San Francisco County Municipal Code Ch. 115 Automated Point of Sale Station Registration and

INSPECTION ORDINANCE Sec. 115. Title and Purpose. Sec. 115.1. Definitions. Sec. 115.2. Registration Requirements. Sec. 115.3. Duration – Prohibition of Transfer of Registration. Sec. 115.4. Annual Registration Fee. Sec. 115.5. Registration Fee, Penalty Fee, Payment, and Use. Sec. 115.6. Late Registration Fees. Sec. 115.7. Violations. Sec. 115.8. Enforcement. Sec. 115.9. Penalties.

SEC. 115. TITLE AND PURPOSE. This Ordinance shall be known as the "Automated Point of Sale Station Registration and Inspection Ordinance." It is unlawful under California Business and Professions Code sections 12024.2, 12024.6, and 12103.5 to charge, at the time of sale, a price that is more than the price that is advertised or posted. The purpose of this Chapter is to ensure that the advertised or posted price of a commodity is the correct price charged for that commodity. This Chapter: (1) establishes a system to identify, register and inspect point of sale stations in retail commodity sales; (2) authorizes a registration fee to offset the expense of inspection of point of sale stations; (3) authorizes a re-inspection fee, equal to the registration fee, to offset the expense of revisiting and inspecting locations found out of compliance; and (4) provides penalties for failure to register or for late registration and for violations. The Sealer of the Weights and Measures Division for the City and County shall administer and enforce this Chapter. The standards for inspection and methods to gain compliance to ensure accurate pricing shall be those found in Division 5 of the California Business and Professions Code and Title 4 of the California Code of Regulations. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010)

(a) "Division of Weights and Measures" means the Sealer of the Weights and Measures Division of the City and County and its agents and employees duly authorized to act on behalf of said Division. (b) "Person" means any person, firm, corporation, business, or association. (c) "Sell" includes barter, exchange, trade, keep for sale, offer for sale or expose for sale in any of their variant forms. (d) "Point of sale station" means individual and separate equipment that is capable of recovering electronically stored price information that is used to charge consumers for the purchase of commodities. "Point of sale stations" 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 consumer. (e) "Commercial purpose" includes any sale of a commodity or thing by a person to a consumer. (f) "Commodity" means any article of commerce or anything that is bought or sold. (g) "Advertise" means a notice to attract public attention or identify a commodity for sale. (h) "Term of registration" means any twelve (12) month period determined by the Division of Weights and Measures. (i) "Business Location" means each business location that uses point of sales stations and requires the use of specialized testing equipment and that necessitates not more than one inspection trip by a weights and measures official. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010)

It shall be unlawful for a person to use a point of sale station for a commercial purpose without first registering the system in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. Each business location must have a separate registration for each separate point of sale station. The registration under this Chapter shall be in addition to any other certificate, license, or permit which the City and County or any public entity may require. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010)

(a) All registrations shall be valid for up to one year and expire on the last day of the term of registration. The person holding the registration shall renew it in a manner similar to the issuance of the original registration. (b) A registration may not be transferred between persons or locations. In the case where a holder of a registration leases, sublets, subcontracts, or in any manner allows any other person or entity to engage in activities regulated, all point of sale stations remain the responsibility of the registrant. Otherwise, the other person or entity must obtain a separate registration in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter 115. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010; amended by Ord. 170-21, File No. 210938, App. 10/15/2021, Eff. 11/15/2021, Retro. 11/1/2021)

Each person registering a point of sale system for a business location in the City and County shall pay an annual registration fee. The Board of Supervisors must approve by resolution any changes to the registration fee schedule. For registration terms beginning on or before March 31, 2026, the annual registration fee shall be $75 per business location, plus $14 fee for each point of sale station, provided that the total point of sale station fee shall not exceed $773 per business location. For registration terms beginning on or after April 1, 2026, the annual registration fee shall be $0. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010; amended by Ord. 170-21, File No. 210938, App. 10/15/2021, Eff. 11/15/2021, Retro. 11/1/2021; Ord. 279-24, File No. 240926, App. 12/19/2024, Eff. 1/19/2025, Oper. 2/1/2025)

(a) The registration fee required by Section 115.4 shall be due and payable annually on or before March 31, pursuant to Section 76.1 of Article 2 of the Business and Tax Regulations Code for the upcoming registration term commencing April 1. For businesses commencing operations during the term of registration, the fee shall be due and payable as of the date of commencement. All registrations issued prior to November 1, 2021, that were effective on November 1, 2021, shall continue to be effective through March 31, 2022. (b) The Division of Weights and Measures may charge a re-inspection fee, equal to the City and County’s cost of re-inspection or retesting, as determined by the Board of Supervisors by resolution, for retail establishments that fail a standard inspection as defined in California Business and Professions Code Sections 13350 et seq.

