AN ACT Relating to
weights and measures; amending RCW 19.94.005, 19.94.010, 19.94.160, 19.94.165,
19.94.175, 19.94.185, 19.94.190, 19.94.216, 19.94.250, 19.94.255, 19.94.280,
19.94.320, 19.94.360, 19.94.410, 19.94.390, and 19.94.510; adding new sections
to chapter 19.94 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 15.80 RCW; creating new
sections; prescribing penalties; providing effective dates; and declaring an
emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
1. (1) Except as provided in
subsection (4) of this section for the initial registration of an instrument or
device, no weighing or measuring instrument or device may be used for
commercial purposes in the state unless its commercial use is registered
annually. If its commercial use is within a city that has a city sealer and a
weights and measures program as provided by RCW 19.94.280, the commercial use
of the instrument or device shall be registered with the city if the city has
adopted fees pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. If its commercial use
is outside of such a city, the commercial use of the instrument or device shall
be registered with the department.
(2) A city with such a
sealer and program may establish an annual fee for registering the commercial
use of such a weighing or measuring instrument or device with the city. The
annual fee shall not exceed the fee established in RCW 19.94.175 for
registering the use of a similar instrument or device with the department.
Fees upon weighing or measuring instruments or devices within the jurisdiction
of the city that are collected under this subsection by city sealers shall be
deposited into the general fund, or other account, of the city as directed by
the governing body of the city.
(3) Registrations with
the department are accomplished as part of the master license system under
chapter 19.02 RCW. Payment of the registration fee for a weighing or measuring
instrument or device under the master license system constitutes the
registration required by this section.
(4) The fees
established by or under RCW 19.94.175 for registering a weighing or measuring
instrument or device shall be paid to the department of licensing concurrently
with an application for a master license or with the annual renewal of a master
license under chapter 19.02 RCW. A weighing or measuring instrument or device
shall be initially registered with the state at the time the owner applies for
a master license for a new business or at the first renewal of the license that
occurs after the instrument or device is first placed into commercial use.
However, the use of an instrument or device that is in commercial use on the
effective date of this act shall be initially registered at the time the first
renewal of the master license of the owner of the instrument or device is due
following the effective date of this act. The department of licensing shall
remit to the department of agriculture all fees collected under this provision
less reasonable collection expenses.
(5) Each city charging
registration fees under this section shall notify the department of agriculture
at the time such fees are adopted and whenever changes in the fees are adopted.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. (1) Except as provided in
subsection (3) of this section and RCW 19.94.190(1)(d), the department shall
test and inspect each biennium a sufficient number of weighing and measuring
instruments and devices to ensure that the provisions of this chapter are enforced.
(2) The department may
issue an official seal of approval for each weighing or measuring instrument or
device that has been tested and inspected and found to be correct.
(3) Except as provided
in RCW 19.94.216, this section does not apply to weighing or measuring
instruments or devices located in an area of the state that is within a city
that has a city sealer and a weights and measures program pursuant to RCW
19.94.280 unless the city sealer does not possess the equipment necessary to
test and inspect the weighing or measuring instrument or device.
Sec. 3. RCW 19.94.005 and 1992 c
237 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
The legislature finds:
(1) The accuracy of
weighing and measuring instruments and devices used in commerce in the state of
Washington affects every consumer throughout the state and is of vital
importance to the public interest.
(2) Fair weights and
measures are equally important to business and the consumer.
(3) ((A continuing
study of this state's weights and measures program is necessary to ensure that
the program provides proper enforcement and oversight to safeguard consumers,
business, and interstate commerce.
(4))) This chapter safeguards the consuming public
and ensures that businesses receive proper compensation for the commodities
they deliver.
Sec. 4. RCW 19.94.010 and 1992 c
237 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Unless the context
clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout
this chapter and to any rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(a) "City"
means a first class city with a population of over fifty thousand persons.
(b) "City sealer"
means the person duly authorized by a city to enforce and administer the
weights and measures program within such city and any duly appointed deputy
sealer acting under the instructions and at the direction of the city sealer.
(c) "Commodity in
package form" means a commodity put up or packaged in any manner in
advance of sale in units suitable for either wholesale or retail sale,
exclusive, however, of an auxiliary shipping container enclosing packages that
individually conform to the requirements of this chapter. An individual item
or lot of any commodity not in packaged form, but on which there is marked a
selling price based on established price per unit of weight or of measure,
shall be construed to be a commodity in package form.
(d) "Consumer
package" or "package of consumer commodity" means a commodity in
package form that is customarily produced or distributed for sale through
retail sales agencies or instrumentalities for consumption by persons, or used
by persons for the purpose of personal care or in the performance of services
ordinarily rendered in or about a household or in connection with personal
possessions.
(e) "Cord"
means the measurement of wood intended for fuel or pulp purposes that is
contained in a space of one hundred twenty‑eight cubic feet, when the
wood is ranked and well stowed.
(f)
"Department" means the department of agriculture of the state of
Washington.
(g)
"Director" means the director of the department or duly authorized
representative acting under the instructions and at the direction of the
director.
(h) "Fish"
means any waterbreathing animal, including shellfish, such as, but not limited
to, lobster, clam, crab, or other mollusca that is prepared, processed, sold,
or intended for sale.
(i) "Net weight"
means the weight of a commodity excluding any materials, substances, or items
not considered to be part of such commodity. Materials, substances, or items
not considered to be part of a commodity shall include, but are not limited to,
containers, conveyances, bags, wrappers, packaging materials, labels,
individual piece coverings, decorative accompaniments, and coupons.
(j) "Nonconsumer
package" or "package of nonconsumer commodity" means a commodity
in package form other than a consumer package and particularly a package
designed solely for industrial or institutional use or for wholesale
distribution only.
(k) "Meat"
means and shall include all animal flesh, carcasses, or parts of animals, and
shall also include fish, shellfish, game, poultry, and meat food products of
every kind and character, whether fresh, frozen, cooked, cured, or processed.
(l) "Official seal
of approval" means the ((uniform)) seal or certificate issued by
the director or city sealer which indicates that a secondary weights and
measures standard or a weighing or measuring instrument or device conforms with
the specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements adopted in RCW
19.94.195.
(m) "Person"
means any individual, receiver, administrator, executor, assignee, trustee in
bankruptcy, trust, estate, firm, copartnership, joint venture, club, company,
business trust, corporation, association, society, or any group of individuals
acting as a unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, nonprofit, or
otherwise.
(n) "Poultry"
means all fowl, domestic or wild, that is prepared, processed, sold, or
intended or offered for sale.
(o) "Service
agent" means a person who for hire, award, commission, or any other
payment of any kind, installs, tests, inspects, checks, adjusts,
repairs, reconditions, or systematically standardizes the graduations of a
weighing or measuring instrument or device.
(p) "Ton"
means a unit of two thousand pounds avoirdupois weight.
(q) "Weighing or
measuring instrument or device" means any equipment or apparatus used
commercially to establish the size, quantity, capacity, count, extent, area,
heaviness, or measurement of quantities, things, produce, or articles for
distribution or consumption, that are purchased, offered or submitted for sale,
hire, or award on the basis of weight, measure or count, including any
accessory attached to or used in connection with a weighing or measuring
instrument or device when such accessory is so designed or installed that its
operation affects, or may effect, the accuracy or indication of the device.
This definition shall be strictly limited to those weighing or measuring
instruments or devices governed by Handbook 44 as adopted under RCW 19.94.195.
(r) "Weight"
means net weight as defined in this section.
(s) "Weights and
measures" means the recognized standards or units of measure used to
indicate the size, quantity, capacity, count, extent, area, heaviness, or
measurement of any consumable commodity.
(t) "Secondary
weights and measures standard" means ((any object)) the
physical standards that are traceable to the primary standards through
comparisons, used by the director, a city sealer, or a service agent that
under specified conditions defines or represents a recognized weight or measure
during the inspection, adjustment, testing, or systematic standardization of
the graduations of any weighing or measuring instrument or device.
(2) The director shall
prescribe by rule other definitions as may be necessary for the implementation
of this chapter.
Sec. 5. RCW 19.94.160 and 1992 c
237 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
Weights and measures
standards that are in conformity with the standards of the United States as
have been supplied to the state by the federal government or otherwise obtained
by the state for use as state weights and measures standards, shall, when the
same shall have been certified as such by the national institute of standards
and technology or any successor organization, be the ((state)) primary
standards of weight and measure. The state weights and measures standards
shall be kept in a place designated by the director and shall ((not be
removed from such designated place except for repairs or for certification.
These state weights and measures standards shall be submitted at least once
every ten years to)) be maintained in such calibration as prescribed by
the national institute of standards and technology or any successor
organization ((for certification)).
Sec. 6. RCW 19.94.165 and 1992 c
237 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1) Unless
otherwise provided by the department,)) All weighing or measuring
instruments or devices used for commercial purposes within this state shall be
((inspected and tested for accuracy by the director or city sealer at least
once every two years and, if found to be)) correct((, the director or
city sealer shall issue an official seal of approval for each such instrument
or device.
