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The director shall appoint such assistants as he shall determine are necessary. Additional personnel will be provided as is customary in other departments, and subject to the provisions of the civil service rules and regulations of the city. (Ord. 13795)
(a) The director shall enforce all laws concerning weights and measures.
(b) Reserved.
(c) The director shall plan, make recommendations, conduct research and develop programs for consumer education and protection, facilitate the exchange and dissemination of information in consultation with agencies, federal and state officials, commercial interest, private groups and others working in this field and coordinate the consumer protection activities of other city departments.
(d) The director shall enforce all laws relating to unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce; in addition he shall receive and evaluate complaints and initiate his own investigations relating to these matters and take appropriate action, including referral to a federal or state agency.
(e) The director, in the performance of his duties, shall be authorized to issue subpoenas and investigative demands to any person, administer an oath or affirmation to any person, conduct hearings in aid of any investigation or inquiry, prescribe such forms and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the department, which rules and regulations shall have the force of law; provided that none of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be used for the purpose of compelling any natural person to furnish testimony or evidence which might tend to incriminate him or subject him to a penalty or forfeiture; and provided further that information obtained pursuant to the powers conferred by this chapter shall not be made public or disclosed by the director beyond the extent necessary for law enforcement purposes in the public interest. (Ord. Nos. 13795; 17226)
Where any duty is placed upon the director under this chapter or any ordinance of the city, the same may be performed by any assistant. The director and the director’s assistants are granted the power to seize, without warrant, for evidence any object or thing involved in an unfair or deceptive act or practice in the conduct of any trade or commerce. (Ord. Nos. 13795; 19312; 21172)