Rhode Island General Laws 6-31-5. Director’s powers
(a) The director shall do all of the following:
(1) Designate by regulation those consumer commodities, in addition to the consumer commodities specifically enumerated in § 6-31-2(a), as to which display of the unit price shall be required upon a determination that the display will be in the best interest of consumers;
(2) Designate by regulation the unit of weight, measure, or count in terms of which the unit price of each consumer commodity shall be expressed, provided that no designated unit shall be such as to require persons subject to the provisions of § 6-31-2(a) to measure any consumer commodity solely for the purpose of complying with § 6-31-2(a);
(3) Designate by regulation whether the unit price of each consumer commodity subject to the provisions of § 6-31-2(a) shall be expressed to the nearest whole cent or to an appropriate fraction thereof;
(4) Exempt, by regulation, classes of retail establishments from any or all requirements of this chapter upon a determination that because sales of consumer commodities regulated by this chapter are purely incidental to the business of the classes of retail establishments, compliance with this chapter is impracticable and unnecessary for adequate protection of consumers; provided, however, that any person, firm, corporation, or other business entity with less than eight (8) full-time employees shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter;
(5) Prescribe, by regulation, means for the disclosure of price information upon determination that they are more effective than those prescribed in § 6-31-3; and
(6) Promulgate any other regulation necessary to effectuate the provisions of this chapter in accordance with the best interests of consumers.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 6-31-5
- Consumer commodity: means any food, drug, device, or cosmetic and other article, product, or commodity of any other kind or class, except for drugs sold only by prescription, that:
(i) Are customarily produced for sale to retail sales agencies or instrumentalities for consumption by individuals; for use by individuals for purposes of personal care; or in the performance of services ordinarily rendered in or around the household; and
(ii) Usually are consumed or expended in the course of the consumption or use. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-31-1
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Director: means the director of business regulation. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-31-1
- in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
(b) The director shall give public notice of his or her intention to promulgate regulations pursuant to subsection (a) and shall receive the opinions of interested parties on the regulations. Regulations shall take effect thirty (30) days from the date on which the notice is given.
(c) The director shall hold hearings whenever he or she has probable cause to believe, or whenever twenty-five (25) or more citizens state in writing to the director their belief, that the actions of any person subject to the provisions of this chapter have evidenced a pattern of noncompliance with any or all of those provisions. Pursuant to the hearings, to which the suspected violator shall be invited with written notice at least ten (10) days before the hearing is held, the director shall, upon a finding that a pattern of noncompliance has been shown:
(1) Issue a warning citation; or
(2) Report any pattern of noncompliance to the attorney general who shall cause appropriate proceedings to be instituted in the proper courts.
History of Section.
P.L. 1972, ch. 15, § 1; P.L. 1987, ch. 433, § 1; P.L. 1988, ch. 529, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 528, § 23.