Revised Laws 1942, Vol. 1, Title XVII, Ch. 192— Weights and Measures. Sec. 1. Standards. The weights and measures received from the United States under joint resolutions of congress approved June 14, 1836, and July 27, 1866, and such new weights and measures as shall be received from the United States as standard weights and measures in addition thereto or in renewal thereof, and such as shall be supplied by the state in conformity therewith and certified by the National Bureau of Standards, shall be the state standards, by which all municipal standards of weights and measures shall be tried, proved and sealed. [1843; last amended 1917.] Sec. 2. Commissioner of weights and measures: Appointment; term. There shall be a state commissioner of weights and measures, appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the council, for a term of five years and until his successor is appointed and qualified. [1917; last amended 1919.] [ED. NOTE.-Laws 1943, Ch. 39, Sec. 3, p. 48, provides as follows: "Vacancies in the office of ✶ ✶ ✶ commissioner of weights and measures as established by section 2 of chapter 192 of the Revised Laws, shall be filled for the unexpired term of such offices."] Sec. 3. Inspectors of weights and measures. There shall be not exceeding three inspectors of weights and measures, who shall be appointed by the commissioner, with the advice and consent of the governor and council. [1917; last amended 1927.] Rules and regulations for examining and testing 629 Meters Inspection of meters Testing appliances Test on consumer's request; fee Apparatus for testing Revised Laws 1942, Vol. 2, Title XXV, Ch. 301– Weighing of Freight Cars Regulations for weighing of freight cars Revised Laws 1942, Vol. 2, Title XXXVII, Ch. 450— Sec. 5. Commissioner's bond. 629 629 The commissioner shall give a bond in the sum of five thousand dollars, with sureties to be ap proved by the governor, for the faithful perform ance of the duties of his office and for the safety of the standards intrusted to his care, and for the surrender thereof to his successor or to the person appointed by the governor to receive them. [1917 Sec. 6. Inspector's bond. Each inspector shall give a bond in the sum of one thousand dollars, with sureties, to be approved by the secretary of state, for the faithful performance of the duties of his office and for the safety of any apparatus intrusted to his care. [1917] Sec. 7. Commissioner's duties. a The commissioner shall take charge of the stand ards of the state, and cause them to be kept in safe and suitable place in his office, from which they shall not be removed except for repairs or for certification, and he shall take all other necessary precautions for their safe keeping. He shall maintain the state standards in good order, and shall submit them at least once in ten years to the Na tional Bureau of Standards for certification. He shall keep a complete record of the standards, balances and other apparatus belonging to the state and take a receipt for the same from his successor in office. [1917] Sec. 8. Testing standards. He shall, at least once in five years, try and prove by the state standards all standard weights, measures and other apparatus which may belong to any city, and shall seal the same when found to be accurate, by stamping on them the letters N. H. and the last two figures of the year with seals which he shall have and keep for that purpose, and shall keep a record of such inspections. He shall, upon the written request of any citizen, firm, corporation or educational institution in the state, test or calibrate weights, measures, weighing and measuring devices, and instruments or apparatus used as standards in the state. [1917] Sec. 9. Testing at state institutions. He, or the inspectors by his direction, shall at least once annually test all scales, weights and measures used in checking the receipts or disbursements of supplies in every institution for the maintenance of which moneys are appropriated by the legislature, and he shall report in writing his findings to the supervisory board and to the executive officer of the institution concerned; and, at the request of such board, or executive officer, the commissioner shall appoint in writing one or more employees then in the actual service of such institution, who shall act as special deputies for the purpose of checking the receipts or disbursements of supplies. [1917] Sec. 10. Bi-annual inspections. The commissioner, or his inspectors at his direction, shall at least once in two years visit the various cities of the state in order to inspect the work of the local sealers, and in the performance of his duties he may inspect the weights, measures, balances or any other weighing appliances of any citizen, firm or corporation, and shall have the same powers as the local sealer of weights and measures. [1917] Sec. 11. Duty of supervision. He shall have and keep a general supervision of the weights, measures and weighing and measuring devices offered for sale, sold or in use in the state. [1917] Sec. 12. Promulgation of regulations. The commissioner shall issue from time to time regulations for the guidance of city sealers, and the said regulations shall govern the procedure to be followed by the aforesaid officers in the discharge of their duties. [1917] Sec. 13. Inspectors: Powers. When not otherwise provided by law the inspectors shall have the power, under the direction of the commissioner, to inspect, test, try and ascertain if they are correct, all weights, scales, beams, measures of every kind, weighing or measuring instruments, or mechanical devices for measuring, and tools, appliances or accessories connected with any and all such instruments or measures kept, offered or exposed for sale, sold, used or employed within the state by any proprietor, agent, lessee or employee in proving the size, quantity, extent, area or measurements of quantities, things, produce, articles for distribution or consumption offered or submitted by such person or persons for sale, hire or reward; and they shall have like power to, and shall from time to time, weigh or measure packages or amounts of commodities of whatever kind kept for the purpose of sale, offered for sale or sold, or in the process of delivering, in order to determine whether the same contain the amounts represented, and whether they are offered for sale or sold in a manner in accordance with the laws relative to weights and measures. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 14. Same: Duties. They shall at least once each year, and as much oftener as the commissioner may deem necessary, see that the weights, measures and all apparatus used in the state are correct. They may for the purposes mentioned, and in the general performance of their official duties, stop any vendor, peddler, junk dealer, or the driver of any coal wagon, ice wagon or delivery wagon, or any dealer whatever, and require him to proceed to such place as the inspector may specify, for the purpose of making the proper tests, and for that purpose they may, without formal warrant, enter any stand, place, building or premises. Whenever an inspector finds a violation of the statutes relating to weights and measures he shall report the same to the commissioner, who shall cause the violator to be prosecuted. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 15. Sealing. Whenever an inspector compares weights, measures or weighing or measuring instruments and finds that they correspond with the standards in his possession and conform to the specifications and regulations of this deptrtment, or causes them to correspond with said standards and to conform to said specifications and regulations, he shall seal or mark such weights, measures, weighing or measuring instruments with appropriate devices to be approved by the commissioner. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 16. Condemning. He shall condemn and seize to hold as evidence, and may, upon order of the court, destroy, incorrect weights, measures, or weighing or measuring instruments which, in his judgment, are not susceptible of satisfactory repair; but such as are incorrect and may be repaired he shall mark or tag as condemned for repairs in a manner prescribed by the commissioner. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 17. Correcting condemned scales. The owners or users of any weights, measures or weighing or measuring instruments, of which such disposition is made, shall have the same repaired Revised Laws 1942, Vol. 1, Title XVII, Ch. 192— Weights and Measures-Continued. or corrected within the time prescribed by the commissioner, and they may neither use nor dispose of the same, except as permitted by the commissioner, but shall hold the same at his disposal. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 18. Confiscating condemned apparatus. Any apparatus which has been condemned for repairs, and has not been repaired as herein required, shall be confiscated as provided in section 16. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 19. Records and reports. The inspectors and city sealers shall keep a complete record of all their official acts, and shall make reports to the commissioner of weights and measures as he may direct, on blanks approved by him. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 20. City sealers. There shall be a sealer of weights and measures in cities of not less than ten thousand population, according to the latest United States census, to be appointed by the mayor, with the consent of the city council. He shall, in said city, have the same powers and duties as the state inspectors have elsewhere. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 21. City apparatus. The common council of each city required to appoint a sealer shall procure at the expense of the city, and shall keep at all times, a complete set of weights and measures and other apparatus of such materials and construction as the commissioner may direct. All such weights, measures and other apparatus, having been tried and accurately proven by him, shall be sealed and certified to by the commissioner as hereinbefore provided, and shall be then deposited with and preserved by the city sealer as public standards for the city. Whenever the common council of such city shall neglect for six months to provide such standards the city clerk of said city, on notification and request by the commissioner, shall provide the same and cause them to be tried, sealed and deposited at the expense of the city. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 22. Authority as police. The commissioner of weights and measures, his inspectors, and the city sealers of weights and measures, are special policemen, and are authorized and empowered to arrest, without formal warrant, any violator of the statutes in relation to weights and measures, and to seize for use as evidence, and without warrant, any false or unsealed weight, measure or weighing or measuring device, or package or amounts of commodities found to be used, retained or offered or exposed for sale or sold in violation of this cnapter [Secs. 1-53]. