A. The division shall:

Terms Used In Arizona Laws 3-3414

  • Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Associate director: means the associate director of the division. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Certification: means the process of determining the accuracy of a commercial device to the standards of this state by a registered service representative or the division. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Commodity: means any merchandise, product or substance produced or distributed for sale to or use by others. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Department: means the Arizona department of agriculture. See Arizona Laws 3-101
  • Division: means the weights and measures services division of the department. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Fleet owner: means a registered owner or lessee of at least twenty-five vehicles. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • including: means not limited to and is not a term of exclusion. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Motor fuel: means a petroleum or a petroleum-based substance that is motor gasoline, aviation gasoline, number one or number two diesel fuel or any grade of oxygenated gasoline typically used in the operation of a motor engine, including biodiesel blends, biofuel blends and ethanol flex fuels. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Oxygenate: means any oxygen-containing ashless, organic compound, including aliphatic alcohols and aliphatic ethers, that may be used as a fuel or as a gasoline blending component and that is approved as a blending agent under the provisions of a waiver issued by the United States environmental protection agency pursuant to 42 United States Code § 7545(f). See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Oxygenated fuel: means an unleaded motor fuel blend that consists primarily of gasoline and at least one and one-half percent by weight of one or more oxygenates and that has been blended consistent with the provisions of a waiver issued by the United States environmental protection agency pursuant to 42 United States Code § 7545(f). See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Person: means both the plural and the singular, as the case demands, and includes individuals, partnerships, corporations, companies, societies and associations. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Process: means a citation, writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Arizona Laws 1-215
  • Reference standards: means the physical standards of the state that serve as the legal reference from which all other standards and weights and measures are derived. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Registered service agency: means any agency, firm, company or corporation that for hire, award, commission or any other payment of any kind installs, services, repairs or reconditions a commercial device or tests or repairs vapor recovery systems or vapor recovery components and that has been issued a license by the division. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • Registered service representative: means any individual who for hire, award, commission or any other payment of any kind installs, services, repairs or reconditions a commercial device or tests or repairs vapor recovery systems or vapor recovery components and who has been issued a license by the division. See Arizona Laws 3-3401
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Arizona Laws 1-215

1. Maintain custody of the state reference standards of weights and measures that are traceable to the United States prototype standards and that are supplied to the states by the federal government or that are otherwise approved as being satisfactory by the national institute of standards and technology.

2. Keep the state reference standards in a safe and suitable place in the metrology laboratory of the division and ensure that they are not removed from the laboratory except for repairs or for calibration as may be prescribed by the national institute of standards and technology.

3. Keep accurate records of all standards and equipment.

4. Adopt any rules necessary to carry out this chapter and adopt reasonable rules for the enforcement of this chapter. These rules have the force and effect of law and shall be adopted pursuant to Title 41, Chapter 6. In adopting these rules, the associate director shall consider, as far as is practicable, the requirements established by other states and by authority of the United States, except that rules shall not be made in conflict with this chapter.

5. Publish rules adopted pursuant to this chapter and issue appropriate copies at no cost to all new applicants for licensure and certification. Updated copies of the rules shall be distributed, on request, at no cost to the public.

6. Investigate complaints made to the division concerning violations of this chapter and, on its own initiative, conduct investigations it deems appropriate to develop information relating to prevailing procedures in commercial quantity determination and relating to possible violations of this chapter, in order to educate the public and regulated persons to encourage and promote the general objective of accuracy in the determination and representation of quantity in commercial transactions.

7. Establish labeling standards, establish standards of weight, measure or count and establish reasonable standards of fill for any packaged commodity, and may establish standards for open dating information.

8. Grant, pursuant to this chapter, exemptions from the licensing provisions of this chapter for weighing and measuring instruments, standards or devices when the ownership or use of the instrument or device is limited to federal, state or local government agencies in the performance of official functions. On request, the division may conduct inspections of instruments, standards or devices and shall charge a fee pursuant to section 3-3452.

9. Delegate to appropriate personnel any of the responsibilities of the associate director for the proper administration of this chapter.

10. Inspect and test weights and measures that are kept, offered or exposed for sale.

11. Inspect and test, to ascertain if they are correct, weights and measures that are commercially used either:

(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.

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

12. Test, at random, commodities, weights and measures that are used in public institutions for which monies are appropriated by the legislature. The testing of commodities, weights and measures in public institutions includes items:

(a) That have historically been of short weight, measure or count.

(b) That have been found to be of short weight, measure or count by other jurisdictions.

(c) That are to be tested as part of a regional or national survey.

