CHAPTER 298

An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Title 3 thereof, a new
chapter numbered 29 consisting of §§ 3-708.1 through 8-708.58, im-
clusive, relating to weights and measures and to repeal certain sections
of the Code of Virginia, to wit, §§ 59-71, 59-72, 59-73, 59-74, 59-75,
59-76, 59-77, 59-78, 59-79, 59-80, 59-81, 59-82, 59-83, 59-84, 59-85,
59-86, 59-87, 59-88, 59-89, 59-90, 59-91, 59-92, 59-93, 59-94, 59-95,
59-96, 59-97, 59-98, 59-99, 59-100, 59-101, 59-101.1 as amended, 59-
101.2, as amended, 59-102, 59-103, 59-104, 59-105, 59-106, 59-106.1
as amended; §§ 59-114.1, 59-114.2, 59-114.8, 59-114.4, 59-114.5, 59-
114.6, 59-114.7, 59-114.8, 59-114.9 as amended; 59-115, 59-116, 59-117,
59-118, 59-119, 59-120 as amended, 59-121, 59-122, 59-128, 59-124,
59-125, 59-126, 59-127, 59-128, 59-128.1 as amended, 59-129, 59-130,
59-1381, 59-182, 59-183, 59-184, 59-1385, 59-136, 59-187, 59-1388, 59-139,
59-140, 59-140.1 as amended, relating to the same subject. § 64]

[

Approved March 30, 1962

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That the Code of Virginia be amended by adding Sections numbered
8-708.1 to 3-708.53 inclusive, as follows:

§ 3-708.1 Definitions—The following definitions shall apply in the
interpretation and the enforcement of this Act:

(1) “Department” shall be construed to mean the Department of
Agriculture and Immigration of the State of Virginia.

(2) “Board” shall be construed to mean the Board of Agriculture
and Immigration of the State of Virginia.

(3) “Commissioner” shall be construed to mean the Commissioner
of Agriculture and Immigration of the State of Virginia.

(4) “Inspector” shall be construed to mean a State inspector who
is employed and authorized to test, certify, and seal weights and measures.
(5) “Sealer” shall be construed to mean an inspector of weights and
measures of a city, of a county, or of a joint city-county jurisdiction.

(6) “Person” shall be construed to mean both the plural and singular,
as the case demands, and shall include individuals, partnerships, corpora-
tions, companies, firms, trustees, societies, and associations.

(7) “Weight(s) and (or) Measure(s)” shall be construed to mean
all weights and measures of every kind, instruments and devices for
weighing and measuring, and any appliances and accessories associated
with any or al] such instruments and devices.

(8) “Net Weight” shall be construed to mean the net weight of a
commodity—that is, the weight of the commodity exclusive of wrappers
and any other material or thing weighed or packed with such commodity.

(9) “Tare Weight” shall be construed to mean the weight of any
material or thing that is weighed with, but not an actual part of, a com-
modity sold by weight; thus, tare weight may include, in the case of a
packaged commodity, a wrapper, container, packaging material, binding
material, preservative, or the like, or in the case of bulk commodity, a
vehicle, box, can, jar, or the like.

h (10) “Sell” or “Sale” shall be construed to include barter and ex-
change.

(11) “Commodity in Package Form” shall be construed to mean com-
modity put up or packaged in any manner in advance of sale in units suit-
able for either wholesale or retail sale, exclusive, however, of an auxiliary
shipping container enclosing packages that individually conform to the
requirements of this Act. An individual item or lot of any commodity
not in package form as defined in this section, but on which there is
marked a selling price based on an established price per unit of weight
or of measure, shall be construed to be commodity in package form.

(12) “Livestock Auction Market” shall be construed to mean any
place of business or establishment at which, during the regular course of
business, cattle, sheep, swine, or other livestock are offered or exposed for
sale, or sold, by weight, at auction, for compensation or profit.

§ 3-708.2. Both the system of weights and measures in customary
use in the United States and the metric system of weights and measures
are recognized, and one or the other, 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 National Bureau of
Standards, are recognized and shall govern weighing and measuring equip-
ment and transactions in the State.

§ 3-708.3. The term “ton” shall mean a unit of 2,000 pounds avoir-
dupois weight. The term “cord” shall mean the amount of wood that is
contained in a space of 128 cubic feet when the wood is ranked and well
stowed.

