When any manufacturer requests prototype approval of any commercial weighing or measuring device, said manufacturer shall reimburse the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for expenses incurred in the prototype examination of the device before final prototype approval is granted. Travel expenses shall be at the rates established by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 138-6 or any law enacted in substitution therefor. (1981, c. 495, s. 1; 1997-261, s. 109.)