Untitled Texas Attorney General Opinion ( 1957 )

E .A ORNEY GENEKAL OF-TEXAS Honorable John C. White OPINION NO. W-50 Commissioner Department of Agriculture RE: The legality of using in Capitol Station Texas the pre-packaged Austin, Texas. scale that records and prints the net weight of the commodity weighed in pounds and hundredths of pounds, rather than in Dear Mr. White: pounds and ounces. In your recent request for an opinion of this office, you Inquire as to the legality of using in Texas the pre-packaged scale that records and prints the net weight of the commodity weighed In pounds and hundredths of pounds rather than in pounds and ounces. You further state that such a scale is now in pro- duction and you are wondering if the provisions of Article 5371, Vernon's Civil Statutes, and Regulation (e) (1) of your depart- ment promulgated by the Commissioner under the authority of House Bill 29, Acts of the 47th Legislature, R.S., ch. 624, p. 1374, prevent the legal use of the scale in Texas. Article 5731, Vernon's Civil Statutes, reads as follows: "The units or standards of weight from which all the other weights shall be derived and ascer- tained shall be the standard of avoirdupois and troy weights designated in this chapter, and avoir- dupois pounds shall bear to the troy pounds the ratio of seven thousand to five thousand seven hundred and sixty grains, and the avoirdupois pound shall be divided into sixteen equal parts called ounces. The hundred weight shall consist of one hundred avoirdupois pounds, and twenty hundred weight shall constitute a ton. Tht troy ounce shall be one twelfth of a troy pound. Section C.(l) of House Bill 29, Acts of the 47th Degis- lature, R. S., ch. 624, p. 1374, reads as follows: . . ‘... Honorable John C. White, Page 2 , (W-50) “It shall be unlawful to keep for the pur- pose of sale, offer or expose for sale, or sell, any commodity in package form unless (a) the net quantity of contents, in terms of weight, measure, or numerical count, and (b) the name.and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distrl- butor shall be plainly and conspicuously marked on the outside of the package. Provided; however, that under Clause (a) of this Section reasonable variations or tolerances shall be permitted, and exemptions as to small packages shall be made; and that under Clause (b) of this Section exemp- tions as to packages sold on the premises where packed shall be made. And provided further, that this Section shall not be construed to apply to those commodities in package form, the manner of sale of which is specifically regulated by the provisions of other Articles of the Statutes, or to bales of cotton; and that reasonable rules and regulations for the efficient enforcement of this Act, not inconsistent herewith, and includ- ing the reasonable variations. or tolerances and the exemptions prescribed herein, shall be made by the Commiss loner. ” The Commissioner has promul ated rules and re ulatlons under the provisions of Section C.(l 7 , and Regulation 7 e) (1) reads in part as follows: “A statement of weight shall be in terms of the avoirdupois pound and ounce. ’ Article 5731 provides standards of weight from which all other weights shall be derived and ascertained but does not require all weights to be stated in pounds and ounces, and there- fore in our opinion does not prevent the legal use of the scale in Texas. Regulation (e) (l), as quoted above, in our opinion, would not prevent the legal use in Texas of such pre-packaged scale that records and