehouse
operator to carry on the business of warehousing only in the one
city or town named in the application and in the buildings
therein described. The department, without requiring an
additional bond and license, may issue permits from time to time
to any warehouse operator already duly licensed under the
provisions of this chapter to operate an additional warehouse in
the same city or town for which the original license was issued
during the term thereof, upon the filing an application for a
permit in the form prescribed by the department.
A license may be refused for good cause shown and revoked
by the department for violation of law or of any rule adopted by
it prescribed the department, upon notice and after hearing.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.17, is
amended to read:
231.17 [BONDS OF WAREHOUSE OPERATORS; LEGAL LIABILITY
INSURANCE.]
Every warehouse operator applying for and receiving a
license from the department, as provided for in under this
chapter, shall file with the department, acceptable to the
department, a surety bond to the state of Minnesota. Such Bonds
shall must be in an the amount to be determined by the
department as reasonable for the applicant but shall not be less
than of $10,000.
The commissioner shall, after a study of the existing
bonding structure and after consultation with the warehousing
industry, adopt rules for bonding. The rules must be adopted by
April 1, 1994.
The bond shall must be conditioned for the faithful
discharge of all duties as a household goods warehouse operator
operating under this chapter, and full compliance with the laws
of the state and rules and orders of the department relative
thereto. Failure to maintain the bond as required shall void
the license.
The bond must be continuous until canceled. To cancel a
bond, the surety must provide 90 days' written notice of the
bond's termination date to the licensee and the department.
In lieu of the bond required by this section, the applicant
may deposit with the state treasurer cash; a certified check; a
cashier's check; a postal, bank, or express money order;
assignable bonds or notes of the United States; or an assignment
of bank savings account or investment certificate or an
irrevocable bank letter of credit as defined in section
336.5-103, in the same amount as would be required for a bond.
In lieu of the bond required by this section, a warehouse
operator that does not provide for the storage of household
goods may provide proof of legal liability insurance coverage in
the amount of $50,000 or more. A warehouse operator must notify
the department with written notice of the cancellation of the
policy. If the policy is terminated without notification to the
department, the warehouse operator is subject to penalties under
section 231.39.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.18,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [FILING A CLAIM.] A depositor claiming to
be damaged by the breach of an agreement to store general
merchandise and household goods must file a claim with the
department within 180 days of the date of breach.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.18,
subdivision 6, is amended to read:
Subd. 6. [BOND DISBURSEMENT.] (a) Upon expiration of the
claim filing period, the department shall promptly determine the
validity of all claims filed and notify the claimants of the
determination. An aggrieved party may appeal the department's
determination by requesting, within 15 days, that the department
initiate a contested case proceeding. In the absence of such a
request, or following the issuance of a final order in a
contested case, the surety company shall issue payment promptly
to those claimants entitled to payment.
(b) If a household goods warehouse operator has become
liable to more than one depositor by reason of breaches of the
conditions of the bond and the amount of the bond is
insufficient to pay the entire liability to all depositors
entitled to the protection of the bond, the proceeds of the bond
shall be apportioned among the bona fide claimants.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.24, is
amended to read:
231.24 [COMPLAINT THAT RATE IS UNREASONABLE; DUTY OF
DEPARTMENT.]
Upon verified complaint of any person or of any corporation
that any rates of a household goods warehouse operator are
unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, preferential, or in any
way in violation of law, the department shall proceed to
investigate the matters alleged in such complaint; and, for the
purposes of such investigation, they may require the attendance
of witnesses and the production of books, papers, and
documents. If, upon the hearing, such rates are found to be
unjust, unreasonable, discriminatory, preferential, or in any
way in violation of law, the department shall make an order,
stating wherein the same are so unjust, unreasonable,
discriminatory, preferential, or in any way in violation of law,
and make rates which shall be substituted for those as to which
complaint is made. Rates so made by the department shall be
deemed prima facie reasonable in all courts, and shall be in
full force during the pendency of any appeal or other
proceedings to review the action of the department in
establishing the same.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.28, is
amended to read:
231.28 [FAILURE TO OBEY ORDER OR LAW.]
When any If a warehouse operator shall fail or household
goods warehouse operator fails to obey any law of this state, or
any order of the department, the department may, upon verified
petition alleging such failure, apply to the district court of
the county in which the warehouse operator's principal place of
business is located, for the enforcement of such law or order,
or other appropriate relief. The court, upon such notice as it
may direct, shall hear such matter as in case of an appeal from
an order. On the hearing, the findings of fact upon which the
order is based shall be prima facie evidence of the merits
therein stated, and the court may grant any provisional or other
relief, ordinary or extraordinary, legal or equitable, which the
nature of the case may require, and may impose a fine of not
more than $50 for each day's failure to obey any writ, process,
or order of the court, in addition to all other penalties or
forfeitures provided by law. A temporary mandatory or
restraining order may be made in such proceedings,
notwithstanding any undetermined issue of fact, upon such terms
as to security as the court may direct.
