Montana Code 80-10-208. Penalties
80-10-208. Penalties. (1) A penalty of two times the commercial value of the deficiency, as determined by the retail price based on a semiannual state survey, may be assessed:
Terms Used In Montana Code 80-10-208
- Commercial fertilizer: includes any substance containing one or more recognized plant nutrients that is used for its plant nutrient content and that is designed for use or claimed to have value in promoting plant growth, yield, or quality of the crop. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Deficiency: means the amount of nutrient found by analysis to be less than that guaranteed. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Investigational allowance: means an allowance for variations inherent in the taking, preparation, and analysis of an official sample of fertilizer. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Official sample: means any sample of commercial fertilizer taken by the department and designated as official by the department. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Person: means an individual, partnership, association, firm, or corporation. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- Registrant: means the person who registers a commercial fertilizer or a soil amendment. See Montana Code 80-10-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(a)if the analysis shows that a commercial fertilizer is deficient in one or more of its guaranteed primary nutrients beyond the investigational allowance as established by regulation; or
(b)if the overall index value of the fertilizer is below the level established by regulation.
(2)When a commercial fertilizer is subject to a penalty under both subsections (1)(a) and (1)(b), the larger penalty applies.
(3)Deficiencies beyond the investigational allowances as established by regulation in any other constituent covered under 80-10-102(1)(b), (1)(c), and (1)(d) that the registrant is required to or may guarantee may be evaluated, and penalties may be assessed at two times the commercial value of the deficiency as determined by the retail price based on a semiannual state survey.
(4)Nothing contained in this section prevents any person from appealing the department’s decision to a court of competent jurisdiction.
(5)All penalties assessed under this section must be paid to the consumer of the lot, not to exceed 100 tons, of commercial fertilizer represented by the sample analyzed within 3 months after the date of notice from the department to the responsible party. If at the end of the 3-month period the consumer cannot be found, receipts must be taken and promptly forwarded to the department for deposit in the state special revenue fund as provided in 80-10-207.
(6)If the department cannot reasonably determine the lot size, then the lot size is considered to be 2 tons for the purposes of calculating the commercial value of the deficiency.
(7)A deficiency in an official sample of mixed fertilizer that results from nonuniformity is not distinguishable from a deficiency to actual plant nutrient shortage and is subject to official action.