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 23. Use of false weights, etc.; penalties. Any person who, by himself or by his servant or agent, or as the servant or agent of another, shall offer or expose for sale, sell, use or retain in his possession for use, a false weight or measure or weighing or measuring device, or any weight or measure or weighing or measuring device which has not been sealed by the commissioner or an inspector, or by a sealer of weights and measures within one year, for the purpose or the apparent purpose of buying or selling of any commodity or thing, or for hire or reward; or shall dispose of any condemned weight, measure or weighing or measuring device contrary to law, or remove any tag placed thereon by the commissioner or inspector, or by a sealer of weights and measures, without his permission; or any person who, by himself or by his servant or agent, or as the servant or agent of another, shall sell or offer or expose for sale less than the quantity he represents, or shall keep in the salesroom of a store any weighing device except prescription scales not in full view of a customer, or sell or offer or expose for sale any commodity in a manner contrary to the laws relative to weights and measures, or, in purchasing, misrepresents the amount purchased, shall be fined not less than twenty nor more than two hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more than three months, or both upon a first conviction; upon a second or subse quent conviction he shall be fined not less than fifty nor more than five hundred dollars, or im prisoned not more than one year, or both. [1917 last amended 1933.] Sec. 24. Obstructing officials; penalty. Any person who shall hinder or obstruct in any way the commissioner, any inspector or any cit sealer in the performance of his official duties shal be fined not less than twenty nor more than tw hundred dollars, or imprisoned not more tha ninety days, or both. [1917; last amended 1919. Sec. 25. Impersonating official; penalty. Any person who shall impersonate in any wa the commissioner, any inspector or city sealer, b use of his seal or counterfeit of his seal or other wise, shall be fined not less than one hundred no more than five hundred dollars, or imprisone not more than one year, or both. [1917; las amended 1919.] Sec. 26. Provisions governing weights and measures fo certain commodities. In proceedings under section 23, for false o insufficient weights or measures in connection wit the sale of any article, the following weights an provisions shall govern: I. Bushel by Weight. Except where the partie shall expressly agree to sale by some other standar and for fractional parts of a bushel like fractional parts of the above weights shall be required. II. Dry Measure. All fruits, nuts and vegetables, if sold by measure, shall be sold by dry measure, United States standard. III. Heaping Measures. Commodities, the individual units of which are determined by the commissioner as large in size, shall be measured by heaping measures; that is: The measure shall be heaped up in the form of a cone, the outside rim of the measure to be the base of the cone and the cone to be as high as the commodity will admit; other commodities shall be measured by struck or level measure. IV. Baskets. Baskets or other receptacles holding one quart or less, which are used in the sale of berries, cherries or currants, shall be of the capacity of one quart, one pint, or half-pint, United States standard dry measure. Said baskets or other receptacles shall not be required to be tested and sealed, but any sealer or health officer may test the capacity of any basket or other receptacle in which such fruit is sold or intended to be sold; and if the same is found to contain less than the standard measure, or if the quantity of such fruit is otherwise less than as herein provided, he shall seize the same and make complaint against the vendor. [1917; last amended 1945.] 1 A slight change has been made in the arrangement for convenience of reference. Sec. 27. Baskets of berries, cherries, or currants: Posting notice. The proprietor of any place where articles named in paragraph IV of the preceding section are sold or kept for sale shall post conspicuously, in a place ordered by the commissioner and where patrons may easily read the same, a printed notice to be furnished by the commissioner, containing said paragraph and such other information as the commissioner may direct. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 28. Same: Penalty for violations. Whoever sells or offers for sale, or has in possession with intent to sell, any such fruit in any receptacle holding one quart or less which does not conform to said standard, or, conforming thereto, is not at least level measure, or fails to keep posted the notice herein before provided, shall be punished as provided in section 23. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 29. Packaged commodities: Marking requirements; tol erances. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell or offer for sale any commodity in package form unless the contents thereof is expressed in terms of net weight, measure or numerical count in a conspicuous place on the outside of the package, in a plainly printed statement in large type. Reasonable variations or tolerances shall be permitted, and these variations or tolerances as provided in section 51 and also exemptions as to small packages shall be established by rules and regulations made by the commissioner. [1917; last amended 1919.] Sec. 30. Package defined. When used in laws relative to weights and measures the word "package" shall mean any commodity in a box, basket, barrel, bottle, bag, bale, crate, carton, case, can, cask, crock, drum, demi-john, firkin, hamper, hogshead, half-barrel, jar, jug, keg, lug, phial, pail, sack, tube, tub, tank, vessel or any other receptacle or container of whatsoever material or nature which can be used for enclosing any commodity or in coverings or wrappings of any kind making one complete package of the commodity, provided, however, the definition herein shall not apply to the sale of articles by the retailer from bulk and by him put up at the time of actual delivery to his customers. [1937] |