BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 296
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
296 (Dodd)
As Introduced February 12, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|------------------+-----+----------------------+-------------------|
|Privacy |10-0 |Gatto, Wilk, Baker, | |
| | |Calderon, Chau, | |
| | |Cooper, Dababneh, | |
| | |Dahle, Gordon, Low | |
| | | | |
|------------------+-----+----------------------+-------------------|
|Appropriations |15-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, | |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Daly, | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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AB 296
Page 2
SUMMARY: Extends the authority of the board of supervisors of a
county and the state Department of Food and Agriculture
(Department) to charge fees to recover the costs of the County
Sealer related to the inspection and testing of weighing and
measuring devices, from January 1, 2016, to January 1, 2019.
FISCAL
EFFECT:1. According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, absent a
sunset extension on the fee authority, the state would incur costs
of approximately $650,000 to cover the Department's oversight
functions.
The Department collected approximately $650,000 in 2013-14 to
cover its costs of supervision, investigation, and enforcement of
the county programs. The fee is an annual, per-device fee that
ranges from $0.10 (submeters) to $12.00 (scales greater than
10,000 pounds capacity) depending on the type of device. The
majority of devices are charged $1.10.
Counties collected $23.1 million in fee revenue statewide in
2012-13 to defray their costs of the device registration program.
Existing law prohibits a county from charging fees that exceed its
total cost of performing the required county sealer duties.
Absent a sunset extension on the fee authority, counties would be
required to fund this program from other sources, most likely
county general fund.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose of this bill. This bill would extend by three years the
fee authorization for counties and the Department to recoup
their costs for the inspection and testing of weighing and
measuring devices by county sealers, a program that has been
ongoing since 1982. The measure is sponsored by the California
Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association.
2)Author's statement. According to the author's office, "This
AB 296
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bill would extend a statutory sunset date of AB 1623 (Yamada,
[Chapter 234, Statutes of] 2012) which is set to expire on
January 1, 2016. AB 296 extends the sunset through to January
1, 2019. This will allow local governments to continue to
recover costs associated with the administration of the annual
device registration program. Accurate measurements are vital to
protecting consumers from fraudulent and inadvertent errors.
Precise scales allow consumers to make informed decisions about
their purchases while maintaining a level and competitive
marketplace for businesses."
3)County Sealers. The inspection and testing of weighing and
measuring devices is overseen by a County Sealer of Weights and
Measures. In order to help pay for the cost of the inspection
and testing program, legislation was passed in 1982 to authorize
county boards of supervisors to establish fees for business
locations to partially fund local weights and measures
enforcement programs. The program now applies to virtually all
weighing and measuring devices used commercially (such as gas
pumps, water meters, grocery scales, taxi meters, etc.), with
the exception of farm milk tanks and grocery store check-out
scanners. In 2012-13, the device registration program had
expenditures of $23.1 million statewide.
These fees are the single largest source of revenue for the
county program outside of the County General Fund, and the
authorization has been extended by statute nine separate times
since 1985, most recently by AB 1623. This same authorization
also permits the Department to establish by regulation an
administrative fee to recover costs incurred for supervision and
investigation of the same program. However, this bill does not
change any of the "fee caps" for location fees, specific device
fees, and total registration fees, which are usually negotiated
between the counties and the businesses affected and then
codified in statute. The fee authorization statute is currently
set to expire on January 1, 2016.
AB 296
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4)Arguments in support. According to the Rural County
Representatives of California, "County Agriculture Commissioners
and Sealers perform valuable services for county residents and
those within the local agriculture industry. For example, one
of those roles is ensuring that actual weights and sizes are
accurate. Weighing and measuring devices must be inspected in a
timely manner so that consumers are protected against
unscrupulous business operators.
"In order to perform the much-needed services, County
Agriculture Commissioners must recover their costs. Thus, we
believe it appropriate that Boards of Supervisors continue to be
able to adopt fee schedules so that a county's costs can be
recovered, while at the same time balancing the needs of
industry with the protections of consumers."
There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by:
Hank Dempsey / P. & C.P. / (916) 319-2200 FN:
0000087