House Bill 772

(As Passed the House)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 75-27-59, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PRESCRIBE ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES IMPOSED UPON INDIVIDUALS FOR WEIGHTS AND MEASURES VIOLATIONS; TO PROVIDE VIOLATORS WITH THE OPPORTUNITY OF AN ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING; TO REQUIRE THAT MONIES COLLECTED AS ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES BE DEPOSITED INTO THE STATE GENERAL FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 75-27-59, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

75-27-59.

I. Criminal Penalties

Any person who, by himself or by his servant or agent, or as the servant or agent of another person, performs any one (1) of the acts enumerated in subparagraphs (1) through (9) of this section, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon a first conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) nor more than Two Hundred Dollars ($200.00), or by imprisonment for not more than three (3) months, or by both such fine and imprisonment; and upon a second or subsequent conviction thereof, he shall be punished by a fine of not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), or by imprisonment for not more than one (1) year, or by both such fine and imprisonment:

(1) Use or have in possession for the purpose of using for any commercial purpose specified in Section 75-27-23, sell, offer, or expose for sale or hire, or have in possession for the purpose of selling or hiring, an incorrect weight or measure of 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 Section 75-27-23, a weight or measure that does not bear a seal or mark such as is specified in Section 75-27-31, unless such weight or measure has been exempted from testing by the provisions of Section 75-27-23, or by a regulation of the director issued under the authority of Section 75-27-19.

(3) Dispose of any rejected or condemned weight or measure in a manner contrary to law or regulation.

(4) Remove from * * *an any weight or measure, contrary to law or regulation, any tag, seal, or mark placed thereon by the appropriate authority.

(5) Sell, or offer or expose for sale, less than the quantity he represents 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 determined.

(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) Buying or selling pulpwood by any means other than those prescribed in Section 75-27-39.

(10) Violate any provision of this article or of the regulations promulgated under the provisions of this article for which a specific penalty has not been prescribed.

II. Administrative Penalties

(11) Any person who by himself or herself, by his or her servant or agent or as the servant or agent of another person, commits any of the acts enumerated in subsections (1) through (10) may be assessed by the director, or his or her designee, an administrative penalty of:

(a) Not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) for a first violation

(b) Not less than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) nor more than Two Thousand Dollars ($2,000.00) for a second violation within twelve (12) months of the first violation; and

(c) Not less than One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) nor more than Three Thousand Dollars ($3,000.00) for a third violation within eighteen (18) months from the date of the first violation.

(12) Any person subject to an administrative penalty shall have a right to request an administrative hearing within thirty (30) days of receipt of the notice of the penalty. The director, or his or her designee, shall be authorized to conduct the hearing after giving appropriate notice to the respondent. The decision of the director, or his or her designee, shall be subject to appropriate judicial review.

(13) If the respondent has exhausted his or her administrative appeals and the civil penalty has been upheld, he or she shall pay the civil penalty within thirty (30) days of the effective date of the final decision. If the respondent fails to pay the penalty, a civil action may be brought by the director in any court of competent jurisdiction. Any civil penalty collected under this section shall be deposited into the State General Fund.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2013.