BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|Hearing Date:July 2, 2012 |Bill No:AB |
| |1623 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., Chair
Bill No: AB 1623Author:Yamada
As Amended:June 26, 2012 Fiscal:No
SUBJECT: Weights and measures: inspection fees.
SUMMARY: Extends the sunset date on the county board of supervisors
authority to charge fees to recover the costs of the county sealer to
perform specified inspections until January 1, 2018, and establishes
or revises device fee caps.
Existing law:
1)Provides that the Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) has
general enforcement supervision of the laws relating to weights and
measures and measuring devices, and provides for the enforcement of
those laws and the inspection and testing of measuring devices, in
each county, by the county sealer. (Business and Professions Code
(BPC) § 12100 et seq., and § 12200 et seq.)
2)Requires the county sealer to inspect and test weighing and measuring
devices that are used or sold in the county and that are used for
commercial purposes and to weigh or measure packages used for
commercial purposes to determine whether they contain the amount
represented. (BPC §§ 12210, 12211)
3)Authorizes the county board of supervisors to charge an annual
registration fee, not to exceed the total cost of actually
inspecting or testing the devices, for the inspection and testing of
weighing and measuring devices. (BPC § 12240 (a))
4)Establishes a fee schedule, providing for maximum annual amounts
which may be charged for device registration, including: retail gas
pump meters, livestock and feed scales, motor truck scales, utility
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meters, liquefied petroleum gas meters, vehicle meters, and all
other commercial weighing and measuring devices, and makes specified
exceptions. (BPC § 12240 (d) through (n))
5)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 Agriculture administrative
fee, and a device fee. (BPC § 12240 (f))
6)Specifies that all revenues collected shall be deposited into the
county's general fund and used solely for the purpose of device
inspection and testing. (BPC § 12242)
7)Repeals (sunsets) the authority to charge registration fees for
weighing and measuring devices on January 1, 2013. (BPC § 12246)
This bill:
1)Extends the sunset date on the authority of the board of supervisors
of a county to charge fees to recover the costs of the county sealer
to perform specified duties until January 1, 2018.
2)Revises the $2 per device fee caps for utility meters in marinas,
mobile home parks, recreational vehicle parks, and apartment
complexes, to instead provide for the following fees:
a) $2 per device per space or apartment for water submeters;
b) $3 per device per space or apartment for electric submeters;
c) $4 per device per space or apartment for vapor submeters.
3)Increases the fee cap from $175 to $185 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 caps at $1,000 for each business location the portion
of the annual registration fee consisting of the business location
fee and the device fees, and defines "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.
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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, or in
computing charges for services, including ambulance, towing, and
limousine services, 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.
9)Exempts odometers in rental passenger vehicles, from the device
registration requirements, however a complaint is filed the accuracy
of the odometer, the sealer may charge a fee sufficient to recover
the reasonable cost of testing the device in investigating the
complaint.
10)Establishes a $340 total fee for each business location for vehicle
odometers used to charge for non-passenger (truck) rentals.
11)Clarifies that the total portion of the annual registration fee
which consists of the sum of the business location fee and device
fees shall not exceed $1,000 for each business location, and defines
"business location" as:
a) Each business location that uses one or more types of
commercial devices, as specified, that requires specialized
testing equipment and that does not require more than one
inspection trip for testing.
b) Each vehicle, except for vehicle rentals that use a commercial
device.
c) For truck rentals, each location where vehicles are stored or
maintained for the purpose of renting to customers, but provides
that a facility that is not owned by the rental company, or
operated or staffed by rental company employees, and which
temporarily stores or maintains vehicles. However if a complaint
is about the accuracy of the odometer, the sealer may charge a
fee sufficient to recover the reasonable cost of testing the
device in investigating the complaint.
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1)Makes technical and conforming changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill has not been keyed "fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the California Agricultural
Commissioners and Sealers Association (CACASA). According to the
Author, the bill increases the fees a county may charge for the
testing and sealing services provided by their agricultural
commissioners and sealers for commercial weighing and measuring
devices. Specifically, the bill makes the following changes:
Divides the fee caps for marina, mobile home park,
recreational vehicle park, and apartment complex utility meters
into separate fee caps for water, electric, and vapor submeters
and makes the following changes to electric and vapor submeter
fee caps:
Increases the fee cap on electric submeters from $2 to $3
per meter.