§ 3-708.4. Such weights and measures in conformity with the stand-
ards of the United States as have been supplied to the State by the
Federal Government or otherwise obtained by the State for use as State
standards shall, when the same shall have been certified as being satis-
factory for use as such by the National Bureau of Standards, be the State
standards of weight and measure. The State standards shall be kept in
a safe and suitable place in the office or laboratory designated by the
Comniissioner, they shall not be removed from the said office or laboratory
except for repairs or for certification, and they shall be submitted at
least once in ten years to the National Bureau of Standards for certifica-
tion. The State standards shall be used only in verifying the office stand-
ards and for scientific purposes.
§ 3-708.5. In addition to the State standards provided for in § 3-708.4
of this Act, there shall be supplied by the State at least one complete set
of copies of these to be kept in the office or laboratory designated by the
Commissioner and to be known as “office standards,” and also such “field
standards” and such equipment as may be found necessary to carry out
the provisions of this Act. The office standards and field standards shall
be verified upon their initial receipt and at least once each year thereafter,
the office standards by direct comparison with the State standards and
the field standards by comparison with the office standards.

§ 3-708.6. The Commissioner shall have the custody of the State
standards of weight and measure and of the other standards and equip-
ment provided fur by this Act, and shall keep accurate records of the same.
The Commissioner shall enforce the provisions of this Act, and have and
keep a general supervision over the weights and measures offered for sale,
sold, or in use in the State.

§ 3-708.7. The Commissioner may be guided in the performance of
his duties by the advice and recommendations of the National Bureau of
Standards, and the Board may give official status to any manual of in-
spection or other publication of that Bureau.

§ 3-708.8. The Board may issue from time to time regulations for
the enforcement of this Act, which regulations shall have the force and
effect of law. These regulations may include (1) methods of sale of com-
modities, (2) standards of net weight, measure, or count, and standards of
fill, for any commodity in package form, (8) standards concerning the
sale and exchange of grains and other agriculture products, (4) rules
governing the technical and reporting procedures to be followed and the
report and record forms and marks of approval and rejection to be used by
inspectors and by sealers of weights and measures in the discharge of their
official duties, provided, that the governing body of any city or county em-
ploying a sealer may provide for the technical and reporting procedures
to be followed and the report and record forms and marks of approval and
rejection to be used by such sealer within such city or county, unless and
until the Board, after a hearing with notice to the governing body of
the city or county involved, shall find that such procedures and forms
are inadequate to carry out the purposes of this Act, (5) exemptions from
the sealing or marking requirements of § 3-708.16 of this Act with respect
to weights and measures of such character or size that such sealing or
marking would be inappropriate, impracticable, or damaging to the ap-
paratus in question, and (6) with respect to classes of weights and meas-
ures found to be of such character that annual retesting is unnecessary to
continued accuracy, exemptions from the requirements of § 3-708.10 of this
Act for annual testing and schedules fixing the frequency of required re-
tests for classes of devices so exempted. These regulations may also include
specifications, tolerances, and regulations for weights and measures of the
character of those specified in § 3-708.10 of this Act, designed to eliminate
from use, without prejudice to apparatus that conforms as closely as prac-
ticable to the official standards, those (1) that are not accurate, (2) that are
of such construction that they are faulty—that is, that are not reasonably
permanent in their adjustments or will not repeat their indications cor-
rectly—or (3) that facilitate the perpetration of fraud. The specifications,
tolerances, and regulations for commercial weighing and measuring de-
vices, together with amendments thereto, as recommended by the National
Bureau of Standards and published in National Bureau of Standards Hand-
book 44 and supplements thereto, or in any publication revising or super-
seding Handbook 44, shall be the specifications, tolerances, and regulations
for commercial weighing and measuring devices of the State of Virginia,
except insofar as specifically modified, amended, or rejected by a rule or
regulation issued by the Board. For the purposes of this Act, weights
and measures shall be deemed to be “‘correct” when they conform to all]
applicable requirements promulgated as specified in this section; other
weights and measures shall be deemed to be “incorrect.”

§ 3-708.9. The Commissioner, at least once every five years, shall test
the standards of weights and measures procured by any city or county
for which the appointment of a sealer of weights and measures is pro-
vided by this Act, and shall approve the same when found to be correct,
and he shall inspect such standards at least once every two years.

§ 3-708.10. When not otherwise provided by law, The Commissioner
shall have the power to inspect and test, to ascertain if they are correct,
all weights and measures kept, offered, or exposed for sale. It shall be
the duty of the Commissioner, within a 12-month period, or less fre-
quently if in accordance with a schedule issued by the Board, and as much
oftener as he may deem necessary, to inspect and test, to ascertain if they
are correct, all weights and measures commercially used (1) in determining
the weight, measurement, or count of commodities or things sold, or
offered or exposed for sale, on the basis of weight, measure, or of count,
or (2) in computing the basic charge or payment for services rendered
on the basis of weight, measure, or of count: Provided, That with respect
to single-service devices—that is, devices designed to be used commercially
only once and to be then discarded—and with respect to devices uniformly
mass-produced, as by means of a mold or die, and not susceptible of in-
dividual adjustment, tests may be made on representative samples of such
devices, and the lots of which such samples are representative shall be
held to be correct or incorrect upon the basis of the results of the in-
spections and tests on such samples.

