(a)(1) Any person (A) who, by himself or by his servant or agent or as the servant or agent of another, offers or exposes for sale, sells or uses in the buying or selling of any commodity or thing or for hire or reward or retains in his possession a false weight or measure or weighing or measuring device or any weight or measure or weighing or measuring device which has not been sealed by the sealer of weights and measures within one year; or (B) who disposes of any condemned weight, measure or weighing or measuring device contrary to the provisions of the statutes; or (C) who tampers with, marks, defaces, removes, forges or counterfeits any seal or tag attached to a weighing or measuring instrument or device by a sealer of weights and measures; or (D) who knowingly sells, offers or exposes for sale less than the quantity he represents; or (E) who buys and receives any commodity the weight or measure of which is determined by weights or measures of the purchaser and gives credit or pays for a quantity of such commodity less than that received by him; or (F) who sells or offers or exposes for sale any commodity in a manner contrary to the provisions of the statutes; or (G) who sells or offers for sale or has in his possession for the purpose of selling any device or instrument to be used to, or calculated to, falsify any weight or measure, shall, for a first offense, be guilty of a class C misdemeanor and, for any subsequent offense, be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

(2) Any person who hinders or obstructs the Commissioner of Weights and Measures or any inspector or any municipal sealer in the performance of his official duties shall be guilty of a class D misdemeanor.

(3) Any person who impersonates the Commissioner of Weights and Measures or any inspector or any municipal sealer, by use of his seal or a counterfeit of his seal, or otherwise, shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

(b) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection, after a hearing conducted in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, may impose a civil penalty of not more than one hundred dollars for the first offense and of not more than five hundred dollars for any subsequent offense on any person who violates any provision of this chapter or any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter. Each violation with respect to each such unit, container, package, device or instrument shall be considered a separate offense.

(1949 Rev., S. 6775; 1959, P.A. 152, S. 61; P.A. 84-279, S. 4; P.A. 90-125, S. 8; P.A. 95-332, S. 4; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c); P.A. 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 12-80, S. 93, 143, 157.)

History: 1959 act deleted references to county sealers and changed “city” to “municipal”; P.A. 84-279 increased the minimum fine for a first conviction for the sale of a false device from $20 to $50 and the maximum fine from $200 to $300 and also increased the minimum for a subsequent conviction from $50 to $100 and the maximum from $500 to $1,000; P.A. 90-125 added Subsec. (b) re administrative penalties; P.A. 95-332 amended Subsec. (a) to make the penalty for one who sells, offers or exposes for sale less than the quantity he represents applicable only to those who perform such acts knowingly; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 replaced Commissioner of Consumer Protection with Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 12-80 amended Subsec. (a) to insert Subdiv. designators (1), (2) and (3) and, in Subdiv. (1), to insert Subpara. designators (A) to (G), rephrase penalty provisions, change penalty for first offense from a fine of not less than $50 or more than $300 or imprisonment of not more than 3 months or both to a class C misdemeanor and change penalty for subsequent offense from a fine of not less than $100 or more than $1,000 or imprisonment of not more than 1 year or both to a class B misdemeanor and, in Subdiv. (2), to change penalty from a fine of not less than $2 or more than $200 or imprisonment of not more than 90 days or both to a class D misdemeanor and, in Subdiv. (3), to replace penalty of a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 or imprisonment of not more than 1 year or both with a class A misdemeanor.