Marin County Municipal Code Ch. 5.45 Point-of-Sale Registration

Footnotes:

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Editor's note— Ord. No. 3575, §§ I, II, adopted Dec. 6, 2011, amended Ch. 5.45 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Ch. 5.45, §§ 5.45.010—5.45.120, pertained to similar subject matter and derived from: Ord. 3443, § 1(part), 2006; and Ord. No. 3527, § II, 2009.

(a) It is unlawful to charge at the time of sale a price that is more than the price that has been advertised or posted for said item. Pursuant to California Business and Professions Code Sections 12103.5, 12024.2, and 12024.6, the purpose of this chapter is to ensure that the advertised or posted price of a commodity is the price actually charged for that commodity.

(b) This chapter establishes a system to identify, register and inspect point-of-sale stations in retail commodity sales within the County of Marin. In addition this chapter hereby authorizes the imposition of fees for cost recovery for the testing and inspection of these point-of-sale stations by the Marin County Department of Weights and Measures. Penalties may also be charged for failure to register point-of-sale stations or for late registration, and also for failure to make available for inspection a current registration permit upon request.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

For the purpose of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following words and phrases are defined as follows:

"Advertise" means a notice to attract public attention.

"Commercial purpose" means any sale of a commodity or thing by a person to a consumer.

"Commodity" means any article of commerce or anything that is bought or sold.

"Department" means the Marin County Department of Weights and Measures.

"Location" means any room, enclosure, building, vehicle, space or area that contains a point-of-sale station.

"Person" shall have the same meaning assigned in Business and Professions Code Section 12011, which states: "Person" includes person, firm, corporation or association.

"Point-of-sale-system" (POS) means each individual separate device over which consumers are charged for the purchase of commodities by using equipment that is capable of recovering electronically stored price information by reading a bar code printed on the product or on a label. This shall include, but is not limited to, equipment that uses Universal Product Code scanners, price look-up codes, or any other system that relies on the retrieval of electronically stored information to complete a transaction of commerce between a retailer and customer.

"Registrant" means the person who uses a point-of-sale station for commercial purposes and obtains a registration permit from the county weights and measures department.

"Re-inspection" means the retesting a point-of-sale system after the department has determined that a violation of this chapter has occurred.

"Sell" in any of its variant forms, includes barter, exchange, trade, rent, lease, keep for sale, offer for sale, or expose for sale.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

(a) It shall be unlawful for a person to use a point-of-sale station for commercial purposes without first obtaining a registration permit in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. A separate registration shall be required for each establishment location.

(b) Payment of all applicable fees and late penalties as set forth in Section 5.45.050 below, shall be required before registration permits will be issued.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

(a) All registration permits issued pursuant to this chapter shall be valid for one calendar year or fraction thereof, and shall expire on December 31st of the current calendar year.

(b) Renewal of registration permits is the responsibility of the registrant and shall be made in a manner similar to the issuance of the original registration.

(c) Registration permits shall not be transferable between persons or establishment locations.

(d) Registrants shall not lease, sublet, subcontract, or in any manner permit any person or entity to engage in activities regulated under the registration permit, except as an employee of the registrant.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

(a) The annual registration fee and all applicable penalties for the calendar year or any part thereof, for any person utilizing a point-of-sale station shall be established by resolution of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, in accordance with the Business and Professions Code Section 13350, et seq., and may be increased or otherwise changed from time to time by a resolution duly approved by the board of supervisors.

(b) The annual registration permit fee shall be based upon the number of point of sale stations at each retail establishment.

(c) Fees are hereby authorized for re-inspection of point-of-sale stations at a retail establishment which fails any prior inspection. The amount of the fee may be set by resolution.

(d) Delinquent permits. If any fee is not paid by the date due, a penalty equal to the amount of the registration fee shall also be assessed.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

A registration permit may be issued to a corporation or association duly authorized to transact business in the state, or to a person operating under a fictitious name who has complied with all of the provision of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17900) of Part 3 of Division 7 of the Business and Professions Code. Otherwise all such permits shall be issued in the true name of the applicant. Except as provided above, no business, occupation or activity for which this chapter requires registration may be conducted under any false or fictitious name. A registration permit issued to a corporation shall designate such corporation by the exact name as it appears in the article of incorporation of such corporation.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

If a current registration permit has been lost, the person to whom it was issued may obtain a replacement permit from the department upon request.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

At each establishment location, the applicable registration permit shall be available to any official of the department.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

It shall be unlawful for any person or registrant, employee or agent thereof to do any of the following:

(a) Use a point-of-sale station without a current registration permit;

(b) Fail to make the registration permit available to any official of the department upon request.

(c) Fail to maintain the notice to consumer posting as specified in Section 5.45.120.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

Prior to the refusal to grant or renew any such registration permit, and prior to revocation or suspension of such permit, the applicant or registrant shall be entitled to a hearing in accordance with the Business and Professions Code Section 12015.3.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

A suspended or revoked registration permit shall be restored or reissued by the department when the applicant or registrant has corrected all violations to the satisfaction of the department and is in full compliance with applicable state law and with this chapter.

(Ord. No. 3575, § I, 2011)

In addition to the registration permit requirements of this chapter, every person who uses a point-of-sale station for commercial purposes shall post a notice, which will be provided by the department. The notice must be clearly visible to the general public and to consumers at each point of sale station and customer service counter. The notice shall state essentially the following:

"ATTENTION CUSTOMERS By law, you are entitled to the lowest advertised or posted price for any items offered for sale by this store. For more information or to file a complaint, please contact (415) 473-7888 or visit Marin County Department of Weights and Measures' website at marincounty.org/ag It is unlawful to remove or obscure this notice. Marin County Ordinance § 5.45.120"

"Clearly visible" for this section means that the notice is to be positioned so that it is visible to the consumer and may be accurately read from all reasonable viewing locations. Staff with the department of weights and measures will clearly explain what a reasonable location is when the "notice to consumer" stickers are given to businesses. It is the responsibility of each establishment to maintain the integrity of all posted consumer notices.

(Ord. No. 3575, § II, 2011)