§ 3-708.11. The Commissioner shall investigate complaints made to
him concerning violations of the provisions of this Act, and shall, upon
his own initiative, conduct such investigations as he deems appropriate
and advisable to develop information on prevailing procedures in com-
mercial quantity determinations and on possible violations of the pro-
visions of this Act and to promote the general objective of accuracy in
the determination and representation of quantity in commercial trans-
actions.

§ 3-708.12. The Commissioner may appoint assistants, deputies, and
inspectors to assist in carrying out the provisions of this Act and the
rules and regulations adopted and established pursuant thereto.

§ 3-708.13. No fees shall be charged for the services of any appointee
under this Act unless such services are special, unusual or noncommercial
and Eanerea by agreement with or at the request of the person or party
served.

In event services be rendered by agreement with or at the request
of the party served such fees may be charged as the Commissioner may
deem proper. All fees and moneys collected or received pursuant hereto
shall be paid into the State treasury to be there maintained in a separate
fund which is hereby appropriated to the Department of Agriculture and
immigration for the administration and carrying out the provisions of

is Act.

§ 3-708.14. The Commissioner shall, from time to time, weigh or
measure and inspect packages or amounts of commodities kept, offered, or
exposed for sale, sold, or in the process of delivery, to determine whether
the same contain the amounts represented and whether they be kept,
offered, or exposed for sale, or sold, in accordance with law; and when such
packages or amounts of commodities are found not to contain the amounts
represented, or are found to be kept, offered, or exposed for sale in viola-
tion of law, the Commissioner may order them off sale and may so mark
or tag them as to show them to be illegal. In carrying out the provisions of
this section, the Commissioner may employ recognized sampling procedures
under which the compliance of a given lot of packages will be determined
on the basis of the result obtained on a composite sample selected from and
representative of such lot. No person shall (1) sell, or keep, offer, or expose
for sale, any package or amount of commodity that has been ordered off
sale or marked or tagged as provided in this section unless and until such
package or amount of commodity has been brought into full compliance
with all requirements of this Act, or (2) dispose of any package or amount
of commodity that has been ordered off sale or marked or tagged as pro-
vided in this section and that has not been brought into compliance with
the requirements of this Act in any manner except with the specific
approval of the Commissioner.

§ 3-708.15. Whenever it appears to the Commissioner that there is a
violation of any of the provisions of this Act, he may, in his discretion,
issue and enforce a written or printed stop-sale, stop-use, or stop-removal
order against any owner or custodian of any commodity, weight, or
measure which is being used, sold, offered or exposed for sale, or involved
in any manner in connection with such violation, and he may further, in his
discretion, seize and impound any such commodity, weight, or measure until
the Commissioner is satisfied that such violation has ceased and that the
owner or custodian thereof is in all respects complying with the provisions
of this Act.

Any owner or custodian of any commodity, weight, or measure who
shall sell, or offer for sale, or otherwise dispose of, or attempt to dispose of,
any such article while subject to a stop-sale, stop-use, or stop-removal
order, or while seized and impounded, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Any owner or custodian of any of the articles mentioned in this section who
feels aggrieved by any action of the Commissioner hereunder shall have
the right to apply to any county court judge or municipal court judge of the
city wherein the property involved is located for a review of the action
taken by the Commissioner. Such application may be heard by such court
after not less than seven days’ notice served upon the Commissioner.

§ 3-708.16. The Commissioner shall approve for use and seal or mark
such weights and measures as he finds upon inspection and test to be
“correct” as defined in § 3-708.8 of this Act, and shall reject and mark or
tag as “Condemned for Repairs” such weights and measures as he finds,
upon inspection or test, to be “incorrect” as defined in § 3-708.8 of this Act,
but which in his best judgment are susceptible of satisfactory repair:
Provided, That such sealing or marking shall not be required with respect
to such weights and measures as may be exempted therefrom by a regula-
tion of the Board issued under the authority of § 3-708.8 of this Act. The
Commissioner shall condemn, and may seize and may destroy, weights and
measures found to be incorrect that, in his best judgment, are not suscep-
tible of satisfactory repair. Weights and measures that have been “con-
demned for repairs” may be confiscated and may be destroyed by the
Commissioner if not corrected as required by § 8-708.24 of this Act, or if
used or disposed of contrary to the requirements of that section.