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.34, is
amended to read:
231.34 [ACTION ON BOND IN THE NAME OF THE STATE.]
When any one If a licensed to do business as a public
household goods warehouse operator fails to perform a duty, or
violates any of the provisions of this chapter, any person or
corporation injured by such failure or violation may, with the
consent of the department and the attorney general, bring an
action in the name of the state, but to the person's or
corporation's own use, in any court of competent jurisdiction on
the bond of such the household goods warehouse operator. In
such action the person or corporation in whose behalf the action
is brought shall file with the court a satisfactory bond for
costs, and the state shall not be liable for any costs.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.36, is
amended to read:
231.36 [FALSIFICATION OR DESTRUCTION OF ACCOUNTS.]
Any person who shall willfully make any false entry in the
account or in any record or memorandum kept by a warehouse
operator or household goods warehouse operator, or who shall
willfully destroy, mutilate, alter, or by any other means or
device, falsify a record of any such account, record, or
memorandum, or who shall willfully neglect or fail to make full,
true, and correct entries in such accounts, records, or
memoranda, of all facts and transactions appertaining to the
business of the warehouse operator or household goods warehouse
operator, or shall keep any accounts or records with the intent
to evade the provisions of this chapter, shall be is guilty of a
gross misdemeanor; and, upon conviction, is subject to
imprisonment not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding
$3,000, or both.
Sec. 19. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.37, is
amended to read:
231.37 [PENALTY FOR DIVULGENCE OF INFORMATION.]
Any officer or employee of the department who divulges to
any person, other than a member of the department, any fact or
information coming to the knowledge of the officer or employee
during the course of an inspection, examination, or
investigation of any accounts, records, memoranda, books, or
papers of a warehouse operator or household goods warehouse
operator, except insofar as may be authorized by the department,
or by a court of competent jurisdiction, or a judge thereof,
shall be is guilty of a gross misdemeanor; and, upon conviction,
is subject to imprisonment not exceeding one year or to a fine
not exceeding $3,000, or to both.
Sec. 20. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.38, is
amended to read:
231.38 [PENALTY FOR TRANSACTING BUSINESS WITHOUT A
LICENSE.]
Any person who shall transact the business of a warehouse
operator or household goods warehouse operator, except for the
purpose of winding up the same under the supervision of the
department, without first procuring a license and giving a
bond or providing proof of insurance as provided for in this
chapter and any licensed warehouse operator or household goods
warehouse operator who shall operate any warehouse without
obtaining the permit herein provided for or who shall continue
to transact such business after such license has expired or the
required insurance has lapsed or such bond may have become void
or found insufficient security for the penal sum in which it is
executed by the department approving the same shall be is guilty
of a gross misdemeanor; and, upon conviction, shall be fined in
a sum not less than $100 nor more than $3,000 for each and every
day such the business is carried on before the license or
permit, as the case may be, is issued or after the expiration of
such license or permit or after receiving notice from the
department that such the insurance has lapsed or bond has become
void or has been found insufficient security; and the operation
of such warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator
may be enjoined upon complaint of the department before a court
of competent jurisdiction.
A warehouse operator or household goods warehouse operator
has 30 days after a license or permit has expired or insurance
has lapsed or bond become void or been found insufficient before
the penalty in this section applies.
Sec. 21. Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 231.39, is
amended to read:
231.39 [PERSONS VIOLATING ACT OR ORDER; PENALTY.]
Any warehouse operator or household goods warehouse
operator and each person who, either individually or acting as
an officer, agent, or employee of a warehouse operator or
household goods warehouse operator, violates or fails to comply
with any provisions of this chapter, or fails to observe, obey,
or comply with any order, decision, rule, direction, or
requirement or any part or portion thereof of the department
made or issued under authority of this chapter or who procures,
aids, or abets any warehouse operator or household goods
warehouse operator in the violation of this chapter or in the
failure to observe, obey, or comply with this chapter or any
such order, decision, rule, direction, or requirement or any
part or portion thereof in a case in which a penalty is not
otherwise provided for in this chapter is guilty of a gross
misdemeanor; and, upon conviction, shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding $3,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding one year
or by both such fine and imprisonment.
Each violation of the provisions of this chapter, or of any
order, decision, rule, direction, or requirement of the
department, or any part or portion thereof, by any warehouse
operator or household goods warehouse operator is a separate and
distinct offense.
In construing and enforcing the provisions of this chapter
relating to penalties, the act, omission, or failure of any
officer, agent, or employee of any warehouse operator or
household goods warehouse operator, acting within the scope of
official duties or employment, shall in each case be and be
deemed to be the act, omission, or failure of such warehouse
operator or household goods warehouse operator.
Sec. 22. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1998, sections 231.02; 231.03; 231.05;
231.06; 231.07; 231.10; 231.15; and 231.35, are repealed.
Presented to the governor April 26, 1999
Signed by the governor April 27, 1999, 11:25 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes