4-18-312. Powers and duties of the State Plant Board.

4-18-312. Powers and duties of the State Plant Board. The State Plant Board shall: (a) Maintain traceability of the state standards to the national standards in the possession of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (b) Enforce the provisions of this subchapter. (c) Issue reasonable rules for the enforcement of this subchapter, which rules shall have the force and effect of law. (d) Establish labeling requirements, establish requirements for the presentation of cost-per-unit information, establish standards of weight, measure, or count, and reasonable standards of fill for any packaged commodity; and may establish requirements for open dating information. (e) Grant any exemptions from the provisions of this subchapter or any rules promulgated pursuant thereto when appropriate to the maintenance of good commercial practices within the state. (f) Conduct investigations to ensure compliance with this subchapter. (g) Delegate to the Department of Agriculture any of these responsibilities for the proper administration of the board. (h) Test annually the standards for weights and measures used by any city or county within the state, and approve the same when found to be correct. (i) Have the authority to inspect and test commercial weights and measures kept, offered, or exposed for sale. (j) Inspect and test, to ascertain if they are correct, weights and measures commercially used: (1) in determining the weight, measure, or count of commodities or things sold, or offered or exposed for sale, on the basis of weight, measure, or count; or (2) in computing the basic charge or payment for services rendered on the basis of weight, measure, or count. (k) Test all weights and measures used in checking the receipt or disbursement of supplies in every institution, for the maintenance of which funds are appropriated by the General Assembly. (l) Approve for use, and may mark, such commercial weights and measures as are found to be correct, and shall reject and order to be corrected, replaced, or removed such commercial weights and measures as are found to be incorrect. Weights and measures that have been rejected may be seized if not corrected within the time specified or if used or disposed of in a manner not specifically authorized. The board shall remove from service and may seize the weights and measures found to be incorrect that are not capable of being made correct. (m) Weigh, measure, or inspect packaged commodities kept, offered, or exposed for sale, sold, or in the process of delivery, to determine whether they contain the amounts represented and whether they are kept, offered, or exposed for sale in accordance with this subchapter or regulations promulgated pursuant thereto. In carrying out the provisions of this subsection, the board shall employ recognized sampling procedures, such as are adopted by the National Conference on Weights and Measures and are published in the National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 133, “Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods”. (n) Prescribe, by rule, the appropriate term or unit of weight or measure to be used, whenever the board determines that an existing practice of declaring the quantity of a commodity or setting charges for a service by weight, measure, numerical count, time, or combination thereof, does not facilitate value comparisons by consumers, or offers an opportunity for consumer confusion. (o) Allow reasonable variations from the stated quantity of contents, which shall include those caused by loss or gain of moisture during the course of good distribution practice or by unavoidable deviations in good manufacturing practice only after the commodity has entered intrastate commerce. (p) Provide for the training of weights and measures personnel, and may also establish minimum training and performance requirements which shall then be met by all weights and measures personnel, whether county, municipal, or state. The State Plant Board may adopt the training standards of the National Conference on Weights and Measures' Professional Certification Program. (q) Verify advertised prices, price representations, and point-of-sale systems, as deemed necessary, to determine: (1) the accuracy of prices and computations and the correct use of the equipment, and (2) if such system utilizes scanning or coding means in lieu of manual entry, the accuracy of prices printed or recalled from a database. In carrying out the provisions of this section, the board shall (i) employ recognized procedures, such as are designated in National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 130, Uniform Laws and Regulations, “Examination Procedures for Price Verification,” (ii) issue necessary rules and regulations regarding the accuracy of advertised prices and automated systems for retail price charging (referred to as “point-of-sale systems”) for the enforcement of this section, which rules shall have the force and effect of law; and (iii) conduct investigations to ensure compliance.