§ 3-708.17. With respect to the enforcement of this Act and any other
Acts dealing with weights and measures that he is, or may be, empowered
to enforce, the Commissioner is hereby vested with police powers, and
is authorized to arrest any violator of the said Acts and to seize for
use as evidence, without formal warrant, incorrect or unsealed weights
and measures or amounts or packages of commodity, found to be used,
retained, offered, or exposed for sale, or sold in violation of law. In the
performance of his official duties, the Commissioner is authorized to enter
and go into or upon, without formal warrant, any structure or premises,
and to stop any person whatsoever if necessary to apprehend such person
and to require him to proceed, with or without any vehicle of which he may
be in charge, to some place which the Commissioner may specify.

§ 3-708.18. The powers and duties given to and imposed upon the
Commissioner by §§ 3-708.9, 3-708.10, 3-708.11, 3-708.14, 3-708.15, 3-708.16,
3-708.17, 3-708.23, and 3-708.48 of this Act are hereby given to and imposed
upon his assistants, deputies, and inspectors in the employment of the
State when acting under the instructions and at the direction of the Com-
missioner.

§ 3-708.19. The governing bodies of the respective counties and cities
may appoint for their respective counties and cities a sealer of weights
and measures: Provided, however, That two or more counties may appoint
jointly for their respective counties and towns a sealer subject to the ap-
proval of the Commissioner. Sealers appointed under this Act shall hold
office for such terms, and shall receive such salaries, as the appointing
powers may prescribe. Such salaries shall be paid out of the county or city
treasury, as the case may be.

§ 3-708.20. No fee shall be charged by the sealer of weights and
measures, or by the county or city, for inspecting, testing, or sealing of
weights or measures, except that the governing body of a city or county
employing a sealer may, by ordinance, prescribe a schedule of fees for
such services as are rendered by agreement with or at the request of the
person or party served. Such fees shall be used only to defray the cost
of such services.

§ 3-708.21. The sealer of a city or of a county, and his deputy when
acting under his instructions and at his direction, shall have the same
powers and shall perform the same duties within the city or the county for
which appointed as are granted to and imposed upon the Commissioner
by §§ 3-708.10, 3-708.11, 3-708.14, 3-708.15, 3-708.16, 3-708.17, and 3-708.23
of this Act.

§ 3-708.22. The governing body of each city and county for which a
sealer has been appointed as provided for by § 3-708.19 of this Act shall (1)
procure at the expense of the city or county, as the case may be, such
standards of weight and measure and such additional equipment, to be used
for the enforcement of the provisions of this Act in such city or county, as
may be prescribed by the Commissioner, (2) provide a suitable office for
the sealer, and (3) make provisions for the necessary clerical services,
supplies, and transportation, and for defraying contingent expenses in-
cident to the official activities of the sealer in carrying out the provisions
of this Act. When the standards of weight and measure required by this
section to be provided by a city or county shall have been examined and
approved by the Commissioner, they shall be the official standards for such
city or county. It shall be the duty of the sealer to make, or to arrange to
have made, at least as frequently as once a year, comparisons between his
field standards and appropriate standards of a higher order belonging to
his city or county (as the case may be) or to the State, in order to maintain
such field standards in accurate condition.

§ 3-708.238. In cities and counties for which sealers of weights and
measures have been appointed as provided for in this Act, the Commis-
sioner shall have concurrent authority to enforce the provisions of this
Act. The provisions of this Act shall be the law throughout the State and
no city or county shall pass or enforce ordinances in conflict therewith.

§ 3-708.24. Weights and measures that have been rejected or con-
demned for repair under the authority of the Commissioner, of an in-
spector, or of a sealer shall remain subject to the control of the rejecting
authority until such time as suitable repair or disposition thereof has been
made as required by this section. The owners of such rejected weights and
measures shall cause the same to be made correct within such time as may
be authorized by the rejecting authority, or, in lieu of this, may dispose
of the same, but only in such a manner as is specifically authorized by the
rejecting authority. Weights and measures that have been rejected shall
not again be used commercially until they have been officially re-examined
and found to be correct or until specific written permission for such use
is issued by the rejecting authority.

