Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 98 - Weights and measures.
98.245 - Liquefied petroleum gas sales.

98.245 Liquefied petroleum gas sales.
(1) Sales except by units of measurement prohibited. It is unlawful to sell or offer to sell at retail any liquefied petroleum gas except by avoirdupois weight, specified in pounds; liquid measure, specified in gallons; or vapor measure, specified in cubic feet, or such other units as may be approved by the department.
(2) Packages to bear tare weight. When liquefied petroleum gas is sold or offered for sale at retail by weight, in portable containers, the tare weight of the container shall be plainly and conspicuously marked on the outside of the container. Tare weight shall not be construed to include the valve protecting cap, which shall be removed when weighing. It is unlawful to sell or offer or expose for sale liquefied petroleum gas in packages or containers which do not bear a statement as to tare weight as required by this section, or which packages or containers bear a false statement as to tare weight, provided packages intended to be used only once and clearly marked with the statement “not refillable" are exempt from this tare weight requirement.
(3) Refilling; credit. When liquefied petroleum gas is sold by the package or container, either by a refilling of a container or an exchange of containers, the vendor shall give the purchaser full credit for the unused liquid remaining in a container being exchanged or refilled.
(4) Correction to temperature of volume sold.
(a) When liquefied petroleum gas is sold or delivered to a consumer as a liquid and by liquid measurement the volume of liquid so sold and delivered shall be corrected to a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit through use of an approved volume correction factor table, or through use of a meter that is equipped with a sealed automatic compensating mechanism and that has been tested as required under sub. (8). All sale tickets shall show the delivered gallons, the temperature at the time of delivery and the corrected gallonage, or shall state that temperature correction was automatically made.
(b) When liquefied petroleum gas is sold or delivered to a consumer in vapor form by vapor measurement, the volume of vapor so sold and delivered shall be corrected to a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit through the use of a meter that is equipped with a sealed automatic temperature compensating mechanism. This paragraph shall apply to all meters installed for use in the vapor measurement of liquefied petroleum gas in vapor form after May 24, 1978. This paragraph does not prohibit the continued use of meters previously installed without a self-sealing automatic temperature compensating mechanism, but no such meter may be continued in use after January 1, 1986, unless brought into compliance with this paragraph. Subsection (8) does not apply to meters used to sell or deliver liquefied petroleum gas that are subject to this paragraph.
(5) Sales tickets to show quantity sold. Sales tickets or invoices shall show the quantity of liquefied petroleum gas sold, expressed in pounds, or gallons as set forth in sub. (4), or cubic feet, or other unit approved by the department. When vapor meters reading in approved units other than cubic feet are used, the invoice shall clearly indicate to the purchaser a factor to convert to cubic feet.
(6) Pumps and meters.
(a) No person may sell liquefied petroleum gas and deliver it by a vehicle equipped with a pump and meter unless the meter is equipped with a delivery ticket printer and has been tested as required under sub. (8). Except as provided in par. (b), the seller shall, at the time of delivery, either provide a copy of the delivery ticket printed by the delivery ticket printer to the purchaser or leave a copy at the place of delivery. The delivery ticket shall contain all of the following information:
1. The name and address of the seller.
2. The name and address of the purchaser.
3. The meter reading showing the volume of liquefied petroleum gas delivered.
(b) If there is a malfunction with the delivery ticket printer, the seller shall, at the time of delivery, either provide the purchaser or leave at the place of delivery the information required under par. (a) in written form.
(7m) Meter operators licensed.
(a) No person may operate a meter to determine the amount of liquefied petroleum gas sold or delivered under sub. (4) (a) unless the person holds an annual license from the department under this subsection. An annual license expires on November 30. A separate license is required for each liquefied petroleum gas meter. A license is not transferable between persons or meters.
(b) To obtain a license under par. (a), a person shall submit an application on a form provided by the department. The application shall include all of the following:
1. The applicant's correct legal name and business address, and any trade name under which the applicant proposes to operate the liquefied petroleum gas meter.
2. A description of the liquefied petroleum gas meter, including the serial number or other identifying marks that appear on the meter, and if applicable, the vehicle on which the meter is mounted.
3. The fees and surcharges required under par. (c).
4. Other relevant information reasonably required by the department for licensing purposes.
(c) An application under par. (b) shall include the following fees and surcharges:
1. A license fee established by department rule.
2. A surcharge established by department rule, if the department determines that, within one year prior to submitting the application, the applicant operated the liquefied petroleum gas meter without a license required under par. (a). The department may not issue a license under this subsection to an operator if the operator has failed to pay a surcharge under this subdivision assessed against the operator.
3. A surcharge established by the department by rule if the department determines that, within one year prior to submitting the application, the applicant failed to comply with a test reporting requirement under sub. (8). The department may not issue a license under this subsection to an operator if the operator has failed to pay a surcharge under this subdivision assessed against the operator.
4. Reinspection fees, if any, required under s. 98.255.
(d) Payment of a surcharge under par. (c) 2. or 3. does not relieve the applicant of any other civil or criminal liability for a law violation, but is not evidence of a violation of this section.
(e) Paragraph (a) does not apply to an individual who operates a liquefied petroleum gas meter only as an employee of a person who is required to hold a license under par. (a) to operate that meter.
(8) Testing and reporting. A person that is required to hold a license under sub. (7m) to operate a liquefied petroleum gas meter shall have the meter tested for accuracy, at least annually, by a person who is licensed under s. 98.18 (1) to perform the test. The meter operator, or the tester on behalf of the meter operator, shall report the results of each test to the department within 30 days after the testing is completed. The operator shall retain a record of each test for at least 3 years.
(9) Rules.
(a) The department shall promulgate rules that establish all of the following:
1. License fee and surcharge amounts under sub. (7m) (c).
2. Standards for the testing, reporting, and record keeping required under sub. (8).
(b) The department may promulgate rules that establish standards for the construction, operation, and maintenance of liquefied petroleum gas meters.
History: 1975 c. 308; 1977 c. 393; 1993 a. 234; 1995 a. 183; 1997 a. 27; 2009 a. 28.