(c) The fees collected shall be used by the Division of Weights and Measures solely to implement and enforce this Chapter 115. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010; redesignated and amended by Ord. 170-21, File No. 210938, App. 10/15/2021, Eff. 11/15/2021, Retro. 11/1/2021)

(a) In accordance with Sections 115.4 and 115.5, any registration or re-inspection fee not paid within 30 days after the last day of the term of registration is delinquent. The original fee remains due and shall be subject to a penalty of 50% of the original fee, and fees not paid after 60 days past the original due date shall be subject to a penalty amount equal to 100% of the original fee to cover the additional costs associated with late registration or payment. (b) The penalties in subsection (a) shall not be effective for fees in Section 115.4 for registrations effective on or after April 1, 2022. Rather, fees in Section 115.4 for registrations effective on or after April 1, 2022 shall be subject to the penalties under Section 76.1 of Article 2 of the Business and Tax Regulations Code. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010; redesignated and amended by Ord. 170-21, File No. 210938, App. 10/15/2021, Eff. 11/15/2021, Retro. 11/1/2021)

It shall be unlawful for any person or any employee or agent thereof to use point of sale stations without obtaining and maintaining a current registration. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010; redesignated and amended by Ord. 170-21, File No. 210938, App. 10/15/2021, Eff. 11/15/2021, Retro. 11/1/2021)

In order to protect the public from point of sale stations that are inaccurate or defective, the Division of Weights and Measures will enforce violations of this Chapter 115 pursuant to the penalty provisions in Section 115.9 and pursuant to all applicable federal and state law, including, but not limited to, California Business and Professions Code Sections 12001 et seq. and California Code of Regulations, title 4, division 9. (Added by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010; redesignated and amended by Ord. 170-21, File No. 210938, App. 10/15/2021, Eff. 11/15/2021, Retro. 11/1/2021)

The City and County shall impose penalties for failure to obtain a registration certificate or failure to have a valid current registration certificate as follows: (a) Unless otherwise provided, any person violating any provision of this Chapter 115 shall be guilty of an infraction or misdemeanor as hereinafter specified. (b) Any person so convicted shall be: (1) Guilty of an infraction offense and punished by a fine not exceeding $100 and not less than $50 for a first violation of ththis1 Chapter 115; (2.)1 Guilty of an infraction offense and punished by a fine not exceeding $200 and not less than $100 for a second violation of the same provision of ththis1 Chapter 115 within a 12-month period; (3) Guilty of a misdemeanor for the third and any additional violation of the same provision of ththis1 Chapter 115 within a 12- month period and punished by a fine not exceeding $1,000 and not less than $500 or six months in jail, or both. (c) Notwithstanding the above, a first or second offense may be charged and prosecuted as a misdemeanor. (d) Payment of any fine or service of a jail sentence shall not relieve a person from the responsibility of correcting the condition resulting from the violation. (e) In addition to the above penalties, the court may order that the guilty party reimburse the City and County for all its costs of

investigating, analyzing, and prosecuting the enforcement action against the guilty party. The court shall fix the amount of such reimbursement upon submission of proof of such costs by the City and County. (f) In addition to all other remedies provided by this Chapter 115 or state law, in the event of continuing violation of the provisions of this Chapter 115, the Division of Weights and Measures may seek injunctive relief to restrain further violation. (Added as Sec. 115.8 by Ord. 195-10, File No. 100725, App. 7/29/2010; redesignated and amended by Ord. 170-21, File No. 210938, App. 10/15/2021, Eff. 11/15/2021, Retro. 11/1/2021) CODIFICATION NOTE

1. So in Ord. 170-21.