13. Test, approve for use and affix a seal of approval for use on all weights, measures and commercial devices that are manufactured in or brought into this state as it finds to be correct and shall reject and mark as rejected weights, measures and devices that it finds to be incorrect. Weights, measures and devices that have been rejected may be seized by the division if not corrected within the time specified or if used or disposed of in a manner not specifically authorized. The division shall condemn and may seize weights, measures and devices that are found to be incorrect and that are not capable of being made correct. The division may affix a nontampering seal to commercial devices that are tested and found to be within applicable tolerance.

14. Sample and test motor fuel that is stored, sold or exposed or offered for sale or that is stored for use by a fleet owner to determine whether the motor fuel meets the standards for motor fuel set forth in section 3-3433 and article 6 of this chapter and in any rule adopted by the associate director pursuant to this chapter.

15. Randomly witness tests on all mandated vapor recovery systems that are installed or operated in this state and, if the systems are determined to be in compliance with the law, approve those systems for use and reject, mark as rejected and stop the use of those systems that are determined not to be in compliance with the law.

16. Inspect facilities at which motor fuel is stored, sold or exposed or offered for sale to determine whether dispensing devices are properly labeled.

17. Publish and distribute to consumers and regulated persons weighing and measuring information.

18. Weigh, measure or inspect commodities that are 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 chapter or rules adopted pursuant to this chapter. In carrying out this section, the associate director shall employ recognized sampling procedures, such as are designated in appropriate national institute of standards and technology handbooks and supplements to those handbooks, except as modified or rejected by rule.

19. Allow reasonable variations from the stated quantity of contents only after a commodity has entered intrastate commerce. These variations shall include those caused by loss or gain of moisture during the course of good distribution practice or by unavoidable deviations in good manufacturing practice.

20. Prescribe the standards of weight and measure and additional equipment methods of test and inspection to be employed in the enforcement of this chapter. The associate director may prescribe or provide the official test and inspection forms to be used in the enforcement of this chapter.

21. Apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for a temporary or permanent injunction restraining any person from violating this chapter.

22. Subject to Title 41, Chapter 4, Article 4, employ such personnel as needed to assist in administering this chapter.

23. Ensure that any information that is required to be filed with the division, that relates to the contents of motor fuels that are sold in this state and that is a trade secret as defined in section 49-201 is not disclosed.

24. Establish by rule labeling standards for tanks and containers of motor fuels.

B. The associate director may provide for the periodic examination and inspection of metering devices, including devices used to measure usage of electricity, natural gas or water by a consumer. Examination and inspection authority shall not apply to metering devices owned by federal, state or local government agencies unless requested by the government agency that owns the metering devices.

C. The associate director may establish standards for the presentation of cost-per-unit information. This subsection does not mandate the use of cost-per-unit information in connection with the sale of any standard packed commodity.

D. The associate director, when necessary to carry out this chapter, may adopt and enforce rules relating to quality standards for motor fuel, kerosene, oil, except used oil fuel, and hazardous waste fuel, lubricating oils, lubricants, antifreeze and other liquid or gaseous fuels. The associate director shall adopt rules to ensure that oxygenated fuels, as described in article 6 of this chapter, that are stored, used, sold or exposed or offered for use or sale are blended and stored, sold, exposed or offered in such a manner as to ensure that the oxygenated fuels are properly blended, that they meet the standards set forth in section 3-3433 and article 6 of this chapter, and in rules adopted pursuant to this chapter, and that dispensers at which the oxygenated fuels are dispensed are labeled as defined by rule of the division in such a manner as to notify persons of the type of oxygenated fuel being dispensed and the maximum percentage of oxygenate by volume contained in the oxygenated fuel. The associate director of the division shall consult with the director of the department of environmental quality in adopting rules pursuant to this subsection.

E. Testing and inspection conducted pursuant to this chapter shall be done, to the extent practicable, without prior notice, by a random systematic method determined by the associate director or in response to a complaint by the public. The testing and inspection may be done by private persons and firms pursuant to contracts entered into by the associate director in accordance with Title 41, Chapter 23 or by a registered service agency or registered service representative licensed pursuant to section 3-3454. The associate director shall establish qualifications of persons and firms for selection for purposes of this subsection. The persons or firms conducting the testing and inspection shall immediately report to the division any violations of this chapter and incorrect weights, measures, devices, vapor recovery systems or vapor recovery components for investigation and enforcement by the division. A person or firm that tests or inspects a weight, measure, device, vapor recovery system or vapor recovery component that is rejected shall not correct the defect causing the rejection without the permission of the division.

F. During the course of an investigation or an enforcement action by the division, information regarding the complainant is confidential and is exempt from Title 39, Chapter 1, unless the complainant authorizes the information to be public.

G. For the purposes of the labeling requirements prescribed in this section, "oxygenated fuel" means a motor fuel blend containing 1.5 percent or more by weight of oxygen.