Although they are not high profile, employees at the state’s Department of Weights and Measures make sure those who buy goods in the state — in other words, everyone — gets exactly what they pay for. The agency regulates everything from price scanners to moving companies to gas pumps to firewood sales to taxis, ensuring consumers are getting their money’s worth.

Art Macias, director of ADWM, has been at the front of the state’s fight against unscrupulous moving companies that take advantage of people moving to Arizona and is proactive in protecting consumers at the gas pumps. He sat down with Arizona Capitol Times Sept. 27 for an interview about how far his department’s reach stretches and what the agency will do to benefit both consumers and industry in the future.

A lot of people don’t fully grasp the scope of what Weights and Measures does, beyond making sure the butcher doesn’t have his thumb on the scale. Maybe you could explain the areas the agency oversees.

To put it in a broad sense, we regulate over half the purchases that Arizona families make on a daily basis. The purchases of goods are generally sold by weight, measure or count and there enters our department trying to make sure consumers get everything that they pay for — that a box of Cheerios has the number of ounces that’s [listed] on the box, that you’re not paying for the packaging in the meat that you buy.

So we’re talking about method of sale, that you’re paying what’s appropriate. And in that same realm, price verification. We’re talking about that the price that’s on the shelf is the price that rings up at the scanner — pricing accuracy. We don’t regulate pricing, but, again, we’re making sure consumers aren’t getting overcharged for an item.

And then we get into the devices themselves. Are they accurate? And the devices span a broad range, just like what I talked to you about before, the method of sale, because that can get pretty broad, as well. As a consumer, when you buy a truckload of decomposed granite, or gravel for your landscaping job, to buying a few slices of turkey at the deli counter. I mean, it’s pretty broad. We’re not even talking about devices here, we’re just talking about — are you getting what you paid for and do you have everything that’s available to you to make a value comparison as a consumer? That’s what we’re all about: You should be able to make an informed, intelligent decision about your purchase.

As far as devices, everything from that deli scale to a commercial weigh scale on the side of the road or a rail car scale. It’s rather broad.

And we look at the different ways of measuring — you’ve got the deli scale, which measures weight, but there’s also volume, and that [includes] gas pumps, and that’s probably what we’re most known for. We’re there to make sure the volume of fuel that you’re getting is what’s stated on the pump.

That’s a nice segue into, why else are we at the gas station? We’re there to ensure the quality of the fuel, as well. We’re there to make sure it meets basic standards on a statewide basis and, then for Maricopa County, that it meets the standards set forth for cleaner burning gasoline.

And that would be the Arizona Clean Burning Gas rule that your department enforces?

Correct.

Exactly what do you regulate, as far as the quality of the gas? How much of the process to you monitor?

We will, all along the supply chain, inspect the quality of fuels. Staff within the department will audit refineries, will audit their manufacturing quality control processes. We don’t have any refineries in Arizona, so our inspectors will go out of state to those refineries. We’ll audit the pipeline itself, so we can and do draw samples from the tank farms that are operated by the pipeline [company].

We have the ability, also, for those transporters that are taking fuel from the tank farm to the retail station, to pull fuel samples there. And we’re doing more in that area because we are finding that that’s an area of particular concern, that we’re finding that fuel is compliant at the tank farm but, somehow [not] when it gets to retail. It’s that link where we’re seeing issues.

We do this statewide.

Not only is it fuel quality, but it’s also vapor recovery, to make sure that fuel vapors aren’t escaping into the atmosphere. So, we’re obligated to do an annual vapor recovery inspection of each gas station in Maricopa County.

Recently, your department did some special enforcement of gas pumps after Hurricane Katrina hit and prices spiked. What were the results and how much of an impact does an inaccurate pump have on consumers?

We have seen a 96 percent increase in the number of complaints dealing with fueling and the number of civil penalties that have been issued over the last couple on months, in a month-to-month comparison, show that we’ve issued essentially three times the number of civil penalties and nearly six times the dollar amount of those civil penalties. While that industry as a whole has a decent compliance rate of 90 percent, we’re still finding issues. With high gas prices, the slightest inaccuracy becomes that much more of a concern, especially on the part of consumers’ pocketbooks.

More on the ground, we’re seeing something called meter-jump, where the pump will actually start charging before you’ve actually pumped any fuel. That’s been something that we’ve noted in the marketplace in the past, but, whereas before that small amount of fuel only cost five cents, now it’s 15 or 20 cents, so the consumers are much more aware, much more concerned, and we’re getting those calls.

We’re targeting repeat violators. We’ve put an order in for equipment for us to do undercover inspections and we’re also going to include in our budget request [for next year] increased funding for additional inspectors.

What is the department’s biggest focus right now?

Fueling. The governor asked us to step up our enforcement efforts. She’s been an advocate for consumers — she was as attorney general and she’s continued that as governor, so she’s been very clear in her direction to this agency to do everything we can to make sure that consumers are getting what they pay for. We can’t control gas prices — that’s not the role of government.

