California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 236

Introduced by Assembly Member Lackey

February 5, 2015

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

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 236, as introduced, Lackey. Weighmasters: exemptions: pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers.

Existing law requires a person who weighs, measures, or counts a commodity and issues a statement or memorandum of the weight, measure, or count that is used as the basis for either the purchase or sale of that commodity or charge for service, to obtain a license as a weighmaster from the Department of Food and Agriculture, and imposes a license fee and various other requirements on weighmasters. Existing law exempts specified persons from those provisions by establishing a list of persons who are not weighmasters.

This bill would add licensed pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers to the list of persons who are not weighmasters.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

(a) The intent of the Legislature in enacting this
measure is to clarify that licensed pawnbrokers and secondhand
dealers are not weighmasters.

(b) The Legislature finds and declares that this clarification is
necessary following the enactment of Senate Bill 485 of the
2013-14 Regular Session of the Legislature, and the Department
of Food and Agriculture’s subsequent administrative interpretation
that pawnbrokers and secondhand dealers are subject to the
provisions regulating weighmasters.

SEC. 2.  

Section 12701 of the Business and Professions Code,
as amended by Section 1 of Chapter 693 of the Statutes of 2012,
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 and that report net
weights, and not estimates, to the generator of the medical waste
and the Department of Public Health 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).

(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.

(k) Pest control operators licensed pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 11701) of Division 6 of the Food and
Agricultural Code.

(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 begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is used for the purpose of
parking by the store customers, directly from and in the presence
of the seller. “Retailer” means an entity begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert 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.

(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.

begin insert

(n) Pawnbrokers licensed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 21300) of Division 8 of the Financial Code, and
secondhand dealers licensed pursuant to Article 4 (commencing
with Section 21625) of Chapter 9 of Division 8, when performing
the duties for which they are licensed.

end insert begin delete

(n)

end delete

begin insert (o) end insert  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 3.  

Section 12701 of the Business and Professions Code,
as added by Section 2 of Chapter 693 of the Statutes of 2012, 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) 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) Pest control operators licensed pursuant to Chapter 4
(commencing with Section 11701) of Division 6 of the Food and
Agricultural Code.

(k) 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 begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is used for the purpose of
parking by the store customers, directly from and in the presence
of the seller. “Retailer” means an entity begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert 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) 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.

begin insert

(m) Pawnbrokers licensed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 21300) of Division 8 of the Financial Code, and
secondhand dealers licensed pursuant to Article 4 (commencing
with Section 21625) of Chapter 9 of Division 8, when performing
the duties for which they are licensed.

end insert begin delete

(m)

end delete

begin insert (n) end insert  This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.