(1) An order entered after the receipt of a response which does not contest the determination, or after it has been established at a hearing that the infraction was committed, or after a hearing for the purpose of explaining mitigating circumstances, is civil in nature.
(2) The court may, in its discretion, waive, reduce, or suspend the monetary penalty prescribed for the infraction. At the person's request, the court may order performance of a number of hours of community restitution in lieu of a monetary penalty, at the rate of the then state minimum wage per hour.