BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 296 (Dodd) - Weights and measures: inspection: fees.
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|Version: February 12, 2015 |Policy Vote: B., P. & E.D. 9 - |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: June 29, 2015 |Consultant: Mark McKenzie |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: AB 296 would extend the authorization for county
boards of supervisors and the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to charge specified fees related to the
inspection and testing of weighing and measuring devices, and
the administration and oversight of those activities, as
specified, until January 1, 2019.
Fiscal
Impact:
Continued CDFA administrative fee revenues of approximately
$800,000 annually through the 2018 calendar year ($650,000
AB 296 (Dodd) Page 1 of
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deposited into the Food and Agriculture Fund; $150,000
retained at the county level).
Continued county fee revenues of approximately $24 million
annually through the 2018 calendar year. (local funds)
Background: Inspection and testing of weighing and measuring devices is
overseen in each county by the County Sealer of Weights and
Measures. In practice, this function involves the inspection
and testing of packaged commodities and all commercially-used
weighing and measuring devices, including gas pumps, water
meters, grocery scales, taxi meters, among many others. Sealers
and their offices enforce the laws and regulations of the state
under the general direction and oversight of the Secretary of
Food and Agriculture. Sealers protect both consumers and
businesses by ensuring that consumers reliably get what they pay
for, and that businesses are competing fairly.
Existing law authorizes a county board of supervisors to charge
an annual registration fee to recover county sealer costs of
testing and inspection of weighing and measuring devices. The
registration fee must not exceed a county's actual testing and
inspection costs, and it is comprised of a business location
fee, a CDFA administrative fee, and a device fee, as specified.
Existing law prescribes a fee schedule that establishes maximum
fee amounts that may be charged for specified device
registrations including retail gas pump meters, livestock and
feed scales, motor truck scales, utility meters and submeters,
liquefied petroleum gas meters, vehicle meters and odometers,
and all other commercial weighing and measuring devices, and
makes specified exceptions. According to CDFA's most recent
expenditure report for weights and measures activities, counties
collected approximately $24 million to test nearly 1.4 million
weights and measures devices in 2013-14.
As part of a broad strategy to reduce CDFA's General Fund
expenditures by $15 million, AB 120 (Budget Committee), Chap
133/2011, implemented several proposals to reduce the scope of
certain programs within the department, and shift costs to
special funds, assessments, and fees. One provision of AB 120
authorized CDFA to charge an annual administrative fee on every
device registered with county offices of weights and measures to
recover administrative and enforcement costs related to county
AB 296 (Dodd) Page 2 of
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sealers' inspection and testing of devices. Depending on the
device, the per-device CDFA administrative fee ranges from $0.10
for certain submeter devices to $12.00 for large scales with a
capacity of over 10,000 pounds, but the fee is $1.10 for most
devices. Counties retain 15 percent of the revenues from the
fee to cover their administrative costs, and the remaining 85
percent is deposited into the state Food and Agriculture Fund.
Existing law repeals the authority to charge weighing and
measuring device registration fees, including the CDFA
administrative fee, on January 1, 2016.
Proposed Law:
AB 296 would extend the repeal date on the authority for
county boards of supervisors and CDFA to charge specified fees
related to the inspection and testing of weighing and measuring
devices, and the administration and oversight of those
activities, from January 1, 2016 to January 1, 2019.
Related
Legislation: Fee authorization statutes have been extended
through legislation nine times since the Legislature originally
authorized county boards of supervisors to charge fees to
partially fund local weights and measures enforcement programs
in 1982. Most recently, AB 1623 (Yamada), Chap 234/2012
extended the repeal date on the authority for counties to charge
fees to recover costs for testing and inspection of weighing and
measuring devices from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2016. That
bill also established and revised the caps on certain device
fees.
Staff
Comments: Absent this bill, CDFA's administrative costs to
operate the Device Enforcement Program would become a General
Fund liability, and counties would need to cover costs of
testing and inspecting weighing and measuring devices with
general revenues or discontinue activities.
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