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.

Source Note: The provisions of this §12.1 adopted to be effective January 23, 2018, 43 TexReg 340; amended to be effective September 9, 2020, 45 TexReg 6227; amended to be effective March 5, 2023, 48 TexReg 1030