(a) If the Director determines that a person: (1) has knowingly and willfully failed to submit a report in accordance with the provisions of Section 3; or(2) has knowingly and willfully submitted a report under Section 3: (A) which does not contain all the information required to be in such report; or(B) which contains information that is misleading or false; such person shall be subject to a civil penalty imposed by the Director. The amount of any such civil penalty shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this Section. Any such civil penalty shall be recoverable in a civil action brought by the Attorney General.
(b) The amount of any civil penalty imposed by the Director under subsection (a) of this Section shall be such amount as the Director determines to be appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Act, except that such amount shall not, when added to any federal penalty for violation of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 ( P.L. 95-460), exceed 25% of the fair market value, on the date of the assessment of such penalty, of the interest in the agricultural land of this State with respect to which such violation occurred. The Director shall establish a procedure for refunding any amounts of the civil penalty imposed under this Act which results in the aggregate penalty imposed by this Act and the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 ( P.L. 95-460) exceeding 25% of the fair market value of such land.