BILL NUMBER: AB 1782	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Hill

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2012

   An act to amend Section 12701 of the Business and Professions
Code, relating to weighmasters.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1782, as introduced, Hill. Weighmasters: exemptions.
   Existing law defines a weighmaster as any person, who, for hire or
otherwise, weighs, measures, or counts any commodity and issues a
statement or memorandum of the weight, measure, or count which is
used as the basis for either the purchase or sale of that commodity
or charge for service. Existing law requires weighmasters to obtain a
license. Existing law specifies certain persons who weigh and
measure commodities but are not weighmasters, such as retailers
weighing commodities for sale in retail stores in the presence of
consumers, newspaper publishers weighing newspapers for sale to
dealers, and recycling centers weighing salvage materials for
specified purposes.
   This bill would additionally specify that facilities handling
medical waste are not weighmasters, as specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 12701 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   12701.  The following persons are not weighmasters:
   (a) Retailers weighing, measuring, or counting commodities for
sale by them in retail stores in the presence of, and directly to,
consumers.
   (b) Except for persons subject to Section 12730, producers of
agricultural commodities or livestock, who weigh commodities produced
or purchased by them or by their producer neighbors, when no charge
is made for the weighing, or when no signed or initialed statement or
memorandum is issued of the weight upon which a purchase or sale of
the commodity is based.
   (c) Common carriers issuing bills of lading on which are recorded,
for the purpose of computing transportation charges, the weights of
commodities offered for transportation, including carriers of
household goods when transporting shipments weighing less than 1,000
pounds.
   (d) Milk samplers and weighers licensed pursuant to Article 8
(commencing with Section 35161) of Chapter 12 of Part 1 of Division
15 of the Food and Agricultural Code, when performing the duties for
which they are licensed.
   (e) Persons who measure the amount of oil, gas, or other fuels for
purposes of royalty computation and payment, or other operations of
fuel and oil companies and their retail outlets.
   (f) Newspaper publishers weighing or counting newspapers for sale
to dealers or distributors.
   (g) Textile maintenance establishments weighing, counting, or
measuring any articles in connection with the business of those
establishments.
   (h) County sanitation districts operating pursuant to Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 4700) of Part 3 of Division 5 of the Health
and Safety Code, garbage and refuse disposal districts operating
pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 49100) of Part 8 of
Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, and solid waste facilities,
as defined in Section 40194 of the Public Resources Code. 
   (i) Facilities that handle medical waste in accordance with the
provisions of the Medical Waste Management Act (Part 14 (commencing
with Section 117600) of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code).
 
   (i) 
    (j)  Persons who purchase scrap metal or salvage
materials pursuant to a nonprofit recycling program, or recycling
centers certified pursuant to Division 12.1 (commencing with Section
14500) of the Public Resources Code that purchase empty beverage
containers from the public for recycling. 
   (j) 
    (k)  Pest control operators licensed pursuant to Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 11701) of Division 6 of the Food and
Agricultural Code. 
   (k) 
    (l)  Retailers, or recycling centers established solely
for the redemption of empty beverage containers, as that phrase is
defined in Section 14512 of the Public Resources Code, who are
weighing, measuring, or counting salvage or returnable materials for
purchase or redemption by them in retail stores, or, in the case of
recycling centers, on the retail store premises or on a parking lot
immediately adjacent to a retail store which is used for the purpose
of parking by the store customers, directly from and in the presence
of the seller. "Retailer" means an entity which derives 90 percent or
more of its income from the sale of small quantities of food or
nonfood items, or both, directly to consumers. "Salvage materials"
means used paper products and used containers made of aluminum, tin,
glass, or plastic. 
   (  l  )
    (m)  Any log scaler who performs log scaling functions,
except weighing, as defined in the United States Forest Service
Handbook, Supplement No. 4 of March 1987.