40-10-117 through 40-10-136.

40-10-117 through 40-10-136.

40-10-118. Recognized systems.

The system of weights and measures in customary use in the United States and the metric system of weights and measures are jointly recognized, and either one (1) or both of these systems shall be used for all commercial purposes in the state. The definitions of basic units of weight and measure, the tables of weight and measure, and weights and measures equivalents as published by the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology are recognized and shall govern weighing and measuring equipment and transactions in the state.

40-10-119. Physical standards.

Weights and measures that are traceable to the United States prototype standards supplied by the federal government, or approved by the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall be the state primary standards of weights and measures, and shall be maintained in such calibration as prescribed by the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology or demonstrated through laboratory accreditation or recognition. Field standards may be prescribed by the director and shall be verified upon their initial receipt, and as specified by rule and regulation.

40-10-120. Technical requirements for weighing and measuring devices.

(a) The specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements for commercial, law enforcement, data gathering and other weighing and measuring devices as adopted by the National Conference on Weights and Measures and published in the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 44, "Specification, Tolerances, and Other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices," shall apply to weighing and measuring devices in this state, and may be amended by rule or regulation.

(b) The Uniform Regulation for National Type Evaluation as adopted by the National Conference on Weights and Measures and published in the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 130, "Uniform Laws and Regulations," are adopted and shall apply to type evaluation in this state, and may be amended by rule or regulation.

40-10-121. Department of agriculture duties and powers.

(a) The department of agriculture shall perform the following functions:

(i) Assure that weights and measures in commercial service within the state are suitable for their intended use, properly installed and accurate, and are so maintained by their owner or user;

(ii) Prevent unfair or deceptive dealing by weight or measure in any commodity or service advertised, packaged, sold or purchased within this state;

(iii) Promote uniformity, to the extent practicable and desirable, between weights and measures requirements of this state and those of other states and federal agencies.

(b) Unless requested by the operator of the weighing or measuring equipment, the department shall have no authority over weights and measures used in activities subject to the authority of the United States department of the interior associated with on shore oil and gas, the United States federal energy regulatory commission, the Wyoming public service commission associated with pipelines and utilities or the Wyoming oil and gas conservation commission.

(c) Except as otherwise required by law, rule, regulation or third party agreement, the department shall have no authority over weights and measures used pursuant to a written agreement between the parties using the weighing device.

40-10-122. Powers and duties of the director.

(a) The director shall:

(i) Maintain traceability of the state standards to the national standards established by the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology as demonstrated through laboratory recognition or accreditation;

(ii) Enforce the provisions of this act;

(iii) Issue reasonable rules and regulations for the enforcement of this act;

(iv) Grant exemptions from the provisions of this act or any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto when appropriate for the maintenance of good commercial practices within the state;

(v) Conduct investigations to ensure compliance with this act and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this act;

(vi) Delegate authority to appropriate personnel as required for the proper administration and enforcement of this act;

(vii) Inspect and test in a timely manner, weights and measures kept, offered or exposed for sale;

(viii) Promulgate rules and regulations regarding inspecting and testing weights and measures used commercially, to ascertain if they are correct:  (A) 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

(B) In computing the basic charge or payment for services rendered on the basis of weight, measure or count.

(ix) Approve for use and mark weights and measures found to be correct, reject and mark as rejected, condemn and mark as condemned and make inoperable weights and measures found to be incorrect. Rejected weights and measures shall be condemned and made inoperable if not corrected within the time specified or if used in a manner not specifically authorized;

(x) 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 act or rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this act. In carrying out the provisions of this paragraph, the director shall employ recognized sampling procedures adopted by National Conference on Weights and Measures and published in the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 133, "Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods;"

(xi) Prescribe, by rule and regulation, the appropriate term, unit of weight or unit of measure to be used, whenever an existing practice of declaring the quantity by weight, measure, numerical count, time or combination thereof, does not facilitate value comparisons by consumers or may lead to consumer confusion;

(xii) Allow reasonable variations from the stated quantity of contents, to allow for 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;

(xiii) Establish labeling requirements, requirements for the presentation of cost-per-unit information, establish standards of weight, measure, count and fill for any packaged commodity and establish requirements for open dating information;  (xiv) Verify the field standards for weights and measures used by any jurisdiction or registered service person operating within Wyoming before being put into service, and as often thereafter as deemed necessary by the director, and approve the same when found to be correct;

(xv) Provide for registration of persons qualified by training and experience to install, service and repair weighing or measuring devices;

(xvi) Provide that only persons who are registered are authorized to place in service devices which have been rejected or condemned and repaired or newly installed devices, whether new or used, until an official inspection by an authorized inspector is made;

(xvii) Provide for the training of weights and measures personnel and establish minimum training and performance requirements, for all weights and measures personnel, including county, municipal, state or registered servicepersons;

(xviii) Verify advertised prices, price representations and point-of-sale systems, as necessary to determine:

(A) The accuracy of prices and computations and proper use of the equipment; and

(B) The accuracy of prices printed or recalled from a database in systems utilizing scanning or coding means in lieu of manual entry. In carrying out the provisions of this paragraph, the director shall:

(I) Employ recognized procedures, as adopted by the National Conference on Weights and Measures and published in the United States Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 130, "Uniform Laws and Regulations, Examination Procedures for Price Verification"; and

(II) Conduct inspections and investigations to ensure compliance.

(xix) Establish fees for testing and inspection, which may include actual hourly cost plus mileage for any inspections requested other than the routine inspection. The hourly cost shall be as determined by the director and the mileage cost shall be as provided by W.S. 9-3-103;

(xx) Establish reasonable laboratory fees for testing, inspection and calibration of standards or weight and measuring devices.

