SECTION 29A. Civil citation for violation of weights and measures laws; appeal

As an alternative to initiating criminal proceedings for violations of the following weights and measures laws: section 115A of chapter 6; sections 92B, 96, 98, 174A, 176, 177, sections 181 to 183, inclusive, section 184E, sections 295A to 295K, inclusive, sections 299 and 303F of chapter 94; sections 19, 24, 25, 26, 31, 35, 42, 45, 48, 55, and 56A to 56D, inclusive, of chapter 98, any representative authorized by the director of standards and any person authorized under sections 34, 35 or 36 of this chapter may issue a civil citation for violations of said weights and measures laws in the amount of 75 per cent of the maximum criminal fine provided for said violation, to be paid within 21 days of the date of issuance of such citation.

Any person aggrieved by any citation issued pursuant to this section may appeal said citation by filing a notice of appeal with the director of standards within seven days of the receipt of the citation. Any such appellant shall be granted a hearing before a representative of the director of standards in accordance with chapter 30A. The hearing officer may affirm, vacate or modify the citation. Any person aggrieved by a decision of the hearing officer may file an appeal in the superior court pursuant to the provisions of said chapter 30A.

If a person fails to comply with the requirement set forth in any citation issued pursuant to this section, or shall fail to pay any civil penalty provided thereby within 21 days of the date of issuance of such citation, or within 30 days following the decision of the hearing officer if such citation has been appealed, excluding any time during which judicial review of the hearing officer's decision remains pending, the director of the division of standards may apply for a criminal complaint against such person for the violation, or may initiate a civil action in the district court.

All monies collected by a municipality or local consumer aid groups authorized by the director of standards under said civil citations, less any fee owed to the division of standards for contracted enforcement services pursuant to section 35, shall be retained by such municipality or local consumer aid group authorized by the director of standards, and shall be expended for the purposes of enforcement of item pricing and weights and measures laws. All monies collected by the division of standards under said civil citations shall be credited to the general fund.

Any citation issued by a municipality with a population of over 400,000 is exempt from this appellate procedure. All notices of appeals should be filed with said municipality's appellate board.