§ 3-708.25. Commodities in liquid form shall be sold only by liquid
measure or by weight, and, except as otherwise provided in this Act,
commodities not in liquid form shall be sold by weight, by measure of
length or area, or by count: Provided, That liquid commodities may be
sold by weight and commodities not in liquid form may be sold by count
only if such methods give accurate information as to the quantity of com-
modity sold: And provided further, That the provisions of this section
shall not apply (1) to commodities when sold for immediate consumption
on the premises where sold, (2) to vegetables when sold by the head or
bunch, (3) to commodities in containers standardized by law, (4) to com-
modities in package form when there exists a general consumer usage to
express the quantity in some other manner, (5) to concrete aggregates,
concrete mixtures, and loose solid materials such as earth, soil, gravel,
crushed stone, and the like, when sold by cubic measure, or (6) to un-
processed vegetable and animal fertilizer when sold by cubic measure,
(7) to peanuts in large multiple bag lots being sold by cleaners and/or
shellers to processors for further processing or repacking. These may be
sold on a gross weight basis if agreed upon in writing by the mutual con-
sent of the buyer and seller. The Board may issue such reasonable regula-
tions as are necessary to assure that amounts of commodity sold are de-
termined in accordance with good commercial practice and are so deter-
mined and represented as to be accurate and informative to all parties at
interest.

§ 3-708.26. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, any commodity
in package form introduced or delivered for introduction into or received
in intrastate commerce, kept for the purpose of sale, or offered or ex-
posed for sale, shall bear on the outside of the package a definite, plain,
and conspicuous declaration of (1) the identity of the commodity in the
package unless the same can easily be identified through the wrapper or
container, (2) the net quantity of the contents in terms of weight, measure,
or count, and (3) in the case of any package kept, offered, or exposed for
sale, or sold any place other than on the premises where packed, the name
and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor: Pro-
vided, That in connection with the declaration required under clause (2),
neither the qualifying term ‘‘when packed” or words of similar import,
nor any term qualifying a unit of weight, measure, or count (for example,
“jumbo,” “giant,” “full,” and the like) that tends to exaggerate the amount
of commodity in a package shall be used: And provided further, That
under clause (2) the Board shall, by regulation, establish (a) variations
to be allowed, which may include variations below the declared weight or
measure caused by ordinary and customary exposure, only after the com-
modity is introduced into intrastate commerce, to conditions that normally
occur in good distribution practice and that unavoidably result in decreased
weight or measure, (b) exemptions as to small packages, and (c) exemp-
tions as to commodities put up in variable weights or sizes for sale intact
and either customarily not sold as individual units or customarily weighed
or measured at time of sale to the consumer.

§ 3-708.27. In addition to the declarations required by § 3-708.26 of
this Act, any commodity in package form, the package being one of a lot
containing random weights, measures, or counts of the same commodity
and bearing the total selling price of the package, shall bear on the outside
of the package a plain and conspicuous declaration of the price per single
unit of weight, measure, or count.

§ 3-708.28. No commodity in package form shall be so wrapped, nor
shall it be in a container so made, formed, or filled, as to mislead the
purchaser as to the quantity of the contents of the package, and the con-
tents of a container shall not fall below such reasonable standard of fill
as may have been prescribed for the commodity in question by the Board.

§ 3-708.29. Whenever a commodity in package form is advertised in
any manner and the retail price of the package is stated in the advertise-
ment, there shall be closely and conspicuously associated with such state-
ment of price a declaration of the basic quantity of contents of the package
as is required by law or regulation to appear on the package.

§ 3-708.30. The word “weight” as used in this Act in connection with
any commodity shall mean net weight. Whenever any commodity is sold
on the basis of weight, the net weight of the commodity shall be employed,
and all contracts concerning commodities shall be so construed.

§ 3-708.31. Whenever any commodity or service is sold, or is offered,
exposed, or advertised for sale, by weight, measure or count, the price
sha]l not be misrepresented, nor shall the price be represented in any
manner tending to mislead or deceive an actual or prospective purchaser.
Whenever an advertised, posted, or labeled price per unit of weight.
measure, or count includes a fraction of a cent, all elements of the fraction
shall be prominently displayed and the numerals expressing the fraction
shall be immediately adjacent to, of the same general design and style as,
and at least one-half the height and width of the numerals representing
the whole cents: Provided, That commercially manufactured signs com-
monly used to display the price per gallon of petroleum products at retail,
shall be permitted until July 1, 1967, provided all elements of the fraction
shall be prominently displayed and the numerals expressing the fraction
shall be immediately adjacent to, of the same general design and style as,
and at least thirty per cent of the size of the numerals representing the
whole cents; and whenever the price of petroleum products is advertised
or posted at retail, the amount of any taxes may not be shown separately
in such advertising or posting unless the words “plus tax” and the numerals
expressing the taxes are prominently displayed in letters and numerals
of the same general design and style as, and at least one-half the height
and width of, the numerals representing the price set forth above. The
total price of the petroleum products so advertised or posted shall not
differ from the price as shown on the pump or in any computed price
charged the customer, provided that commercially manufactured signs
commonly used to display the price per gallon of petroleum products at
retail shall be permitted until July 1, 1967.