If a gas pump is off a shot glass worth per gallon, that would cost consumers close to $44,000 per 100,000 gallons sold. Again, it’s that accuracy that’s important. We don’t see in the marketplace deliberate actions — we are certainly attuned to it because other states are starting to show that. What we see in the marketplace in Arizona is a lack of maintenance and that will cause inaccuracies.

The bottom line for us is, whether it’s deliberate or not, we’re there to make sure the consumer is getting what they paid for.

How is the agency approaching the ever-increasing moving scam incidents, where a company refuses to unload a person’s property at their new home unless an exorbitant amount of cash is paid?

We have actually sent to the Governor’s Office a proposal to give the department the authority to have a mover unload the household goods in order for us to establish a certified and reliable net weight of those goods, which is what those moving contracts are generally based on. Currently, we work closely with local police departments in order to have that happen, but by ourselves, we don’t have the authority to do that.

What we have done is try to educate consumers. We’ve put useful educa
tion on our Web site. We have enlisted training from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is out of the United States Department of Transportation. What we’ve also done is formed a moving scam task force, made up of a variety of representatives from agencies such as the Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the TSA [Transportation Security Administration]. Consumers themselves will also serve on this task force. Industry as well, because, again, by and large, this is an industry that wants to be in compliance, that is legitimate, but there are some players out there that are going to take advantage of consumers.

Here in Arizona, we’re not going to stand for that.

Besides the moving scams and gasoline pump calibration, you also protect consumers from other scams and inaccurate pricing. What are some of those other industries where you have a presence?

We worked with industry, and the Legislature gave us authority at the beginning of this year, to ask for proof of commercial insurance and commercial plates prior to issuing a taxicab, sedan or limousine a license from this department. That’s an area that we’re currently targeting for enforcement.

We want to make sure that consumers are protected and that the motoring public in general is protected. If there’s a taxicab that’s in an accident that doesn’t have insurance, that fare isn’t covered and potentially any other vehicles that were involved aren’t covered. This is a loophole that has been shored up and that we’re working with MVD very closely on, as well as local police departments.

It’s important to note that this isn’t just another regulatory agency out there trying to make it difficult for businesses to succeed. This is an area where industry is constantly communicating with this department the need for a level playing field. The impetus is coming from industry to say, we need a level playing field — we should all be playing by the same rules. And that’s not happening today.

And you regulate half of the state’s consumer purchases each day with how many inspectors?

We have 18.5 inspectors to cover the entire state.

I know you mentioned earlier that part of your budget request will be for more inspectors, with respect to the gasoline pumps. Do inspectors specialize in only one area or do they inspect a variety of things, from gas pumps to weigh scales to price scanners at the grocery store?

As an efficiency, we’ve done a couple of things in that area. One is cross-train staff. So, you will actually have an inspector who will show up at a gas station, for example, and will conduct a device inspection, inspect the gas pump and turn right around and inspect the convenience store that’s right there for packaging or price verification.

With such a small staff, we have to be agile in performing our duties.

Do you think the state needs more inspectors — above and beyond the ones you will be requesting for next year — especially as growth has been so extreme in recent years?

Absolutely, without a doubt. When you have, at last count, 100,000 retail locations across the state and only 18.5 inspectors, there’s clearly an opportunity for improvement, to put it politely. The state continues to grow, so that means two things: an increased number of retail locations, but also an increase in the number of consumers. From both sides, there is a need for an increased presence by this agency, both to protect consumers and to protect industry, as well.

I talked about the taxi industry, but that goes the same for the grocery industry. Retailers at a mall, they’re looking to see that there’s a level playing field, and we struggle to do that for consumers and industry.

I know that I was surprised to learn how active the department is when it comes to making sure people aren’t getting short-shrifted when they buy something. How can you educate people so they know who to contact if they feel they’ve been wronged by a business?

Probably one of our most effective mediums is our gas pump stickers, but beyond that is a Web-based newsletter that we’ve gotten out there. In the recent past, the department has gotten over $3 million of earned media coverage, so that constant relationship and dialogue with the media is important to educate consumers about how to protect themselves. So, it’s that type of information that we’re putting out there — the tips to protect yourself, who to contact if those tips fail you. We receive close to 3,000 complaints in any given year and we encourage people to contact the department. We investigate each and every complaint and actually get back to the complainant within seven to 10 days with the results of that inspection. And it’s that type of rapport that you establish with the public, that type of accountability and responsiveness that I think helps spread the word that we’re serious about protecting consumers. The Web site itself, we’ve revamped the Web site. It’s a dynamic tool that we continue to upgrade to make sure it’s meeting the needs of our stakeholders. In recognizing that resources are limited, a low-cost, high-impact tool for us is working with the electronic media. The Web site itself actually has an online complaint form, so if it’s after hours and you don’t want to pick up the phone, there are online complaint forms in English and Spanish that people can get to us. That complaint form will actually almost automatically generate an inspection of that site or location.

Thank you very much for your time.

No, thank you. Knowing that this will get in print will help consumers. —