(2) Beginning fiscal
year 1993, the schedule of inspection and testing shall be staggered so as
one-half of the weighing or measuring instruments or devices under the
jurisdiction of the inspecting and testing authority are approved in odd fiscal
years and the remaining one-half are inspected and tested in even fiscal years.
(3) The department
may provide, as needed, uniform, official seals of approval to city sealers for
the purposes expressed in this section)).
Sec. 7. RCW 19.94.175 and 1992 c
237 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1) The department
shall establish reasonable, biennial inspection and testing fees for each type
or class of weighing or measuring instrument or device required to be inspected
and tested under this chapter. These inspection and testing fees shall be
equitably prorated within each such type or class and shall be limited to those
amounts necessary for the department to cover, to the extent possible, the
direct costs associated with the inspection and testing of each type or class
of weighing or measuring instrument or device.
(2) Prior to the
establishment and each amendment of the fees authorized under this chapter, a
weights and measures fee task force shall be convened under the direction of
the department. The task force shall be composed of a representative from the
department who shall serve as chair and one representative from each of the
following: City sealers, service agents, service stations, grocery stores,
retailers, food processors/dealers, oil heat dealers, the agricultural
community, and liquid propane dealers. The task force shall recommend the
appropriate level of fees to be assessed by the department pursuant to
subsection (1) of this section, based upon the level necessary to cover the
direct costs of administering and enforcing the provisions of this chapter and
to the extent possible be consistent with fees reasonably and customarily
charged in the private sector for similar services.
(3) The fees
authorized under this chapter may be billed only after the director or a city
sealer has issued an official seal of approval for a weighing or measuring
instrument or device or a weight or measure standard.
(4) All fees shall
become due and payable thirty days after billing by the department or a city
sealer. A late penalty of one and one-half percent per month may be assessed
on the unpaid balance more than thirty days in arrears.)) (1) Pursuant to section 1 of this act, the
following annual registration fees shall be charged for each weighing or
measuring instrument or device used for commercial purposes in this state:
(a)Weighing
devices:
(i)Small
scales "zero to four hundred pounds capacity".... $ 5.00
(ii)Intermediate
scales "four hundred one pounds to five thousand pounds capacity"..................... $
20.00
(iii)Large
scales "over five thousand pounds capacity".... $ 52.00
(iv)Large
scales with supplemental devices.......... $ 52.00
(v)Railroad
track scales............................ $800.00
(b)Liquid
fuel metering devices:
(i)Motor
fuel meters with flows of less than twenty gallons per minute.................................... $
5.00
(ii)Motor
fuel meters with flows of more than twenty but not more than one hundred fifty
gallons per minute $ 16.00
(iii)Motor
fuel meters with flows over one hundred fifty gallons per minute............................ $
25.00
(c)Liquid
petroleum gas meters:
(i)With
one inch diameter or smaller dispensers..... $ 10.00
(ii)With
greater than one inch diameter dispensers.. $ 30.00
(d)Fabric
meters.................................... $ 5.00
(e)Cordage
meters................................... $ 5.00
(f)Mass
flow meters................................. $ 14.00
(g)Taxi
meters...................................... $ 5.00
(((5) Fees upon
weighing or measuring instruments or devices within the jurisdiction of the
city that are collected under this section by city sealers shall be deposited
into the general fund, or other account, of the city as directed by the
governing body of the city. On the thirtieth day of each month, city sealers
shall, pursuant to procedures established and upon forms provided by the
director, remit to the department for administrative costs ten percent of the
total fees collected.
(6))) (2) With the exception of subsection (((7)))
(3) of this section, no person shall be required to pay more than the
established ((inspection and testing)) fee adopted under this section
for any weighing or measuring instrument or device in any ((two-year period
when the same has been found to be correct)) one year.
(((7) Whenever a
special request is made by the owner for the inspection and testing of a
weighing or measuring instrument or device, the fee prescribed by the director
for such a weighing or measuring instrument or device shall be paid by the
owner.))
(3) The department
or a city sealer may establish reasonable inspection and testing fees for each
type or class of weighing or measuring instrument or device specially requested
to be inspected or tested by the device owner. These inspection and testing
fees shall be limited to those amounts necessary for the department or city
sealer to cover the direct costs associated with such inspection and testing.
The fees established under this subsection shall not be set so as to compete
with service agents normally engaged in such services.
