In addition to the definitions set out in the Texas Agriculture
Code, Chapter 13 and Texas Administrative Code, Title 4, Part 1, §1.1,
the following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have
the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) ASTM--American Society for Testing Materials
(2) Audit--An official department administrative review
of all device inspections, tests, and calibrations records and/or
related documentation.
(3) Certificate of authority--Written authorization
issued by the department authorizing a public weigher to issue an
official certificate.
(4) Certified/Certification--Written verification from
a department-approved laboratory declaring the accuracy of a service
company's test standards.
(5) Code--The Texas Agriculture Code.
(6) Commercial transaction--The purchase, offer or
submission for sale, hire or award, or barter or exchange of an item.
(7) Consumer information sticker--A sticker that directs
consumers to registration, inspection, and complaint information regarding
a device; and that must be placed on each weighing or measuring device
used for commercial transactions.
(8) Device--Any scale or liquefied petroleum gas meter
used in a commercial transaction. Device includes any accessory which
may affect accuracy. The term also includes weighing and measuring
equipment in official use for the enforcement of law or for the collection
of statistical information by government agencies.
(9) Immediate consumption food scale--A scale exclusively
used to weigh food sold in accordance with Section 13.1002 of the
Code.
(10) Inspection--The act of examining, testing, or
calibrating a weighing or measuring device, including department audits,
service observations, and onsite facility review duties.
(11) LPG Meter--A device used for the measurement of
liquefied petroleum gas.
(12) NIST--National Institute of Standards and Technology,
United States Department of Commerce.
(13) NIST Handbook 44--NIST publication that sets the
specifications, tolerances, and other technical requirements for weighing
and measuring devices.
(14) Official certificate--A certificate declaring
the accurate weight or measure of a commodity which includes: the
time and date the weight or measure was taken, signature and license
number of the public weigher, and the seal of the department.
(15) OIML--International Organization of Legal Metrology.
(16) Operator of a Device--A person operates a device
if the person collects or distributes payments for a commercial transaction
for which the device is used; oversees the day-to-day operation of
the device; or owns, leases, manages, or otherwise controls the physical
location of the device or the device itself.
(17) Out-of-order tag--A notice attached to a device
directing that the device may not be used for commercial service.
(18) Person--An individual or a corporation, partnership,
limited liability company, business trust, trust, association, or
other organization, estate, government or governmental subdivision
or agency, or other legal entity.
(19) Ranch scale--A livestock scale which is located
on a private ranch and which has a capacity of 5,000 pounds or greater.
(20) Representative of the Commissioner--An individual
employed by the department authorized to perform one or more of the
following: audits, reviews, inspections, and/or service observations
under specified chapters of the Code.
(21) Service observation--An official department observation
completed by a Representative of the Commissioner on service technicians
that occurs periodically to ensure compliance with the applicable
standards of device inspection, testing, and calibrating.
(22) Service report--A prescribed report, prepared
by a service technician and filed with the department by a service
company, describing the services performed on a device or a set of
devices by the service technician.
(23) Sub-kit--A subdivided series of test standards
that weigh a total of not less than one pound in avoirdupois units
and whose smallest test standard weighs not more than one-sixteenth
(1/16) ounce or five-thousandths (0.005) pound.
(24) Test--A field examination of a device to determine
compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
(25) Test Standard--A certified weight or measure used
to test a device.
(26) Test kit--A collection of test standards that
collectively weigh 30 pounds and that consists of one sub-kit, at
least one one-pound standard, and any other combination of standards
that allows a scale with a capacity of 30 pounds or less be tested
in one-pound increments to capacity.
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