BILL ANALYSIS
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|Hearing Date:June 28, 2010 |Bill No:AB |
| |2361 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, Chair
Bill No: AB 2361Author:Ruskin
As Amended:April 29, 2010 Fiscal: No
SUBJECT: Weights and measures: inspection: fees.
SUMMARY: Extends the sunset date on the authority of the board of
supervisors of a county to charge fees to recover the costs of the
county sealer to perform specified duties until January 1, 2013.
Existing law:
1)Provides that the Department of Food and Agriculture (DFA) has
general enforcement supervision of the laws relating to weights and
measures and measuring devices, and provides for the enforcement of
those laws and the inspection and testing of measuring devices, in
each county, by the county sealer.
2)Requires the county sealer to inspect and test weighing and measuring
devices that are used or sold in the county and that are used for
commercial purposes and to weigh or measure packages used for
commercial purposes to determine whether they contain the amount
represented.
3)Authorizes the county board of supervisors to charge an annual
registration fee for the inspection and testing of weighing and
measuring devices, including: retail gas pump meters, livestock and
feed scales, motor truck scales, utility meters, liquefied petroleum
gas meters, vehicle meters, and all other commercial weighing and
measuring devices, and makes specified exceptions.
4)Establishes a fee schedule, providing for maximum annual amounts
which may be charged for device registration, and specifies that all
revenues collected shall be deposited into the county's general fund
and used solely for the purpose of device inspection and testing.
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5)Repeals ("sunsets") the authority to charge registration fees for
weighing and measuring devices on January 1, 2011.
This bill: Extends the sunset date on the authority of the board of
supervisors of a county to charge fees to recover the costs of the
county sealer to perform specified duties until January 1, 2013.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "nonfiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by California Agricultural
Commissioners and Sealers Association (CACASA) to extend the
authority for collecting registration fees on weight and measuring
devices to January 1, 2013.
The CACASA states, "The authority to collect fees has never been
drafted in perpetuity and, to date, has always been scheduled to
sunset on a date specified in law. This allows for stakeholder
discussion of the program before renewing the fee authority."
2. Background. Current law allows county boards of supervisors to
establish fees for business locations to partially fund local
weights and measures enforcement programs. The fees are the single
largest source of revenue for the county program outside the County
General Fund. The statute will sunset in January 1, 2011.
The authority for weights and measures registration fees was passed by
the Legislature in 1982 to provide funding for weights and measures
inspection activities. The law was amended in 1983, 1987, 1991,
1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2005 to add additional devices to
the registration program and to adjust the schedule of maximum
fees. The section now applies to virtually all weighing and
measuring devices used commercially. The only exceptions are farm
milk tanks, which are specifically exempted, and check out
scanners, which are not considered weighing or measuring devices.
The range of weighing and measuring devices included in the
registration program currently includes retail fuel dispensing
meters; water meters; electric meters that measure electricity that
is sub-metered by a mobile home park; apartment complex, or boat
dock; liquefied petroleum gas meters or gas vapor meters that
are-sub-metered; truck scales, cattle scales and grocery counter
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Page 3
scales; taxi meters; and a variety of other devices that weigh or
meter a commodity offered for sale. The sunset date on the device
registration fees has been extended in 1985, 1987, 1988, 1992,
1995, 1997, 2000 and finally again in 2005.
3. Prior Legislation. AB 889 (Ruskin, Chapter 529, Statutes of 2005)
by the same Sponsor, extended the sunset date to January 1, 2011,
established a gradual increase in the fees that may be adopted by a
board of supervisors in order to more fully fund the local weights
and measure device inspection program. The bill also established a
two-tiered fee schedule that provided both a location fee and a
device fee to more effectively capture the cost of the initial
device inspection.
SB 1644 (Kelley, Chapter 592, Statutes of 1994) by the same Sponsor,
established the current administrative fine provisions for weights
and measures. At that time CACSA introduced the bill in order to
allow the county sealer to handle many minor violations without
having to involve prosecution by the District Attorney (DA). DAs
often do not have the resources available to pursue minor
violations and most businesses would prefer to resolve these issues
in a low key (without publicity) way. The possibility of issuing
administrative fines has proven to be an effective incentive to
obtain compliance in areas where there are relatively isolated or
less serious violations. Repeated violations can still be referred
to the DA for action.
AB 1810 (Wiggins, Chapter 512, Statues of 2000) also by the same
Sponsor, extended the sunset dates on the civil penalty authority
and on device registration fees.
SB 189 (Kelley, Chapter 476, Statutes of 1997) extended the sunset
date to January 1, 2001.
AB 1728 (Murray, Chapter 47, Statutes of 1995) extended the sunset
date to January 1, 1998.
4. Arguments in Support. According to the Sponsor of the bill,
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
(CACASA), the bill was introduced as a vehicle to address the
upcoming sunset of the device registration program and also as a
catalyst to spur dialogue between county sealers and affected
industry groups. As the bill moves forward, the Association will
welcome all affected industry groups to trade information and
assess the efficiencies and best practices utilized during the
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expansion of the program since 2005.
CACASA commits to working with all interested parties, but will not
sacrifice the integrity of the program or dilute the oversight that
sealers provide the public. If a device is being used to assess a
charge on a customer, it must be accurate."
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors , states that over 77,900
commercial weighing and measuring devices are used by 3,500
businesses in Santa Clara County, and county staff conducts over
17,700 inspections and certifications for these devices each year.
Program fees generate approximately $790,000 which supplements the
local general fund contribution. Consumers rely on the program to
test commercial devices, as they have no means to check the
accuracy of a gas pump, taxi meter, or a computing scale at a
supermarket. The extension of the fee is vital for the protection
of consumers against fraud in the marketplace, and for promotion of
equity in the business community.
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors writes that the county's
weights and measures department receive s approximately $2.5
million in funding annually from these programs. Should the
authority to charge fees not be extended, the county sealer would
still be required to perform these duties but without a funding
source from the regulated industry.
5. Neutral Position: Truck Renting and Leasing Association. The
Truck Renting and Leasing Association (TRALA) had previously taken
an oppose unless amended position on the bill, objecting to the
county-based registration and inspection program for truck
odometers administered in some counties. TRALA states because
rental truck odometers are used to determine mileage-based charges
in some rental truck contracts, they are registered and inspected
by eight of the fifty-eight counties in California. The Sponsor,
the Author's staff and Committee staff have worked closely together
to address the issues identified by TRALA, and ultimately the
Sponsor has agreed to only extend the sunset date two years to 2013
(instead of 2016) and to discontinue fees on rental truck odometers
during this period in order to allow discussions to continue
without interrupting the broader work carried out by county
sealers. During this period TRALA and the Sponsor will continue to
discuss the issues raised by the truck renting and leasing
industry. As a result, TRALA has now taken a neutral position on
the bill.
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SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
(Sponsor)
California State Association of Counties
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors
San Diego County Board of Supervisors
Opposition:
None received as of June 21, 2010
Consultant:G. V. Ayers