Increases the fee cap on vapor submeters from $2 to $4 per
meter.
Increases the fee cap on liquefied petroleum gas meters from
$175 to $200 per meter.
Increases the fee cap on wholesale and vehicle meters from $25
to $75 per meter.
Creates a fee cap on computing scales measuring commodity
weights below 100 lbs. set at $30 per device with a $1000 limit
on total collected fees.
Creates a fee cap on jewelry and prescription scales set at
$80 per device.
Creates a fee cap on weighing devices with capacities of at
least 100 lbs. but less than 2,000 lbs. that are not computing,
jewelry, or prescription scales set at $50 per device.
Creates fee cap on vehicle odometers utilized for vehicle
rentals on a mileage rate, including ambulance, towing, and
limousine services set at $60 per device with a $400 limit on
total collected fees.
Creates a fee exemption for passenger vehicle rentals unless a
complaint is made about a device, in which case a fee may be
collected for that particular device.
Exempts vehicles in rental transactions from qualifying as a
single business location.
For those categories that limit the total fees charged to a
business, clarifies that this only includes the device fees and
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location fee.
Extends the sunset on the fee collecting authority of county
agriculture commissioners and sealers for weights and measures
programs from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2018.
1.Statement Regarding County Weights and Measures Programs. The
Sponsors of the bill, the California Agricultural Commissioners and
Sealers Association (CACASA) describe the current weights and
measures program.
"The current structure for the annual "Device Registration Program"
for commercial weighing and measuring devices was established in
2005 (Assembly Bill 889, Ruskin, 2005). Through provisions of this
bill, local governments were provided a framework with which to
recover costs for ensuring the accuracy of commercial transactions
involving use, in the marketplace, of a scale, meter, gas pump, or
weighing/measuring device used to measure and calculate the value of
commodities or services. County Sealers of Weights and Measures
annually inspect commercial weighing and measuring devices to ensure
that consumers are getting what they pay for; and to level the
playing field amongst retailers.
"Current law contains negotiated "fee caps" to establish maximum
charges that may be adopted by a Board of Supervisors in each county
for the location fee, device fee, and total registration fee charges
that may be levied. As a public service, local governments are
strictly limited to collect fees at a level not exceeding that which
recovers the costs of administering the consumer protection program.
"Since the "fee caps" were established in 2005, counties have been
operating annual device inspection programs as directed by State
law. After several years of operating at the maximum fee allowable
under current law, the majority of counties in the State have found
that some adjustments to the caps are necessary to ensure the
viability of the device registration program and to meet mandated
inspection requirements.
"The only option available for local governments to recover costs
for administering this service is to request that the Legislature
make an appropriate adjustment to the fee caps. Under the
Government Code, virtually all other local government programs have
the flexibility to adjust local fees to recover expenses without
State Legislative action. This program requires Legislative
authority.
"CACASA has compiled statewide data to assess the effectiveness of
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the current fee structure and has identified several areas that
could be modified and updated to assist local governments in
recovering costs for administering this crucial program. The data
examines time and expenditures for specific device types, and
demonstrates that, while operators of many devices are assessed
amounts sufficient to offset costs within the existing fee
structures, others are draining local county sealers of resources
and manpower with the current caps restricting a more appropriate
fee for service.
"The fee revisions proposed in AB 1623 are not mandated for adoption
by individual County Boards of Supervisors. Local governments will
need to take additional steps to locally justify and adopt revised
fees if they individually choose to implement fee adjustments
established by the State via provisions of AB 1623. CACASA agrees
to continue operating under a "cap" system to ensure predictability
for affected industry members from year to year, but proposes to
allow local governments to simply recover costs under an updated,
reasonable, and more realistic fee cap structure. Any attempt to
change fees by a Board of Supervisors would be administered under a
strict fee study and proposed and adopted in a public meeting."
2.Background. 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 in 1983, 1987, 1991,
1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2005 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 submetered by a mobile home park; apartment complex, or boat
dock; liquefied petroleum gas meters or gas vapor meters that
are-submetered; truck scales, cattle scales and grocery counter
scales; taxi meters; and a variety of other devices that weigh or
meter a commodity offered for sale. The sunset date on the device
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registration fees has been extended in 1985, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1995,
1997, 2000, 2005 and finally again in 2010.