Sec. 8. RCW 19.94.185 and 1992 c
237 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as
provided in subsection (2) of this section, all moneys collected under this
chapter shall be payable to the director and placed in the weights and
measures account hereby established in the ((state treasury)) agricultural
local fund. Moneys deposited in this account ((may be spent only
following appropriation by law and)) shall be used solely for the purposes
of ((weighing or measuring instrument or device inspection and testing))
implementing or enforcing this chapter. No appropriation is required for
the disbursement of moneys from the weights and measures account by the
director.
(2) Civil penalties
collected by the department under RCW 19.94.510 and sections 22 and 23 of this
act shall be deposited in the state general fund.
(3) By January 1st
of each odd-numbered year, the department shall provide a written report on the
amount of revenues by major category received under this chapter, including the
metrology laboratory, for the administration of the weights and measures
program by the department. The report shall include the amount of revenue
generated for the two previous biennia, an estimate of the amount of funds to
be received during the current biennium, and an estimate of the amount of funds
to be generated during the next ensuing biennium. The report shall be
submitted to the office of financial management and to each committee in the
legislature with jurisdiction over programs administered by the department in
the house and the senate.
Sec. 9. RCW 19.94.190 and 1992 c
237 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The director and
duly appointed city sealers shall enforce the provisions of this chapter. The
director shall adopt rules for enforcing and carrying out the purposes of this
chapter including but not limited to the following:
(a) Establishing state
standards of weight, measure, or count, and reasonable standards of fill for
any commodity in package form;
(b) The establishment
of technical and reporting procedures to be followed, any necessary report and
record forms, and marks of rejection to be used by the director and city
sealers in the discharge of their official duties as required by this chapter;
(c) The establishment
of technical test procedures, reporting procedures, and any necessary record
and reporting forms to be used by service agents when testing and inspecting
instruments or devices under RCW 19.94.255(3) or when otherwise installing,
repairing, inspecting, or standardizing the graduations of any weighing or
measuring instruments or devices;
(d) ((The
establishment of fee payment and reporting procedures and any necessary report
and record forms to be used by city sealers when remitting the percentage of
total fees collected as required under this chapter;
(e))) The establishment of exemptions from the ((sealing
or)) marking ((inspection and testing)) or tagging
requirements of RCW 19.94.250 with respect to weighing or measuring instruments
or devices of such character or size that such ((sealing or)) marking or
tagging would be inappropriate, impracticable, or damaging to the apparatus
in question;
(((f))) (e)
The establishment of exemptions from the inspection and testing requirements of
((RCW 19.94.165)) section 2 of this act with respect to classes
of weighing or measuring instruments or devices found to be of such character
that periodic inspection and testing is unnecessary to ensure continued
accuracy; ((and
(g))) (f) The establishment of inspection and
approval techniques, if any, to be used with respect to classes of weighing or
measuring instruments or devices that are designed specifically to be used
commercially only once and then discarded, or are uniformly mass‑produced
by means of a mold or die and are not individually adjustable; and
(g) The establishment
of inspection and testing procedures to be used for classes of weighing or
measuring instruments or devices found to be few in number, highly complex, and
of such character that differential or special inspection and testing is
necessary, including railroad track scales. The department's procedures shall
include requirements for the provision, maintenance, and transport of any
weight or measure necessary for the inspection and testing at no expense to the
state.
(2) These rules shall
also include specifications and tolerances for the acceptable range of accuracy
required of weighing or measuring instruments or devices and shall be designed
to eliminate from use, without prejudice to weighing or measuring instruments
or devices that conform as closely as practicable to official specifications
and tolerances, those (a) that are of such construction that they are faulty,
that is, that are not reasonably permanent in their adjustment or will not
repeat their indications correctly, or (b) that facilitate the perpetration of
fraud.
Sec. 10. RCW 19.94.216 and 1992 c
237 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
The department shall:
(1) Biennially inspect
and test the secondary weights and measures standards of any city for which
the appointment of a city sealer is provided by this chapter and shall issue an
official seal of approval for same when found to be correct. The department
shall, by rule, establish a reasonable fee for ((such)) this and any
other inspection and testing services performed by the department's
metrology laboratory. Each such fee shall recover at least seventy-five
percent of the laboratory's costs incurred in performing the service governed
by the fee on or before June 30, 1998. The fees established under this
subsection may be increased in excess of the fiscal growth factor as provided
in RCW 43.135.055 for the fiscal year ending 1996, 1997, and 1998. For fiscal
year 1999 and thereafter, the fees established under this subsection may not be
increased by an amount greater than the fiscal growth factor as provided in RCW
43.135.055.