§ 3-708.32. Except for immediate consumption on the premises where
sold, or as one of several elements comprising a ready-to-eat meal sold as a
unit for consumption elsewhere than on the premises where sold, all meat,
meat products, poultry (whole or parts), and all seafood except shellfish,
offered or exposed for sale, or sold, as food shall be offered or exposed for
sale and sold by weight. When meat, poultry, or seafood is combined with
or associated with some other food elements to form either a distinctive
food product or a food combination, such food product or combination
shall be offered or exposed for sale and sold by weight, and the quantity
representation may be the total weight of the product or combination, and
a quantity representation need not be made for each of the several elements
of the product or combination: Provided, That when cooked poultry is
offered or exposed for sale, or sold, as a commodity in package form, it
may be sold by minimum net weight and so labelled notwithstanding the
provisions of § 3-708.26 of this Act.

§ 3-708.338. All fluid dairy products, including but not limited to
whole milk, skimmed milk, cultured milk, sweet cream, sour cream, and
buttermilk, shall be packaged for retail sale only in units of 1 gill, 14 liquid
pint, 1 liquid pint, 1 liquid quart, 14 gallon or 1 gallon: Provided, That any
fluid dairy product which contains not less than eleven and one-half per
cent milk fat may be sold in packages of the capacity of one-half fluid ounce.

§ 3-708.34. When in package form, and when packed, kept, offered,
or exposed for sale, or sold, wheat flour, whole wheat flour, graham flour,
self-rising wheat flour, phosphated wheat flour, bromated flour, enriched
flour, enriched self-rising flour, enriched bromated flour, corn flour, corn
meal, and hominy grits shall be packaged only in units of 3, 5, 10, 25, 50,
or 100 pounds, avoirdupois weight: Provided, That packages in units of
less than 3 pounds or more than 100 pounds shall be permitted.

§ 3-708.35. All coal, coke, and charcoal shall be sold by weight.
Unless the fuel is delivered to the purchaser in package form, each de-
livery of coal, coke, or charcoal to an individual purchaser shall be ac-
companied by duplicate delivery tickets on which, in ink or other indelible
substance, there shall be clearly stated (1) the name and address of the
vendor, (2) the name and address of the purchaser, and (38) the net
weight of the delivery and the gross and tare weight from which the net
weight is computed, each expressed in pounds. One of these tickets shall be
retained by the vendor and the other shall be delivered to the purchaser at
the time of delivery of the fuel, or shall be surrendered, on demand, to
the Commissioner, or his assistant, or an inspector, or sealer, who, if he
desires to retain it as evidence, shall issue a weight slip in lieu thereof
for delivery to the purchaser: Provided, That if the purchaser carries away
his purchase, the vendor shall be required only to give to the purchaser at
the time of sale a delivery ticket stating the number of pounds of fuel de-
livered to him.

§ 3-708.386. Every person who buys coal, which is delivered by truck
or wagon, from a mine operator for the purpose of resale, and who weighs
the quantity of coal bought, for the purpose of determining the purchase
price thereof, shall, at the time of delivery, furnish the seller a delivery
ticket on which there shall be written in ink or other indelible substance
the date of the purchase, the name and address of the buyer, the name and
address of the seller, the name of the teamster or driver, the gross weight
of the load, the tare weight of the delivery vehicle, the amount of dockage,
if any, and the net weight of the coal.

As used in this section, “gross weight” means the weight of the coal
and the delivering vehicle; ‘‘tare weight” means the weight of the delivery
vehicle; ‘‘dockage’”’ means the weight of impurities deducted by agreement
between the seller and the buyer; “net weight” means the difference
between the gross weight and the tare weight.

§ 3-708.37. It shall be unlawful to keep for the purpose of sale, offer
or expose for sale, or sell, any textile yard goods put up or packaged in
advance of sale in a bolt or roll, or any other textile product put up or
packaged in advance of sale in any other unit, for either wholesale or
retail sale, unless such bolt or roll, or such other unit, be definitely, plainly,
and conspicuously marked to show its net measure in terms of yards or
its net weight in terms of avoirdupois pounds or ounces, subject, however,
to the following limitations and requirements:

(1) Any unit of twine or cordage may be marked to show its net
measure in terms of feet. Ready-wound bobbins that are not sold separately
shall not be required to be individually marked, but the package containing
such bobbins shall be marked to show the number of bobbins contained
therein and the net weight or measure of the thread on each bobbin. And
unit of sewing, basting, mending, darning, crocheting, tatting, hand-knitt-
ing, or embroidery thread or yarn, except nylon hand-knitting yarn, that
is not composed in whole or in part of wool, the net weight of which
is less than two ounces avoirdupois, shall be marked to show its net
measure in terms of yards as unwound from the ball or from the spool or
other holder. Any retail unit of a textile product, sold only for house-
hold use, consisting of a package containing two or more similar in-
dividual units that are not sold separately, shall be marked to show the
number of individual units in the package and the net weight or net measure
of the product in each individual unit, but this proviso shall not apply
where individual units are separately marked. Any unit of yarn, com-
posed in whole or in part of wool, sold to consumers for handiwork,
shall be marked to show the net weight of such yarn, except that any
such unit of tapestry, mending, or embroidery yarn, the net measure
of which does not exceed fifty yards, may be marked to show its linear
measure only.

(2) The marking required by this section shall in all cases be in
combination with the name and place of business of the manufacturer,
packer, or distributor of the product, or a trade mark, symbol, brand, or
other mark that positively identifies such manufacturer, packer, or
distributor.

(3) Reasonable tolerances shall be permitted, and these shall be
included in regulations for the enforcement of the provisions of this
section that may be issued by the Board.

(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the follow-
ing textile products when sold at wholesale in bulk by net weight: Cord-
age, agricultural bag sewing threads, twines, yarns that are to be proc-
essed, and yarns that are to be industrially converted into end use
products.

§ 3-708.38. It shall be unlawful to use the word “cord” or any
abbreviation thereof in, or in connection with the purchase or sale of
pulpwood, firewood, tanbark or any forest product customarily measured
in cords of any size whatever, or in connection with any quotation of
price, or measurement of, or settlement, or payment for any such
wood, bark or product, in reference to any cord, unit or measurement
other than the standard cord as defined in § 3-708.3 and it shall be un-
lawful to use the word “unit” or any abbreviation thereof in, or in con-
nection with any such purchase, sale, quotation, measurement, settlement
or payment unless in each and every instance in which the word “unit”
or any abbreviation thereof is so used, such word or abbreviation is
immediately followed by a statement of the number of cubic feet con-
tained in such unit, which statement shall, in the case of such use in
printed form, be printed in boldface type of a size larger than the size
of type in which the word “unit” or the abbreviation thereof is printed
and, in the case of such use in typewritten form or in any reproduction
of typewritten form, be typed in capital letters.

§ 3-708.39. The standard rule for determining the number of board
feet in a tree or log in this State shall be the “International 14, Inch
Log Rule.” The provisions of this section shall not apply to contracts
or transactions entered into prior to June 27, 1960; nor shall this section
prevent the buyer and the seller from agreeing that some other unit
of measurement shall be used to determine the number of board feet
in trees or logs covered by a contract between them.

§ 3-708.40. The scale house at any livestock auction market, re-
ceiving station, packing plant, or other establishment where livestock
is regularly bought from producers shall be so constructed that all
parties in interest may readily observe the weighing of livestock. The
weighbeam or indicating apparatus shall be so situated that the weight
indications thereon are clearly visible to public view. Provisions shall
be made whereby the weighmaster from his normal weighing position
has full view of the stock rack on the scale platform, the approaches
thereto, and the livestock being weighed. Ready access from the unload-
ing platform or chutes to the scale house must be provided to enable
owners of livestock to get to the scale in time to see their livestock
weighed. A sign clearly visible to public view shall be affixed on or
adjacent to the scale house with the following legend in letters at least
three inches in height: TO HELP AVOID ERRORS WATCH LIVE-
STOCK WEIGHED.

§ 3-708.41. Type registering weighbeams or automatic weight re-
corders shall be installed and used with proper tickets for weighing live-
stock at all livestock auction markets.

§ 3-708.42. When livestock is offered for sale on a weight basis
at livestock auction markets on regular sale days, the weights thereof
shall be determined on the date of the sale at such auction markets
unless otherwise publicly announced at the auction ring at time of sale.

§ 3-708.43. The operator of the livestock auction market shall publicly
announce the day and hour at which an auction sale of livestock is to begin
at least one week in advance of the day of sale so chosen and shall include
the time of sale in all information thereafter published concerning the
sale. Auction sale of livestock shall begin on the day and hour so selected.

§ 3-708.44. Fractional parts of any unit of weight or measure shall
mean like fractional parts of the value of such unit as prescribed or de-
fined in §§ 3-708.2 and 3-708.3 of this Act, and all contracts concerning
the sale of commodities and services shall be construed in accordance with
this requirement.

