BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1623
                                                                  Page  1

          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1623 (Yamada) 
          As Amended  May 3, 2012
          Majority vote 

           BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS       8-0                                
           
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          |Ayes:|Hayashi, Allen, Butler,   |     |                          |
          |     |Eng, Hagman, Hill, Ma,    |     |                          |
          |     |Smyth                     |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
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           SUMMARY  :  Extends the authority of a county board of supervisors 
          to charge fees to recover the costs of the county sealer until 
          January 1, 2018, and establishes or revises device fee caps.  
          Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Extends the authority of a county board of supervisors to 
            charge fees to recover the costs of the county sealer, as 
            provided, from January 1, 2013, until January 1, 2018.

          2)Establishes the following fee caps for marinas, mobilehome 
            parks, recreational vehicle parks, and apartment complexes, as 
            specified:

             a)   $2 per device per space or apartment for water 
               submeters;

             b)   $3 per device per space or apartment for electric 
               submeters; and,

             c)   $4 per device per space or apartment for vapor 
               submeters.

          3)Increases the fee cap from $175 to $200 per device for truck 
            mounted or stationary liquefied petroleum gas meters.

          4)Increases the fee cap from $25 to $75 per device for wholesale 
            and vehicle meters.

          5)Establishes a fee cap of $30 per device for computing scales, 
            as specified, and provides that the portion of the annual 
            registration fee consisting for the business location device 
            fees authorized by this bill shall not exceed $1,000 for each 








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            business location.

          6)Establishes a fee cap of $80 per device for jewelry and 
            prescription scales, as specified.

          7)Establishes a fee cap of $50 per device for weighing devices, 
            other than computing, jewelry, and prescription scales with 
            capacities between 100 and 2,000 pounds.

          8)Establishes a $60 fee cap per device for vehicle odometers 
            utilized to charge mileage usage fees in vehicle rental 
            transactions, and specifies that the portion of the annual 
            registration fee consisting of the business location fee and 
            this device fee shall not exceed $400 for each business 
            location.  Rental passenger vehicles are exempt from these 
            provisions, unless there is a complaint by a renter regarding 
            a vehicle's odometer, as specified.

          9)Clarifies that the total portion of the annual registration 
            fee consisting of the business location fee and device fees 
            authorized by this bill not exceed $1,000 for each business 
            location.

          10)Defines the "computing scale" as a weighing device with a 
            capacity of less than 100 pounds that indicates the money 
            value of any commodity weighed, at predetermined unit prices, 
            throughout all or part of the weighing range of the scale.

          11)Makes technical changes.

           EXISTING LAW :

          1)Requires the sealer of a county to inspect and test weighing 
            and measuring devices, as specified, that are used or sold in 
            the county and to weigh or measure packages to determine 
            whether they contain the amount represented, as provided. 

          2)Permits a county board of supervisors to charge fees, not 
            exceeding the cost of inspecting or testing weighing and 
            measuring devices, to recover the costs to perform these 
            duties until January 1, 2013.

          3)Specifies that the annual registration fee for a business that 
            uses a commercial weighing or measuring device or devices 
            shall consist of a location fee, a Department of Food and 








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            Agriculture administrative fee, and a device fee.

          4)Provides that for all other commercial weighing or measuring 
            devices not listed, the device fee shall not exceed $20 per 
            device, and that for purposes of these provisions, the 
            registration fee shall not exceed the sum of $1,000 for each 
            business location.

          5)Specifies that the device fee for marinas, mobilehome parks, 
            recreational vehicle parks, and apartment complexes, as 
            specified, shall not exceed $2 per device.

          6)Provides that for liquefied petroleum gas meters the device 
            fee shall not exceed $175 per device.

          7)Provides that the device fee for wholesale and vehicle meters 
            shall not exceed $25 per device.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the 
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  Current law allows county boards of supervisors to 
          establish fees for business locations to partially fund local 
          weights and measures enforcement programs.  The fees are the 
          single largest source of revenue for the county program outside 
          the County General Fund.  The statute will sunset in January 1, 
          2013.

          The authority for weights and measures registration fees was 
          passed by the Legislature in 1982 to provide funding for weights 
          and measures inspection activities.  The law was amended 
          multiple times to add additional devices to the registration 
          program and to adjust the schedule of maximum fees.  The section 
          now applies to virtually all weighing and measuring devices used 
          commercially.  The only exceptions are farm milk tanks, which 
          are specifically exempted, and check out scanners, which are not 
          considered weighing or measuring devices.

          The range of weighing and measuring devices included in the 
          registration program currently includes retail fuel dispensing 
          meters; water meters; electric meters that measure electricity 
          that is sub-metered by a mobile home park; apartment complex, or 
          boat dock; liquefied petroleum gas meters or gas vapor meters 
          that are-sub-metered; truck scales, cattle scales and grocery 
          counter scales; taxi meters; and, a variety of other devices 








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          that weigh or meter a commodity offered for sale.  The sunset 
          date on the device registration fees has been extended in 1985, 
          1987, 1988, 1992, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005, and again in 2010.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Angela Mapp / B.,P. & C.P. / (916) 
          319-3301 


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