The Board of Supervisors finds and determines that it is in the public’s interest to identify; inspect and register automated point of sale stations, commonly known as “scanners,” and to monitor the utilization of such devices. (Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002)

It is unlawful to charge, at the time of sale, a price that is more than the price that is advertised or posted. 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 charged for that commodity. A location shall not be required to sell at a price incorrectly stated in an advertisement which is incorrect as a result of a typographical error or other inadvertent misprint and may also correct pricing errors resulting from the misplacement of merchandise by consumers.
This chapter establishes a system to identify, register and inspect point of sale stations in retail commodity sales. In addition, this chapter authorizes cost recovery for the testing and inspection of these point of sale stations, penalties for failure to register or for late registration and failure to make available a current registration certificate.
This chapter also requires the posting of a toll-free number to consumers at each automated point of sale station. In addition, locations with completed enforcement cases for price accuracy violations shall be required to post notice of the case. (Ord. 2002-0020 § 1, 2002; Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002.)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases are defined and shall be construed as having the following meaning:
A. “Department” shall mean the Department of Agricultural Commissioner/ Weights and Measures of the County of Los Angeles.
B. “Person” shall mean 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” shall mean individual and separate equipment that is capable of recovering electrically 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. “Location” shall mean a premise on which a single business operates point of sale stations.
F. “Commercial purpose” includes any sale of a commodity or thing by a person to a consumer.
G. “Commodity” shall mean any article of commerce or anything that is bought or sold.
H. “Advertise” shall mean a notice to attract public attention.
I. “Completed enforcement case” shall be applicable to completed criminal, civil or administrative enforcement actions, after enactment of this chapter, involving price accuracy violations brought pursuant to California Business and Professions Code sections 12024.2, 17200, 17500 or similar state laws or county ordinances pertaining to retailer price accuracy. The completed enforcement cases which may be subject to posting include misdemeanor or infraction convictions, civil actions concluded by final judgment in the Superior Court and administrative enforcement actions concluded by the Department. (Ord. 2002-0020 § 2, 2002; Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002.)

A. It shall be unlawful for a person to use a point of sale station for commercial purposes without first obtaining a registration certificate in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. A separate registration certificate shall be required for each location. The registration certificate shall be in addition to any other certificate, license, or permit which may be required by the County or any public entity.
B. Registration certificates shall be issued by the Department upon payment of all applicable fees and late penalties as set forth in sections 2.41.080 and 2.41.090 of this chapter. (Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002)

A. All registration certificates shall be valid for up to one calendar year and expire on the first day of the following year. Renewal of a certificate shall be made in a manner similar to the issuance of the original certificate. Registration certificates not renewed by January 31 of the applicable year shall be considered expired, until such time as the certificate fee and the applicable penalty fee have been received by the Department.
B. Registration certificates shall not be transferable between persons or locations.
C. In the case where a holder of a registration certificate leases, sublets, subcontracts, or in any manner allows any other person or entity to engage in activities regulated under the certificate, all point of sale stations must be the responsibility of the certificate holder. Otherwise the other person or entity shall obtain a separate registration certificate in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. (Ord. 2002-0020 § 3, 2002; Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002.)

At each location, the applicable registration certificate shall be readily available to any official of the Department. (Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002)

If a current registration certificate has been lost, the person to whom it was issued may obtain a replacement from the department upon payment of a $10 replacement fee. (Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002)

A. Registration certificate fees shall be based upon the number of point of sale stations at each retail location. Payment shall be made to the department according to the following schedule:

B. Fees shall be paid to the Department, and shall only be used for the enforcement of California Business and Professions Code, Division 5, Weights and Measures, Section 12001 et seq. and Title 2 of the Los Angeles County Code, Section 2.40.010 et seq.
C. The reinspection fee authorized by California Business and Professions Code Section 13350(e) shall be billed at an hourly rate set and reviewed annually by the Office of the Los Angeles County Auditor-Controller. The reinspection fee shall be paid within 60 days after the date billed by the Department. (Ord. 2005-0109 § 2, 2005: Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002.)

To any registration certificate fee not submitted by January 31 of the year for which the fee is due, there shall be added a late fee as follows:
A. To any registration certificate fee paid within 30 days following the last day on which such payment could have been timely made pursuant to section 2.41.080, there shall be added a penalty fee of $50.
B. To any registration certificate fee paid more than 30 days, but within 90 days following the last day on which such payment could have been timely made pursuant to section 2.41.080, there shall be added a penalty fee which shall be the greater of:
1. $50; or
2. A sum equal to 50 percent of the registration certificate fee.
C. To any registration certificate fee paid more than 90 days following the last day on which such payment could have been timely made pursuant to section 2.41.080, there shall be added a penalty fee of a sum equal to the registration certificate fee. (Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002.)

