Senate Bill No. 485

Introduced by Senator Calderon

February 21, 2013

An act to amend Sections 12013, 12240, and 12503 of, and to add Section 21606.3 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to sealers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 485, as introduced, Calderon. Sealers: junk dealers and recyclers.

Existing law establishes the Division of Measurement Standards, administered by the State Sealer, within the Department of Food and Agriculture. Under existing law, the State Sealer, as well as county sealers, are authorized to enforce various provisions relating to weights and measures. Existing law authorizes a sealer, as a public officer, to arrest, without a warrant, a person whenever the officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has, in his or her presence, violated any of these provisions that are declared to be a public offense.

Upon written request of a resident of a county, existing law requires a sealer to test or cause to be tested, as soon as practicable, the weights, measures, or weighing or measuring instruments used for commercial purposes by the person designated in that request, provided that there appears reasonable grounds for testing.

Existing law requires a junk dealer or recycler to keep a written record of all sales and purchases made in the course of his or her business, as specified, and requires the junk dealer or recycler to report this information to the chief of police or to the sheriff, as specified. A violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor.

This bill would require a sealer who is responding to a request concerning the weights, measures, or weighing or measuring instruments of a junk dealer or recycler to also inspect the sales and purchase records of the junk dealer or recycler to ensure compliance with the recordkeeping and reporting requirements described above. This bill would require a sealer to cite a junk dealer or recycler who is in violation of those recordkeeping or reporting requirements.

This bill would require a junk dealer or recycler to pay a supplemental fee to the Division of Measurement Standards in the amount that the division determines is necessary to cover its reasonable regulatory costs for enforcing these provisions and would authorize county boards of supervisors to charge junk dealers and recyclers an amount not to exceed the amount needed for county sealers to enforce these provisions.

By requiring county sealers to perform additional duties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) The recordkeeping and reporting requirements for
commercial scrap recycling transactions, as set forth generally in
Article 3 (commencing with Section 21600) of Chapter 9 of
Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, are intended
primarily to discourage metal theft and to promote honest
competition within the scrap metal recycling industry.

(b) According to the Division of Measurement Standards, the
agency responsible for enforcement of weights and measures laws
and regulations, the primary functions carried out by the division
are to ensure fair and honest competition for industry and accurate
value comparison for consumers.

(c) Sealers of the division and county sealers are bona fide public
officers who have the authority to enforce certain criminal statutes
and to make arrests in order to ensure fair and honest competition
for industry and accurate value comparison for consumers.

(d) Because the division and county sealers are responsible for
periodically inspecting and regulating all weighing and measuring
devices utilized by all scrap recyclers doing business within the
state, they are perfectly suited to review and verify the
recordkeeping and reporting requirements for the scrap recycling
industry.

SEC. 2.  

Section 12013 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:

12013.  

(a) Any sealer shall have the authority, as a public
officer, to arrest, without a warrant, any person whenever begin delete such end delete begin insert the end insert
officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested
has, in his begin insert or her end insert presence, violated any provision of this division,
the violation of which is declared to be a public begin delete offense. end delete begin insert offense,
or any offense declared to be a misdemeanor in Section 21608. end insert

In any case in which an arrest is made pursuant to this authority
for an offense declared to be a misdemeanor or an infraction, the
arresting officer may, instead of taking the person arrested before
a magistrate, follow the procedure prescribed by Chapter 5C
(commencing with Section 853.5) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal
Code, unless the arrested person demands to be taken before a
magistrate. The provisions of such chapter shall thereafter apply
with respect to any proceeding based upon the issuance of a citation
pursuant to this authority.

This subdivision shall not be interpreted to prevent further
restriction by the board of supervisors of a county of the authority
of a county sealer or his deputies to make arrests.

(b) There shall be no civil liability on the part of, and no cause
of action shall arise against, any person, acting pursuant to
subdivision (a) and within the scope of his authority, for false arrest
or false imprisonment arising out of any arrest which is lawful or
which the arresting officer, at the time of such arrest, had
reasonable cause to believe was lawful. No such officer shall be
deemed an aggressor or lose his right to self-defense by the use of
reasonable force to effect the arrest or to prevent escape or to
overcome resistance.

(c) Any sealer may serve all processes and notices throughout
the state; provided, that county sealers and their deputies are
authorized to serve processes and notices only within the
boundaries of the county which employs them.