(2) Biennially
inspect((,)) and test((, and, if found to be correct, issue an
official seal of approval for)) any weighing or measuring instrument or
device used in an agency or institution to which moneys are appropriated by the
legislature or of the federal government and shall report any findings in
writing to the executive officer of the agency or institution concerned. The
department shall collect a reasonable fee, to be set by rule, for testing any
such weighing or measuring instrument or device.
(((3) Inspect, test,
and, if found to be correct, issue a seal of approval for classes of weighing
or measuring instruments or devices found to be few in number, highly complex,
and of such character that differential inspection and testing frequency is
necessary including, but not limited to, railroad track scales and grain
elevator scales. The department shall develop rules regarding the inspection
and testing procedures to be used for such weighing or measuring instruments or
devices which shall include requirements for the provision, maintenance, and
transport of any weight or measure standard necessary for inspection and
testing at no expense to the state. The department may collect a reasonable
fee, to be set by rule, for inspecting and testing any such weighing and
measuring instruments or devices. This fee shall not be unduly burdensome and
shall cover, to the extent possible, the direct costs of performing such service.))
Sec. 11. RCW 19.94.250 and 1992 c
237 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) ((The director
or a city sealer shall, from time to time, inspect any weighing or measuring
instrument or device, except those weighing or measuring instruments or devices
exempted under the authority of RCW 19.94.190, to determine if it is correct.))
If the director or a city sealer discovers upon inspection that a weighing or
measuring instrument or device is "incorrect," but in his or her best
judgment is susceptible of satisfactory repair, he or she shall reject and mark
or tag as rejected any such weighing or measuring instrument or device.
(2) The director or a
city sealer may reject or seize any weighing or measuring instrument or device
found to be incorrect that, in his or her best judgment, is not susceptible of
satisfactory repair.
(3) Weighing or
measuring instruments or devices that have been rejected under subsection (1)
of this section may be confiscated and may be destroyed by the director or a
city sealer if not corrected as required by RCW 19.94.255 or if used or
disposed of contrary to the requirements of that section.
(4) The director or
a city sealer shall permit the use of an incorrect weighing or measuring
instrument or device, pending repairs, if the device is incorrect to the
economic benefit of the consumer and the consumer is not the seller. However,
if the director or city sealer finds such an error, the director or city sealer
shall notify the owner of the instrument or device, or the owner's
representative at the business location, regarding the error.
Sec. 12. RCW 19.94.255 and 1992 c
237 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Weighing or
measuring instruments or devices that have been rejected under the authority of
the director or a city sealer shall remain subject to the control of the
rejecting authority until such time as suitable repair or disposition thereof
has been made as required by this section.
(2) The owner of any
weighing or measuring instrument or device that has been marked or tagged as
rejected by the director or a city sealer shall cause the same to be made correct
within thirty days or such longer period as may be authorized by the rejecting
authority. In lieu of correction, the owner of such weighing and measuring
instrument or device may dispose of the same, but only in the manner
specifically authorized by the rejecting authority.
(3) Weighing and
measuring instruments or devices that have been rejected shall not again be
used commercially until they have been ((officially)) reexamined and((,
if)) found to be correct((, had an official seal of approval placed upon
or issued for such weighing or measuring instrument or device by the rejecting
authority)) by the department, city sealer, or a service agent
registered with the department.
(4) If a weighing or
measuring instrument or device marked or tagged as rejected is placed back into
commercial service by a service agent registered with the department, the agent
shall provide a signed certification to the owner or operator of the instrument
or device so indicating and shall report to the rejecting authority as provided
by rule under RCW 19.94.190(1)(c).
Sec. 13. RCW 19.94.280 and 1992 c
237 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) There may be a city
sealer in every city and such deputies as may be required by ordinance of each
such city to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Each city electing
to have a city sealer shall adopt rules for the appointment and removal of the
city sealer and any deputies required by local ordinance. The rules for
appointment of a city sealer and any deputies must include provisions for the
advice and consent of the local governing body of such city and, as necessary,
any provisions for local civil service laws and regulations.
(3) ((A city sealer
shall adopt the fee amounts established by the director pursuant to RCW
19.94.165. No city shall adopt or charge an inspection, testing, or licensing
fee or any other fee upon a weighing or measuring instrument or device that is
in excess of the fee amount adopted under RCW 19.94.165.
(4))) A city sealer shall keep a complete and
accurate record of all official acts performed under the authority of this
chapter and shall submit an annual report to the governing body of his or her
city and shall make any reports as may be required by the director.