It shall be unlawful for any person, or any registration certificate holder, employee or agent thereof to violate the provisions of this chapter, and specifically it shall be unlawful to:
A. Use point of sale stations without a current registration certificate.
B. Fail to make available the registration certificate as required per Section 2.41.060.
C. Fail to post the toll-free number to consumers as specified in Section 2.41.200.
D. Fail to post completed enforcement cases at the location involved in the case as specified in Section 2.41.210. (Ord. 2002-0020 § 4, 2002; Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002.)

A. Unless otherwise provided, any person failing to comply with the provisions of this chapter, and specifically the violations as defined in Section 2.41.100, shall be guilty of an infraction or misdemeanor as hereinafter specified.
B. Any person so convicted shall be:
1. Guilty of an infraction offense, punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) and not less than fifty dollars ($50) for a first offense.
2. Guilty of an infraction offense, punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) and not less than one hundred dollars ($100) for a second offense.
3. Guilty of a misdemeanor for the third and any additional offenses and punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not less than five hundred dollars ($500) or any other penalty imposed by a court, or both.
C. Pursuant to Government Code section 25132, an offense may be charged and prosecuted as a misdemeanor.
D. Payment of any fine or other penalty imposed by a court shall not relieve a person from the responsibility of obtaining a registration certificate for a point of sale station and/or the requirements of Sections 2.41.200 and 2.41.210.
E. In addition to all other remedies provided by this chapter or state law, in the event of continuing violation of the provisions of this chapter, the Department may seek injunctive relief to restrain further violations.
(Ord. 2002-0020 § 5, 2002; Ord. 2002-0014 § 1 (part), 2002.)

In addition to the registration certificate 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 and displays the following information so as to be clearly visible to the general public and to consumers at each point of sale station.
“Attention Consumer: You are entitled to the lowest advertised or posted price offered by this store. For information or complaints, you may call the County of Los Angeles Agricultural Commissioner/Director of Weights and Measures at a toll free number provided by the Department.”
“Clearly visible” for this section shall mean that the notice shall be so positioned vertically so that it may be accurately read from some reasonable consumer position.
Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall be punishable as specified in Section 2.41.110. (Ord. 2002-0020 § 6, 2002.)

A. Notice of the completed enforcement case shall be posted at the location where the violation occurred. The notice to be posted will be provided by the Department.
B. The notice requirements are as follows:
1. Shall be 8 ½” x 11” in dimension. Design, coloration, font, and font size of the notice shall be at the discretion of the Director.
2. Shall be in English and shall notify the reader of the fact that the store in which each is located has been determined to have violated state law(s) pertaining to pricing accuracy.
3. Each notice shall list the store name, and address.
4. Each notice shall list any and all fines, civil penalties, judicial remedies, court costs, and cost recovery charges associated with a price accuracy violation(s) found during an inspection by a Department inspector.
C. The notice shall be clearly visible to the general public and consumers entering the location. “Clearly Visible” means any of the following:
1. Posted in the front window of the location within five feet of the front door.
2. Posted as directed and determined in the discretion of the Department to ensure proper notice to the general public and to consumers.
3. Locations with multiple entrances shall have identical notices placed at a minimum of two entrances.
D. The notice shall be posted for sixty (60) days from the date posted in the required location by the Department or if the notice is provided to the location by the Department through mail, courier or special delivery, the notice shall be properly posted within 24 hours of receipt.
E. The notice shall not be defaced, marred, camouflaged, hidden or removed. Failure to properly post the notice and/or removal of the notice prior to the sixty (60) day expiration shall be charged and prosecuted as a misdemeanor pursuant to California Government Code section 25132.
F. Upon the completion of an inspection which results in no overcharges, the location involved may request a notice of no overcharges from the Department. This notice may be posted in the same manner as the notice of completed enforcement case as defined in this section.
G. For one year from the effective date of section 2.41.210, the Department will not require a location to post the first notice of completed enforcement case received at the location. Any subsequent notice(s) received during that first year and all notice(s) received after the first year shall be posted in accordance with this section. (Ord. 2002-0020 § 7, 2002.)