SEC. 3.  

Section 12240 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:

12240.  

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the
board of supervisors, by ordinance, may charge an annual
registration fee, not to exceed the county’s total cost of actually
inspecting begin insert records or devices end insert or testing the devices as required by
law, to recover the costs of inspecting or testing weighing and
measuring devices required of the county sealer pursuant to Section
12210, begin insert to cover the cost of enforcing Section 12503, end insert and to recover
the cost of carrying out Section 12211.

begin insert

(b) (1) For a junk dealer or recycler regulated pursuant to
Article 3 (commencing with Section 21600) of Chapter 9 of
Division 8 that is subject to the registration fee in this section, this
registration fee shall include an additional amount not to exceed
the amount needed for the duties imposed by subdivision (b) and
(c) of Section 12503.

end insert begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  Except as otherwise provided in this section, the annual
registration fee shall not exceed the amount set forth in subdivisions
(f) to (r), inclusive.

(c) The county may collect the fees biennially, in which case
they shall not exceed twice the amount of an annual registration
fee. The ordinance shall be adopted pursuant to Article 7
(commencing with Section 25120) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of
Division 2 of Title 3 of the Government Code.

(d) Retail gasoline pump meters, for which the above fees are
assessed, shall be inspected as frequently as required by regulation,
but not less than once every two years.

(e) Livestock scales, animal scales, and scales used primarily
for weighing feed and seed, for which the above fees are assessed,
shall be inspected as frequently as required by regulation.

(f)  For purposes of this section, the annual registration fee for
a business that uses a commercial weighing or measuring device
or devices shall consist of a business location fee, a Department
of Food and Agriculture administrative fee, as specified in Section
12241, and a device fee, as specified in subdivisions (g) to (r),
inclusive. The business location fee and device fee shall not exceed
one hundred dollars ($100) per business location, plus 100 percent
of the maximum applicable device fee listed in subdivisions (g)
to (r), inclusive.

(g) (1) For marinas, mobilehome parks, recreational vehicle
parks, and apartment complexes, where the owner of the marina,
park, or complex owns and is responsible for the utility meters,
the device fee shall not exceed the following:

(A) For water submeters, two dollars ($2) per device per space
or apartment.

(B) For electric submeters, three dollars ($3) per device per
space or apartment.

(C) For vapor submeters, four dollars ($4) per device per space
or apartment.

(2) Marinas, mobilehome parks, recreational vehicle parks, and
apartment complexes for which the above fees are assessed shall
be inspected and tested as frequently as required by regulation.

(h) For weighing devices, other than livestock, with capacities
of 10,000 pounds or greater, the device fee shall not exceed two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) per device; for weighing devices, other
than livestock scales, with capacities of at least 2,000 pounds but
less than 10,000 pounds, the device fee shall not exceed one
hundred fifty dollars ($150) per device.

(i) This section does not apply to farm milk tanks.

(j) A scale or device used in a certified farmers’ market, as
defined by Section 113742 of the Health and Safety Code, is not
required to be registered in the county where the market is
conducted, if the scale or device has an unexpired seal for the
current year, issued by a licensed California county sealer.

(k) For livestock scales with capacities of 10,000 pounds or
greater, the device fee shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars
($150) per device; for livestock scales with capacities of at least
2,000 pounds but less than 10,000 pounds, the device fee shall not
exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per device.

(l) For liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) meters, truck mounted
or stationary, the device fee shall not exceed one hundred
eighty-five dollars ($185) per device.

(m) For wholesale and vehicle meters, the device fee shall not
exceed seventy-five dollars ($75) per device.

(n) For computing scales, the device fee shall not exceed twenty
dollars ($20) per device. For purposes of this subdivision, a
computing scale shall be 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. For the purposes of this
subdivision, the portion of the annual registration fee consisting
of the business location fee and the device fees authorized by this
subdivision shall not exceed the sum of one thousand dollars
($1,000) for each business location.

(o) For jewelry and prescription scales, the device fee shall not
exceed eighty dollars ($80) per device. For purposes of this
subdivision, a jewelry or prescription scale shall be a scale that
meets the specifications, tolerances, and sensitivity requirements
established or adopted by the secretary applicable to those devices
in accordance with Section 12107.