(4) The city sealer
shall test and inspect a sufficient number of weighing and measuring
instruments and devices to ensure that the provisions of this chapter are enforced
in the city. This subsection does not apply to weighing or measuring
instruments or devices for which the sealer does not have the necessary testing
or inspection equipment or to instruments or devices that are to be inspected
by the department under RCW 19.94.216(2).
(5) A city sealer
may issue an official seal of approval for each weighing or measuring
instrument or device that has been inspected and tested and found to be
correct.
Sec. 14. RCW 19.94.320 and 1992 c
237 s 22 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) In cities for which
city sealers have been appointed as provided for in this chapter, the director
shall have general ((supervisory)) oversight powers over ((such))
city ((sealers)) weights and measures programs and may, when he
or she deems it reasonably necessary, exercise concurrent authority to carry
out the provisions of this chapter.
(2) When the director
elects to exercise concurrent authority within a city with a duly appointed
city sealer, the director's powers and duties relative to this chapter shall be
in addition to the powers granted in any such city by law or charter.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
15. (1) Except as authorized
by the department, a service agent who intends to provide the examination that
permits a weighing or measuring instrument or device to be placed back into
commercial service under RCW 19.94.255(3) shall receive an official
registration certificate from the director prior to performing such a service.
This registration requirement does not apply to the department or a city
sealer.
(2) Except as provided
in section 17 of this act, a registration certificate is valid for one year.
It may be renewed by submitting a request for renewal to the department.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
16. (1) Each request for an
official registration certificate shall be in writing, under oath, and on a
form prescribed by the department and shall contain any relevant information as
the director may require, including but not limited to the following:
(a) The name and
address of the person, corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship
requesting registration;
(b) The names and
addresses of all individuals requesting an official registration certificate from
the department; and
(c) The tax
registration number as required under RCW 82.32.030 or uniform business
identifier provided on a master license issued under RCW 19.02.070.
(2) Each individual
when submitting a request for an official registration certificate or a renewal
of such a certificate shall pay a fee to the department in the amount of eighty
dollars per individual.
(3) The department
shall issue a decision on a request for an official registration certificate
within twenty days of receipt of the request. If an individual is denied their
request for an official registration certificate, the department must notify
that individual in writing stating the reasons for the denial and shall refund
any payments made by that individual in connection with the request.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
17. (1) The department shall
have the power to revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew the official registration
certificate of any service agent for any of the following reasons:
(a) Fraud or deceit in
obtaining an official registration certificate under this chapter;
(b) A finding by the
department of a pattern of intentional fraudulent or negligent activities in
the installation, inspection, testing, checking, adjusting, or systematically
standardizing and approving the graduations of any weighing or measuring
instrument or device;
(c) Knowingly placing
back into commercial service any weighing or measuring instrument or device
that is incorrect;
(d) A violation of any
provision of this chapter; or
(e) Conviction of a
crime or an act constituting a crime under the laws of this state, the laws of
another state, or federal law.
(2) Upon the
department's revocation of, suspension of, or refusal to renewal an official
registration certificate, an individual shall have the right to appeal this
decision in accordance with the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05
RCW.
Sec. 18. RCW 19.94.360 and 1969 c
67 s 36 are each amended to read as follows:
In addition to the
declarations required by RCW 19.94.350, any commodity in package form, the
package being one of a lot containing random weights, measures or counts of the
same commodity ((and bearing the total selling price of the package)) at
the time it is exposed for sale at retail, shall bear on the outside of the
package a plain and conspicuous declaration of the price per single unit of
weight, measure, or count and the total selling price of the package.
Sec. 19. RCW 19.94.410 and 1988 c
63 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(((1) Except as
provided in subsection (2) of this section,)) Butter, oleomargarine
and margarine shall be offered and exposed for sale and sold by weight ((and
only in units of one-quarter pound, one-half pound, one pound or multiples of
one pound, avoirdupois weight.
(2) The director of
agriculture may allow the sale of butter specialty products in nonstandard
units of weight if the purpose achieved by using such nonstandard units is
decorative in nature and the products are clearly labeled as to weight and
price per pound)).
Sec. 20. RCW 19.94.390 and 1969 c
67 s 39 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Whenever any
commodity or service is sold, or is offered, exposed, or advertised for sale,
by weight, measure, or count, the price shall not be misrepresented, nor shall
the price be represented in any manner calculated or tending to mislead or
deceive an actual or prospective purchaser. Whenever an advertised, poster or
labeled price per unit of weight, measure, or count includes a fraction of a
cent, all elements of the fraction shall be prominently displayed and the
numeral or numerals expressing the fraction shall be immediately adjacent to,
of the same general design and style as, and at least one-half the height and
one-half the width of the numerals representing the whole cents.