§ 3-708.45. Any person who shall hinder or obstruct in any way the
Commissioner, his assistant, or any one of the inspectors, or a sealer in
the performance of his official duties shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

§ 3-708.46. Any person who shall impersonate in any way the Com-
missioner, his assistant, or any one of the inspectors, or a sealer by the
use of his seal or a counterfeit of his seal, or in any other manner, shall
be guilty of a misdemeanor.

§ 3-708.47. Any person who, by himself or by his servant or agent,
or as the servant or agent of another person, performs any one of the acts
enumerated in subparagraphs (1) through (9) of this section shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor.

(1) Use or have in possession for the purpose of using for any com-
mercial purpose, sell, offer, or expose for sale or hire, or have in possession
for the purpose of selling or hiring, an incorrect weight or measure or any
device or instrument used to or calculated to falsify any weight or
measure.

(2) Use or have in possession for the purpose of current use for any
commercial purpose specified in § 3-708.10 a weight or measure that does
not bear a seal or mark such as is specified in § 3-708.16, unless such
weight or measure has been exempted from testing by the provisions of
§ 3-708.10 or by a regulation of the Board issued under the authority of
§ 3-708.8 of this Act.

(3) Dispose of any rejected or condemned weight or measure in a
manner contrary to law or regulation.
(4) Remove from any weight or measure, contrary to law or regula-
tion, any tag, seal, or mark placed thereon by the appropriate authority.

(5) Sell, or offer or expose for sale, less than the quantity he repre-
sents of any commodity, thing, or service.

(6) Take more than the quantity he represents of any commodity,
thing, or service when, as buyer, he furnishes the weight or measure by
means of which the amount of the commodity, thing, or service is de-
termined.

(7) Keep for the purpose of sale, advertise, or offer or expose for
sale, or sell, any commodity, thing, or service in a condition or manner
contrary to law or regulation.

(8) Use in retail trade, except in the preparation of packages put
up in advance of sale and of medical prescriptions, a weight or measure
that is not so positioned that its indications may be accurately read and
the weighing or measuring operation observed from some position which
may reasonably be assumed by a customer.

(9) Violate any provisions of this Act or of the regulations promul-
gated under the provisions of this Act for which a specific penalty has
not been prescribed.

§ 3-708.48. The Commissioner is authorized to apply to any court of
competent jurisdiction for, and such court upon hearing and for cause
shown may grant, a temporary or permanent injunction restraining any
person from violating any provision of this Act if such person has been
convicted twice at separate times in any one calendar year for a violation
of the provisions of this Act.

§ 3-708.49. For the purposes of this Act, proof of the existence of
a weight or measure or a weighing or measuring device 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, in the absence of
conclusive evidence to the contrary, be presumptive proof of the regular
use of such weight or measure or weighing or measuring device for com-
mercial purposes and of such use by the person in charge of such building,
enclosure, stand, or vehicle.

§ 3-708.50. Prosecutions for violation of any provision of this Act
are declared to be valid and proper notwithstanding the existence of any
other valid general or specific Act of this State dealing with matters that
may be the same as or similar to those covered by this Act.

§ 8-708.51. If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional,
or the applicability thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid,
the constitutionality of the remainder of the Act and the applicability
thereof to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

§ 3-708.52. All laws and parts of laws contrary to or inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act are repealed insofar as they might operate
in the future; but as to offenses committed, liabilities incurred, and claims
now existing thereunder, the existing law shall remain in full force and
effect.

§ 3-708.53. This Act may be cited as the “Weights and Measures Act
of Virginia.”

2. That §§ 59-71, 59-72, 59-73, 59-74, 59-75, 59-76, 59-77, 59-78, 59-79,
59-80, 59-81, 59-82, 59-83, 59-84, 59-85, 59-86, 59-87, 59-88, 59-89, 59-90,
59-91, 59-92, 59-93, 59-94, 59-95, 59-96, 59-97, 59-98, 59-99 59-100,
59-101, 59-101.1, as amended, 59-101.2 as amended, 59-102, 59-103, 59-104,
59-105, 59-106, 59-106.1 as amended; §§ 59-114.1, 59-114.2, 59-114.3, 59-
114.4, 59-114.5, 59-114.6, 59-114.7, 59-114.8, 59-114.9, as amended; 59-115,
59-116, 59-117, 59-118, 59-119, 59-120 as amended, 59-121, 59-122, 59-123,
59-124, 59-125, 59-126, 59-127, 59-128, 59-128.1 as amended, 59-129, 59-130,
59-131, 59-132, 59-133, 59-134, 59-135, 59-136, 59-137, 59-138, 59-139, 59-
140, 59-140.1 as amended, are repealed.