3.Related Legislation. AB 2361 (Ruskin, Chapter 260, Statutes of 2010)
extended the sunset date on county agriculture commissioner and
sealer weights and measures programs to Jan. 1, 2013.
AB 889 (Ruskin, Chapter 529, Statutes of 2005) by the same Sponsor,
extended the sunset date to January 1, 2011, established a gradual
increase in the fees that may be adopted by a board of supervisors
in order to more fully fund the local weights and measure device
inspection program. The bill also established a two-tiered fee
schedule that provided both a location fee and a device fee to more
effectively capture the cost of the initial device inspection.
AB 1810 (Wiggins, Chapter 512, Statutes of 2000) extended the sunset
date to January 1, 2006.
SB 189 (Kelley, Chapter 476, Statutes of 1997) extended the sunset date
to January 1, 2001.
AB 1728 (Murray, Chapter 47, Statutes of 1995) extended the sunset date
to January 1, 1998.
AB 2987 (Cramer, Chapter 1380, Statutes of 1982) established fee
collection authority for weights and measures programs on a county
by county basis.
SB 1644 (Kelley, Chapter 592, Statutes of 1994) by the same Sponsor,
established the current administrative fine provisions for weights
and measures. At that time CACSA introduced the bill in order to
allow the county sealer to handle many minor violations without
having to involve prosecution by the District Attorney (DA). DAs
often do not have the resources available to pursue minor violations
and most businesses would prefer to resolve these issues in a low
key (without publicity) way. The possibility of issuing
administrative fines has proven to be an effective incentive to
obtain compliance in areas where there are relatively isolated or
less serious violations. Repeated violations can still be referred
to the DA for action.
4.Arguments in Support. The Boards of Supervisors of several counties
in California have written in support, stating that county weights
and measures programs continue the historic tradition of providing
protection for consumers while establishing a "level playing field"
for businesses ensuring fair competition in the marketplace. AB
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1623 would allow counties to recover the cost of these important
inspection programs.
The County of San Diego states that the County's Department of
Agriculture, Weights and Measures annually collects approximately $2
million from these fees to cover operational costs. Should the
authority to charge these fees and recover the costs for inspections
not be extended, the sealer would still be required to perform
inspection and testing duties but would lose the ability to recover
the costs.
According to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors there are over
85,000 commercial weighing and measuring devices registered in the
county, and county staff conducts over 20,000 inspections and
certifications for those devices each year. Program fees generate
approximately $887,000, which supplements the local general fund
contribution. "Consumers rely on the program to test commercial
devices, as they have no means to check the accuracy of a gas pump,
taximeter, or a computing scale at a supermarket."
5.Recent Amendments to the Bill. The recent amendments to the bill
reflect an agreement arrived at through discussions between the
Sponsors and the Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA) with
the assistance of Committee staff. There was previous disagreement
about device registration fees and odometer inspections for the
rental truck industry. This issue had been previously raised during
the extension of the device registration sunset in 2010. At that
time, a temporary agreement had been reached for the sealers to
discontinue charging the fees, and that the issue should be
revisited when the dates would need to be extended this year.
After careful negotiations CACASA and TRALA have agreed to the
following:
The cap on the combination of the location and device fees
contained in BPC § 12240(q) will be reduced to $340 for each
business location.
What the industry refers to as "agent locations" - essentially
locations of customer convenience that not owned or operated by
the rental truck company and only have temporary use of trucks
that are eventually worked back into the overall fleet - are
exempted from the program.
A mutually agreeable letter to the Journal that outlines the
agreement as relates to "agent locations," the author's and
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sponsor's concerns about potential unintended consequences, and
the intent to reconsider the "agent location" exemption if there
is verifiable evidence of abuse.
As a result, TRALA has now taken a "Support" position on the bill.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
(Sponsor)
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
County of San Bernardino
County of San Diego
Fresno County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Placer County Board of Supervisors
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
Tehama County Board of Supervisors
Truck Renting and Leasing Association
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
Ventura County Sealer of Weights & Measures
Yolo County Board of Supervisors
Opposition:
None received as of June 26, 2012
Consultant:G. V. Ayers