(2) The examination
procedure recommended for price verification by the price verification working
group of the laws and regulations committee of the national conference on
weights and measures (as reflected in the fourth draft, dated November 1, 1994)
for devices such as electronic scanners shall govern such examinations
conducted under this chapter. The procedure shall be deemed to be adopted
under this chapter. However, the department may revise the procedure as
follows: The department shall provide notice of and conduct a public hearing
pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW to determine whether any revisions to this
procedure made by the national institute of standards and technology or its
successor organization for incorporating the examination procedure into an
official handbook of the institute or its successor, or any subsequent
revisions of the handbook regarding such procedures shall also be adopted under
this chapter. If the department determines that the procedure should be so
revised, it may adopt the revisions. Violations of this section regarding the
use of devices such as electronic scanners may be found only as provided by the
examination procedures adopted by or under this subsection.
(3) Electronic
scanner screens installed after January 1, 1996, and used in retail
establishments must be visible to the consumer at the checkout line.
Sec. 21. RCW 19.94.510 and 1992 c
237 s 35 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Any person who, by
himself or herself, by his or her agent or employee, or as the agent or
employee of another person, performs any one of the acts enumerated in (a)
through (((k))) (l) of this subsection is subject to a civil
penalty of no more than one thousand dollars:
(a) Use or have in
possession for the purpose of using for any commercial purpose a weighing or
measuring instrument or device that is intentionally calculated to falsify any
weight, measure, or count of any commodity, or to sell, offer, expose for sale
or hire or have in possession for the purpose of selling or hiring an incorrect
weighing or measuring instrument or device or any weighing or measuring
instrument or device calculated to falsify any weight or measure.
(b) Knowingly use or
have in possession for current use in the buying or selling of any commodity or
thing, for hire or award, or in the computation of any basic charge or payment
for services rendered on the basis of weight, measurement, or count, or in the
determination of weight, measurement or count, when a charge is made for such
determination, any incorrect weighing or measuring instrument or device.
(c) Dispose of any
rejected weighing or measuring instrument or device in a manner contrary to law
or rule.
(d) Remove from any
weighing or measuring instrument or device, contrary to law or rule, any tag,
seal, stamp or mark placed thereon by the director or a city sealer.
(e) Sell, offer or
expose for sale less than the quantity he or she represents of any commodity,
thing or service.
(f) Take more than the
quantity he or she represents of any commodity, thing, or service when, as
buyer, he or she furnishes the weight, measure, or count by means of which the
amount of the commodity, thing or service is determined.
(g) Keep for the
purpose of sale, advertise, offer or expose for sale or sell any commodity,
thing or service known to be in a condition or manner contrary to law or
rule.
(h) Use in retail
trade, except in the preparation of packages put up in advance of sale and of
medical prescriptions, a weighing or measuring instrument or device that is not
so positioned that its indications may be accurately read and the weighing or
measuring operation observable from some position which may reasonably be
assumed by a customer.
(i) Knowingly approve
or issue an official seal of approval for any weighing or measuring instrument
or device known to be incorrect.
(j) Find a weighing
or measuring instrument or device to be correct under RCW 19.94.255 when the
person knows the instrument or device is incorrect.
(k) Fails to
disclose to the department or a city sealer any knowledge of information
relating to, or observation of, any device or instrument added to or modifying
any weighing or measuring instrument or device for the purpose of selling,
offering, or exposing for sale, less than the quantity represented of a
commodity or calculated to falsify weight or measure, if the person is a
service agent.
(((k))) (l)
Violate any other provision of this chapter or of the rules adopted under the
provisions of this chapter for which a specific penalty has not been
prescribed.
(2) Any person who,
by himself or herself, by his or her agent or employee, or as the agent or
employee of another person, violates RCW 19.94.390 as determined by the
examination procedure adopted by or under RCW 19.94.390(2) is subject to a
civil penalty of not more than one thousand dollars.
(3) Any person
who, by himself or herself, by his or her agent or employee, or as the agent or
employee of another person, performs any of the following acts is subject to a
civil penalty of no more than five thousand dollars:
(a) Knowingly adds to
or modifies any weighing or measuring instrument or device by the addition of a
device or instrument that would allow the sale, or the offering or exposure for
sale, of less than the quantity represented of a commodity or falsification of
weight or measure.
