2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XV - Regulation of Trade › Chapter 98 - Weights and Measures › Section 29 - Powers and Duties of Deputy Director of Standards

Section 29. The deputy director shall enforce the laws relating to the use of weighing and measuring devices and the giving of false or insufficient weight or measure and shall keep a detailed record of his work in connection therewith. He shall also from time to time establish units of measurement to be observed in the sale of wooden shingles in the commonwealth. He may also, if he deems it desirable, and shall, upon request of the manufacturer of any weighing or measuring device or of any sealer of weights and measures, examine such device to determine whether or not its construction is such as to insure reasonably permanent accuracy and whether or not it may be used to facilitate the perpetration of fraud, approving or disapproving it accordingly. The division may also approve weighing and measuring devices for which certificates of conformance have been issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology under the National Type Evaluation program. When any weighing or measuring device has been so approved or disapproved by him, he shall notify all sealers of weights and measures, who shall thereafter act in accordance with such approval or disapproval when devices of that type are submitted to them for test. All weighing and measuring devices used or intended to be used commercially shall meet all the applicable requirements contained in the most recent publication of National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 44 as adopted by the National Conference on Weights and Measures.
The deputy director may from time to time adopt, and may thereafter amend or repeal, and shall enforce, all such reasonable rules and regulations, and orders thereunder, as may be necessary or suitable in relation to weighing and measuring devices, and the use thereof; provided, that such rules and regulations are in accordance with such generally accepted standards of engineering practice as relate to such weighing and measuring devices. Any person aggrieved by any rule or regulation, or order thereunder, made under authority of the preceding sentence may appeal therefrom to the director of consumer affairs and business regulation, who, after due notice, shall hold a hearing thereon and thereafter render a decision upon such appeal; and any person aggrieved by such decision may appeal therefrom to the district court within whose judicial district such person resides or has his usual place of business, and the decision of said court shall be final. Rules and regulations and orders issued by the deputy director hereunder may provide penalties for violations thereof not exceeding, for the first offense, a fine of one hundred dollars and, for the second or subsequent offense, a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars.
The committee shall certify all inspectors, sealers and deputies in accordance with sections 34, 35 and 36 and regulations promulgated by the committee including, but not limited to, regulations covering initial written certification testing for inspectors, sealers and deputies and mandatory continuing education programs for inspectors, sealers and deputies to maintain their certificates. Every store, retail establishment, food store or food department and all merchants within the jurisdiction of the division of standards shall provide adequate space for the display of information relative to how the local sealer or inspector or the division of standards can be contacted as provided in regulations to be promulgated by the committee. Notwithstanding any certification exemption, all sealers, inspectors and deputy sealers and deputy inspectors shall participate in continuing education programs. The committee shall establish a training and education fee to be paid by the municipality which employs such sealer, inspector, deputy sealer and deputy inspector sufficient to offset the cost of providing such training and education.
There shall be a permanent standing advisory committee comprised of the director of the division of standards or his designee, and a designee from each of the following organizations: the Massachusetts Weights and Measures Association, The Eastern Massachusetts Weights and Measures Association, the western Massachusetts Weights and Measures Association, and the city of Boston's department of inspectional services. Members of said board shall serve without compensation. Said committee shall be chaired by the director or deputy director of the division of standards. The committee shall develop, and from time to time, revise the certification and continuing education requirements that are established by the division of standards.