Title 11. Weights and Measures — Subtitle 2. General Powers and Duties of Secretary and Local Inspectors

Have custody of the State primary standards of weights and measures and of the other standards and equipment provided for by this subtitle;

Keep accurate records of the standards and equipment;

Supervise the weights and measures offered for sale, sold, or used in the State; and

Submit a report of all the activities of his office during the previous fiscal year to the Governor and Legislative Policy Committee by September 30.

To enforce this title the Secretary may adopt regulations relating to:

The Secretary shall adopt regulations, specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements for weights and measures of the character of those specified in § 11–204 of this subtitle designed to eliminate from use, without prejudice to any weight and measure that conforms as closely as feasible to the official standards, those that:

For the purposes of this title, a weight and measure is correct when it conforms to all applicable requirements promulgated as specified in this section. A nonconforming weight and measure is incorrect.

Upon the request of any competent State authority, the Secretary may inspect and test any weight and measure.

Unless otherwise provided, the Secretary may inspect and test to ascertain if they are correct, every weight and measure possessed, offered, or exposed for sale. The Secretary shall inspect and test every weight and measure commercially used in determining:

The Secretary may test with representative samples any single-service device or mass-produced device. The lot of which any sample is representative shall be held to be correct or incorrect upon the basis of the results of the inspections and tests on the samples. For the purposes of this section, a single-service device is a device designed to be used commercially only once and then discarded; and a mass-produced device is a device produced by means of a mold or die and not susceptible of individual adjustment.

The Secretary shall conduct inspections as provided in a memorandum of understanding on behalf of and in coordination with other agencies when performing weights and measures inspections at gasoline retailing operations.

The Secretary may establish a program to test any weight and measure to determine if it conforms to the requirements of the National Conference on Weights and Measures.

The Secretary may:

There is a Weight and Measure Testing Fund within the Maryland Department of Agriculture. The Fund is a special fund established for the purpose of paying the expenses incurred in testing and approving any weight and measure as provided under this section. Unspent portions of the Fund shall revert to the General Fund of the State.

Unless issued a certificate of approval from the Secretary, a person may not represent any weight and measure as approved under this section.

Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, unless registered with the Secretary under § 11-204.3 or § 11-204.4 of this subtitle, a weight and measure may not be used or possessed for current use for:

This section does not apply to counting scales.

Submit to the Secretary an application on the form that the Secretary provides; and

Pay to the Secretary the appropriate registration fee established in § 11-204.7 of this subtitle.

Unless a registration for a weight and measure is renewed for a 1–year term, the license expires 1 year from the effective date of the registration.

At least 1 month before a registration for a weight and measure expires, the Secretary shall send each person with a known registration, by electronic means or first–class mail to the last known electronic or mailing address of the person, a registration renewal form and a renewal notice that states:

Before a registration for a weight and measure expires, the registration may be renewed for an additional 1–year term, if the applicant:

A person who has a registration for a weight and measure has a grace period of 60 days after the registration expires in which to renew the registration retroactively, if the person:

The owner or possessor of a weight and measure shall display the registration conspicuously at each place of business where the weight and measure is located.

If the weight and measure is sold, transferred, or moved to a new location, the owner or possessor of a weight and measure shall notify the Secretary.

The weight and measure does not meet the requirements of this title; or

An owner or possessor uses the weight and measure in violation of this title or in violation of any regulation adopted by the Secretary under this title.

The Secretary may investigate any complaint of any violation of this title. Upon his own initiative, the Secretary also may conduct any investigation he deems appropriate and advisable to develop information on prevailing procedures in commercial quantity determinations and on possible violations of the provisions of this title, and to promote accuracy in the determination and representation of quantity in commercial transactions.

The Secretary shall weigh or measure and inspect any package or amount of a commodity possessed, offered, or exposed for sale, sold, or being delivered, to determine whether it contains the amount represented and whether it is possessed, offered, or exposed for sale, sold, or is being delivered in accordance with this title.

In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Secretary may employ recognized sampling procedures to determine the compliance of a given lot of packages on the basis of the result obtained on a sample selected from and representative of the lot.

For the purpose of this title, proof of the existence of a weight and measure in or about any building, enclosure, stand, or vehicle in which or from which it is shown that buying or selling is commonly carried on, shall be presumptive evidence of regular use of the weight and measure for commercial purposes and of use by the person in charge of the building, enclosure, stand, or vehicle.

The Secretary shall approve for use and seal or mark with the appropriate device any weight and measure that he finds to be “correct” as defined in § 11-203(d) but sealing or marking of weights and measures exempted under § 11-203 is not required.

The Secretary shall reject and mark or tag as “condemned for repair”, in a manner to preclude further use, any weight and measure he finds to be “incorrect” as defined in § 11-203(d), but which he determines can be repaired satisfactorily. He shall condemn and may seize and destroy weights and measures found to be incorrect which he determines cannot be repaired satisfactorily. The owners or users of weights and measures condemned for repair shall have them made correct within a reasonable period specified by the Secretary, or may dispose of them in a manner specifically authorized by the Secretary.

Weights and measures which have been condemned for repair may not be used commercially until reexamined by the Secretary and found to be correct, until the Secretary issues written permission for use, or until the weight or measure is adjusted, repaired, and determined to be “correct” by some person authorized by rule or regulation of the Secretary. Any weights and measures condemned for repair may be confiscated by the Secretary if not corrected as required by this section or if used or disposed of contrary to the requirements of this section.

Owners and users of weights and measures used commercially, as indicated in § 11-204(b), shall take adequate precautions, consistent with degree of use and environment, to insure that they are “correct” as defined in § 11-203(d).

Unless it is approved by the Secretary, a person may not offer to sell or sell any commercial weight and measure in this State.

The Secretary may deny or revoke any approval if the Secretary determines that:

This section does not apply to:

A weight and measure, unless inspected and approved by the Secretary, may not be used or possessed for current use for:

A person is not liable for a violation of subsection (a) of this section, if:

A person may not impersonate in any way the Secretary or use the Secretary’s seal or a counterfeit of it in any manner. Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both, with costs imposed in the discretion of the court.

A person, on the person’s own behalf, or by a servant or agent, or as the servant or agent of another person, may not:

Instead of pursuing criminal charges provided in this article, the Secretary may impose on any person who violates this title a civil penalty of:

Penalties collected by the Secretary under this section shall be paid into the General Fund of the State.

The Secretary shall adopt regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.

If the Secretary finds that any package or amount of any commodity is possessed, offered, or exposed for sale in violation of law, the Secretary may order them off-sale and may mark or tag them to show they are illegal.

Whenever the Secretary finds that any violation of this subtitle or any rule or regulation adopted under it has occurred, he may issue a stop-use order, stop-removal order, and removal order with respect to weights and measures being, or capable of being, commercially used. He may issue stop-removal orders and removal orders with respect to any package or amount of any commodity possessed, offered, or exposed for sale, sold, or being delivered if he deems it necessary for the protection of the public.

No person may sell, use, remove, otherwise dispose of, or fail to remove from the premises specified, any weight, measure, or package or an amount of any commodity contrary to the terms of any order issued under this section.

This section does not limit the right of the Secretary to proceed as authorized by other sections of this title.