On July 31, 1998, Governor Cellucci signed into law a landmark piece of legislation which required new certification standards for appointment of local weights and measures officials. This legislation known as, The Merchant and Consumer Protection Act, in addition to mandating certification standards for officials, also required scanner inspections in all retail outlets.
The main purpose of these new certification requirements is to ensure that weights and measures laws are being enforced unilaterally and equitably in every municipality preserving the division’s primary mission of maintaining "Equity" in the marketplace. This can only be accomplished by requiring standardized training in testing and enforcement procedures for all enforcement officials and periodic auditing of their performance in the field to ensure that these standards are being applied equitably. The Merchant and Consumer Protection Act makes these requirements mandatory for all officials.
The Division is required to administer the annual testing and certifying of all commercial weighing and measuring devices. Devices tested included:
•Small and large capacity scales
•Weights
•Motor fuel dispensers
•Vehicle tank meters used in the sale of liquid fuels
•Propane meters
•Milk tanks
•Coin operated amusement devices
•Reverse vending machines used for recycling soft drink containers
•Price scanning systems
•Law Enforcement Axle Load Scales
•Issues Waivers from Item Pricing
The Division also inspects pre-packaged food and non-food products to ensure that the net quantity is accurate and that minor variations are within acceptable legal metrology parameters.
