A. No person, by himself, by his servant or agent or as the servant or agent of another person shall:

(1) violate the provisions of the Petroleum Products Standards Act;

(2) violate any regulation adopted pursuant to the Petroleum Products Standards Act; or

(3) misrepresent a petroleum product as meeting the standards of the Petroleum Products Standards Act.

B. Any person who violates Subsection A of this section is guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be sentenced in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-19-1 NMSA 1978.

C. The board shall establish a system of administrative penalties for violations of the Petroleum Products Standards Act. The administrative penalties may be assessed by the director in lieu of or in addition to other penalties provided by statute. In establishing the system of administrative penalties, the board, after public notice and public hearing, shall adopt rules that meet the following minimum requirements:

(1) the maximum amount of any administrative penalty shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for any one violation of the Petroleum Products Standards Act by any person;

(2) violations for which administrative penalties may be assessed shall be clearly defined, along with a scale of administrative penalties relating the amount of the administrative penalty to the severity and frequency of the violation;

(3) provisions shall be included for due process, including proper notification of administrative proceedings, right to discovery of charges and evidence and appeal procedures; and

(4) prior to assessing administrative penalties pursuant to the provisions of the Petroleum Products Standards Act, the department shall comply with Paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection.

D. Appeals from decisions of the director regarding the assessment of an administrative penalty shall be to the district court pursuant to the provisions of Section 39-3-1.1 NMSA 1978.

History: Laws 1993, ch. 98, § 12; 1998, ch. 55, § 51; 1999, ch. 265, § 54.

Cross references. — For procedures governing administrative appeals to the district court, see Rule 1-074 NMRA.

The 1999 amendment, effective July 1, 1999, substituted "Section 39-3-1.1" for "Section 12-8A-1" in Subsection D.

The 1998 amendment, effective September 1, 1998, in Subsection B, substituted "is" for "shall be"; in Subsection C, substituted "rules" for "regulations"; and rewrote Subsection D.