(b) Commits as a fourth
or subsequent infraction any of the acts listed in subsection (1) or (2)
of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
22. A person who owns a
weighing or measuring instrument or device and uses or permits the use of the
instrument for commercial purposes in violation of section 1 of this act is
subject to a civil penalty of fifty dollars for each such instrument or device
used or permitted to be used in violation of section 1 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
23. (1) Whenever the
department or a city sealer tests or inspects a weighing or measuring
instrument or device and finds the instrument or device to be incorrect to the
economic benefit of the owner/operator of the weighing or measuring instrument
or device and to the economic detriment of the customer, the owner of the
weighing or measuring instrument or device may be subject to the following
civil penalties:
Device
deviations outside the tolerances stated in Handbook 44.
Penalty
Small weighing or measuring
instruments or devices:
First
violation........................................... $ 50.00
Second
or subsequent violation within one year of first violation...................................................... $150.00
Medium weighing or
measuring instruments or devices:
First
violation........................................... $100.00
Second
or subsequent violation within one year of first violation...................................................... $300.00
Large weighing or measuring
instruments or devices:
First
violation........................................... $200.00
Second
or subsequent violation within one year of first violation...................................................... $500.00
(2) For the purposes of
this section:
(a) The following are
small weighing or measuring instruments or devices: Scales of zero to four
hundred pounds capacity, liquid fuel metering devices with flows of not more
than twenty gallons per minute, liquid petroleum gas meters with one inch in
diameter or smaller dispensers, fabric meters, cordage meters, and taxi meters.
(b) The following are
medium weighing or measuring instruments or devices: Scales of four hundred
one to five thousand pounds capacity, liquid fuel metering devices with flows
of more than twenty but not more than one hundred fifty gallons per minute, and
mass flow meters.
(c) The following are
large weighing or measuring instruments or devices: Liquid petroleum gas
meters with greater than one inch diameter dispensers, liquid fuel metering
devices with flows over one hundred fifty gallons per minute, and scales of
more than five thousand pounds capacity and scales of more than five thousand
pounds capacity with supplemental devices.
(3) The director or a
city sealer shall issue the appropriate civil penalty concurrently with the
conclusion of the test or inspection.
(4) The weighing or
measuring instrument or device owner shall have the right to appeal the civil
penalty in accordance with the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
24. (1) The legislature finds
that:
(a) Civil and criminal
penalties relating to violations of weights and measures provisions and the
disclosure of these violations to the media have recently come under public
scrutiny, resulting in the appropriate nature of such actions being called into
question;
(b) It is vital to the
public interest that the state ensure the uniform application of weights and
measures procedures and penalties throughout the state; and
(c) It is necessary to
review the application of civil and criminal penalties for violations of
weights and measures provisions and the disclosure of these violations to the
media.
(2) The legislature
hereby establishes the weights and measures enforcement task force. The task
force shall be composed of a representative of the department of agriculture
and a representative of each of the following: City sealers, city prosecuting
attorneys, attorneys general's offices, service stations, grocery stores, retailers,
food processors/dealers, the agriculture community, oil and heat dealers,
liquid propane dealers, the media, and consumer groups.
(3) The intent of this
section is to require a study to:
(a) Analyze the current
civil and criminal provisions of state and local weights and measures programs
and the disclosure of violations of these provisions to the media.
(b) Consider whether
the current level of civil and criminal provisions of state and local weights
and measures programs and the disclosure of violations of these provisions to
the media are appropriate.
(c) Identify the
effects upon both sellers and consumers in the marketplace of civil and
criminal provisions of state and local weights and measures programs and the
disclosure of violations of these provisions to the media.
(d) Recommend to the
legislature possible alternative enforcement mechanisms based on the findings
of the study.
(4) The weights and
measures enforcement task force shall present its final findings and any
recommended legislation to the committees of the legislature that deal with law
and justice matters no later than November 30, 1995.
(5) This section shall
expire on December 31, 1995.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
25. A new section is added
to chapter 15.80 RCW to read as follows:
All moneys collected
under this chapter shall be placed in the weights and measures account created
in RCW 19.94.185.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
26. Sections 1, 2, 15 through
17, 22, and 23 of this act are each added to chapter 19.94 RCW.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
27. This act applies
prospectively only and not retroactively. It applies only to causes of action
that arise or that are commenced on or after the effective date of this act.
This act does not affect any liability or obligation arising prior to the
effective date of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
28. (1) Sections 2 through 6
and 8 through 25 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of
the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its
existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1995.
(2)
Sections 1 and 7 of this act shall take effect January 1, 1996.