(b) The director may allow the licensing, testing, inspection and reporting requirements of this chapter to be conducted electronically as provided by the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act, W.S. 40-21-101 through 40-21-119 and any applicable federal electronic requirements.

40-10-123. Special enforcement powers.

(a) When necessary for the enforcement of this act or rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this act, the director is:

(i) Authorized to enter any commercial premises open to the public during normal business hours. If the premises are not open to the public, he shall obtain consent before making entry, or obtain a search warrant;

(ii) Empowered to issue stop-use, hold and removal orders with respect to any weights and measures commercially used or any packaged commodities or bulk commodities kept, offered or exposed for sale; and

(iii) Empowered to seize, as evidence, any incorrect or unapproved weight, measure, package or commodity found to be used, retained, offered or exposed for sale or sold in violation of the provisions of this act or rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this act;

(iv) Authorized to report the results of investigations and inspections to the owner or person in charge by hand delivering, mailing or sending electronically.

40-10-124. Powers and duties of local officials.

Any weights and measures official appointed for a county or city shall have the duties and powers enumerated in this act, excepting those duties reserved to the state by law or regulation. These powers and duties shall extend to their respective jurisdictions, except that the jurisdiction of a county official shall not extend to any city for which a weights and measures official has been appointed. No requirement set forth by local agencies may be less stringent than or conflict with the requirements of the state.

40-10-125. Misrepresentation of quantity or pricing.

(a) No person shall:

(i) Sell, offer or expose for sale less than the quantity represented;

(ii) Take more than the represented quantity when he furnishes the weight or measure by means of which the quantity is determined; or

(iii) Represent the quantity in any manner tending to mislead or deceive another person.

(b) No person shall misrepresent the price of any commodity offered, exposed or advertised for sale by weight, measure or count, nor represent the price in any matter tending to mislead or in any way deceive another person.

40-10-126. Method of sale.

(a) Except as otherwise provided by the director, or by firmly established trade custom and practice:

(i) Commodities in liquid form shall be sold by liquid measure or by weight; and

(ii) Commodities not in liquid form shall be sold by weight, by measure or by count.

(b) The method of sale shall provide accurate and adequate quantity information that permits the buyer to make price and quantity comparisons.

40-10-127. Sale of gasoline and distillates on other than gross volume basis unlawful; exception; "sale" defined.

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, the sale of gasoline and distillates, excluding liquified petroleum gas, on a temperature corrected basis or on any basis other than the gross volume of gasoline or distillate actually delivered is unlawful. Any contract in violation of this section shall be unenforceable to the extent of the violation.  (b) Sellers of motor fuel within this state shall offer to prospective purchasers the option to buy the product either by gross gallons or on the assumption that the temperature of the product is sixty degrees Fahrenheit (60S F) or the centigrade equivalent. This purchaser option may be exercised only on an annual basis and applied only to single deliveries of seven thousand five hundred (7,500) gallons or more or the metric equivalent. Any adjustments to volumes during the temperature compensation process shall be made in accordance with the standards set by the American Society of Testing Materials.

(c) For purposes of this act, "sale" does not include the exchange of gasoline or distillate between refiners or transporters of petroleum or petroleum products.

40-10-128. Sale from bulk.

(a) Except when the parties agree in advance that a delivery ticket is not required, all bulk sales in which the buyer and seller are not both present to witness the measurement shall be accompanied by a delivery ticket containing the following information:

(i) The name and address of the buyer and seller;

(ii) The date delivered;

(iii) The quantity delivered and the quantity upon which the price is based, if this differs from the delivered quantity, such as when temperature compensated sales are made;

(iv) The identity of the product in the most descriptive terms commercially practicable, including any quality representation made in connection with the sale; and

(v) The count of individually wrapped packages, for commodities purchased from bulk, but delivered in packages;

(vi) The unit price, unless all parties agree the unit price is not required.

40-10-129. Information required on packages.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this act or by rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to this act, any package kept for the purpose of sale or offered or exposed for sale shall bear on the outside of the package a definite, plain and conspicuous declaration of:

(i) The identity of the commodity in the package, unless the same can easily be identified through the wrapper or container;

(ii) The quantity of contents in terms of weight, measure or count; and

(iii) The name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer or distributor, in the case of any package kept, offered or exposed for sale, or sold in any place other than on the premises where packed.

40-10-130. Declarations of unit price on random weight packages.

In addition to the declarations required by W.S. 40-10-128, any package in a lot containing random weights of the same commodity shall include on the outside of the package a plain and conspicuous declaration of the price per pound or kilogram and the total selling price of the package, at the time it is offered or exposed for sale at retail.

40-10-131. Advertising packages for sale.

Whenever a packaged commodity is advertised with the retail price stated, there shall be a conspicuous declaration of quantity on the package.

40-10-132. Prohibited acts.

(a) No person shall:

(i) Use or possess any incorrect weight or measure for use in commerce;

(ii) Sell or offer for sale any incorrect weight or measure for use in commerce;

(iii) Remove any tag, seal or mark from any weight or measure or weighing or measuring device, without specific written authorization from the proper authority;

(iv) Hinder or obstruct any weights and measures official in the performance of his duties;  (v) Use or possess any weight, measure, weighing or measuring device that for use in commerce has not been tested and certified as correct by the department or a registered service person;

(vi) Place any weight, measure, weighing or measuring device into commercial service without having a current certificate of registration as a registered service person; or

(vii) Violate any provision of this act or rules or regulations promulgated under this act.

40-10-133. Criminal penalties.

Any person who commits any of the acts enumerated in W.S.