(p) For weighing devices, other than computing, jewelry, and
prescription scales as defined in subdivisions (n) and (o), with
capacities of at least 100 pounds but less than 2,000 pounds, the
device fee shall not exceed fifty dollars ($50) per device.

(q) For vehicle odometers utilized to charge mileage usage fees
in vehicle rental transactions or in computing other charges for
service, including, but not limited to, ambulance, towing, or
limousine services, the device fee shall not exceed sixty dollars
($60) per device.

(r) This section does not apply to odometers in rental passenger
vehicles, as defined in Section 465 of the Vehicle Code, that are
subject to Section 1936 of the Civil Code. If a person files a
complaint with the county sealer regarding the accuracy of a rental
passenger vehicle odometer, the county sealer may charge a fee
to the operator of the vehicle rental business sufficient to recover,
but not to exceed, the reasonable cost of testing the device in
investigation of the complaint.

(s) For vehicle odometers utilized to charge mileage usage fees
in vehicle rental transactions involving nonpassenger vehicles that
are not subject to Section 1936 of the Civil Code, the portion of
the annual registration fee consisting of the business location fee
and the device fee authorized pursuant to subdivision (q) shall not
exceed the sum of three hundred forty dollars ($340) for each
business location.

(t) For all other commercial weighing or measuring devices not
listed in subdivisions (g) to (r), inclusive, the device fee shall not
exceed twenty dollars ($20) per device. For the purposes of this
subdivision, the total portion of the annual registration fee
consisting of the business location fee and the device fees
authorized by this subdivision shall not exceed the sum of one
thousand dollars ($1,000), for each business location.

(u) For the purposes of this section, a single business location
is defined as:

(1) Each business location that uses one or more categories or
types of commercial devices as set forth in subdivisions (g) to (p),
inclusive, and in subdivision (t), that require the use of specialized
testing equipment and that necessitates not more than one
inspection trip by a weights and measures official.

(2) Each vehicle, except for those vehicles that are employed
in vehicle rental transactions, in which one or more commercial
devices is installed and used.

(3) (A) For vehicles that are employed in vehicle rental
transactions and that are not subject to Section 1936 of the Civil
Code, each business location at which vehicles are stored or
maintained by a vehicle rental company for the purposes of renting
vehicles to customers.

(B) A facility that meets all of the following criteria shall not
be considered a business location for the purposes of this
paragraph:

(i) The facility is not wholly, or in any part, owned, leased, or
operated by the vehicle rental company.

(ii) The facility is not operated or staffed by an employee of the
vehicle rental company.

(iii) The facility stores or maintains, on a temporary basis,
vehicles at the location for customer convenience.

(C) If a person files a complaint with the county sealer regarding
the accuracy of an odometer in a vehicle found or located at a
facility described in subparagraph (B), the county sealer may
charge a fee to the operator of the vehicle rental company sufficient
to recover, but not to exceed, the reasonable cost of testing the
device in investigation of the complaint.

SEC. 4.  

Section 12503 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:

12503.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert Upon a written request of any resident of a county,
there appearing reasonable ground therefor, the sealer shall test or
cause to be tested, as soon thereafter as is practicable, the weights,
measures, or weighing or measuring instruments used for
commercial purposes by the person designated in that request.

begin insert

(b) If the request set forth in subdivision (a) concerns the
weights, measures, or weighing or measuring instruments of a
junk dealer or recycler, the sealer shall inspect the record of sales
and purchases of the junk dealer or recycler to ensure compliance
with Sections 21605 and 21606.

end insert begin insert

(c) If the sealer determines that the junk dealer or recycler is
in violation of the recordkeeping or reporting requirements, the
sealer shall cite the junk dealer or recycler for a misdemeanor
violation as set forth in Section 21608.

end insert begin insert

(d) Costs of enforcing subdivisions (b) and (c) shall be paid
from the special account established in Section 21606.3.

end insert

SEC. 5.  

Section 21606.3 is added to the Business and
Professions Code, to read:

21606.3.  

(a) Every junk dealer and recycler shall pay a
supplemental fee to the Division of Measurement Standards that
the division determines is necessary to cover its reasonable
regulatory costs for enforcing subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section
12503.

(b) The fees shall be deposited into a special account within the
Department of Food and Agriculture Fund.

SEC. 6.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
a local agency or school district has the authority to levy service
charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for the program or
level of service mandated by this act, within the meaning of Section
17556 of the Government Code.