BILL ANALYSIS �
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|Hearing Date:April 25, 2011 |Bill No:SB |
| |744 |
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SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., Chair
Bill No: SB 744Author:Wyland
As Amended:March 21, 2011 Fiscal:Yes
SUBJECT: Water submeters: testing.
SUMMARY: Provides that a water submeter is not considered "placed in
service," prior to its installation, if the water submeter is to be
used in a multiunit residential structure; provides that any water
submeter tested by a regularly-calibrated test bench shall be deemed
to be sealed and approved for commercial use, as specified.
Existing law:
1) Provides that the Division of Measurement Standards (DMS) within
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 that a person who uses, or intends to use, any weight or
measure, or weighing or measuring device for commercial purposes,
shall cause that device to be sealed by a sealer before use, unless
it has been sealed before sale, in which case the purchaser may use
it for the period authorized for its use. (Business and Professions
Code (BPC) � 12501.1)
3) Defines, for purposes of weighing and measuring devices, the term
"placed in service" to mean to permit the use of a device that has
been tested and found to be correct, as specified, or to submit a
device to a sealer for verification prior to installation. (BPC �
12531)
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4) Provides that a device may only be placed in service by a sealer or
a service agency who repairs a commercial device. (BPC � 12509)
5) Makes it a misdemeanor for any person to do certain acts in
violation of the weights and measures law, including use, for
commercial purposes, or retain in his or her possession an
incorrect weight or measure or weighing or measuring instrument.
(BPC � 12510)
This bill:
1) Provides that a water submeter is not considered "placed in
service," prior to its installation, if the water submeter is to be
used in a multiunit residential structure.
2) Provides that any water submeter tested by a test bench that is
regularly calibrated by a cross-check measure shall be deemed to be
sealed and approved for commercial use, as specified, provided that
the submeter satisfies certain criteria, including that the
submeter is otherwise a type approved by the DMS.
3) Makes related conforming changes.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed "fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. This bill is sponsored by Utility Conservation Coalition
(Sponsor). The Author states the purpose of the bill as follows:
"In order to be realistic about achieving our goals of water
conservation, we must ensure a steady and reliable supply of
water submeters. SB 744 accomplishes this by doing the
following:
"To ensure the steady and consistent delivery of
water submeters, Business and Professions Code Section
13580 will be added to permit manufacturers of submeters to
utilize an alternative testing facility to test the
accuracy and reliability of the meter, as long as those
facilities are recognized by California as meeting the
minimum standards of accuracy.
"Amendments to come will clarify the California Code
of Regulations to state that submeters are deemed placed
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"in service" only when they are installed in the units for
use by residents."
"The current regulatory regime in California is inconsistent
with the state's water conservation goals and, in particular,
serves to discourage producers and suppliers of water
submeters from shipping these critical water-saving products
to California. For example, the largest manufacturer of
submeters in the country, and the only manufacturer with a
California-approved hot water meter, Master Meter, has ceased
shipping any submeters to the state because of these
regulations. With the submeter industry restricting or
refusing to ship submeters to California, shortages of meters
have been reported. This shortage is becoming a larger
problem with the introduction of state legislation and the
adoption of local ordinances that would mandate water
submeters installation on all multifamily and apartment homes.
The City of San Diego, for example, passed an ordinance last
year that would require all newly constructed multifamily and
mixed-use development units to have water submeters installed
and operating by June 1, 2010. Without a reliable supply of
the devices, San Diego's new conservation law cannot be
successfully implemented.
1. Background. The largest, least expensive, and most environmentally
sound source of water to meet California's future needs is the
water currently being wasted in every sector of our economy,
according to a Pacific Institute report, Waste Not, Want Not: The
Potential for Urban Water Conservation in California, The report
indicates that California's urban water needs can be met into the
foreseeable future by reducing water waste through cost-effective
water-saving technologies, revised economic policies, appropriate
state and local regulations, and public education.
Water submeters provide a critically important tool in the state's
efforts to increase water conservation. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that installing water submeters
in multifamily units reduced water consumption by an average of
28%. These results are consistent and in line with California's
goal of reducing water usage by 20% by 2020.
The Author states, unfortunately, availability of submeters - and
California's water-conservation goals - are being hamstrung by
outdated polices and unreasonable and unnecessary regulations
enforced by the Measurement Standards Division of the Department of
Food and Agriculture. Manufacturers and suppliers of water
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submeters face multiple state testing requirements, and may be held
criminally liable if those devices do not pass California's
testing, even before they are ever placed in service at these
properties.
2. Use of Submeters. A submeter is a device that measures water
consumption of an individual rental unit within a multiunit
building or facility. Before the use of submeters many landlords
either included the utility cost in the bulk price of the rent or
lease, or divided the utility usage among the tenants in some way
such as equally, by square footage, or some other means. Without a
meter to measure individual usage, there is less incentive to
conserve or stop water leaks, since the other tenants or landlord
may pay all or part of those costs. Submetering creates awareness
of water conservation since the tenant will pay for all of their
usage and any leaks they allow to remain unrepaired. Conservation
also allows property owners to keep the cost of rent reasonable and
fair for all units regardless of how much water or energy they
consume.
3. Related legislation. AB 19 (Fong) requires, after January 1, 2014,
a water supplier that provides water service to a newly constructed
multiunit residential or commercial structure to require the
installation of a water meter or submeter to measure the water
supplied to each individual dwelling unit as a condition of new
water service, and requires the building owner to ensure that a
water submeter complies with laws governing installation, and use
of water submeters. That bill passed the Assembly Water, Parks and
Wildlife Committee 8-0 on March 22, and is currently in the
Assembly Housing and Community Development Committee.
AB 1975 (Fong, 2010), similar to AB 19, required multiunit residential
structures or mixed use residential and commercial structures to
add, as a condition of new service, water meters or submeters that
measure the water supplied to each individual unit. That bill was
held on Suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 1173 (Keene), also similar to AB 19, required water suppliers to
require, for all multiunit residential structures (apartment
complexes) for which a construction permit is issued, the
installation of meters or submeters on each rental unit as a
condition for providing water service. Both AB 1975 and AB 1173
faced serious concerns regarding potential impacts to low income
tenants. That bill was held on Suspense in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
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4. Arguments in Support. The Sponsor, Utility Conservation Coalition
states that outdated regulations and policies are discouraging
producers and suppliers of water submeters from marketing their
products to California and property owners are discouraged from
submetering their properties. Meanwhile, in states like Texas and
Georgia, which boast simpler, more streamlined testing and
certification procedures, submeters are plentiful and affordable,
and efforts there to broaden their use and installation are
succeeding with industry support.
The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) supports a uniform
testing process for water submeters in hopes that such standards
increase the number of submeters available in the California market
to implement the requirement to conserve water. ACWA also believes
that the increased availability of submeters could reduce the price
that is being paid for the devices.
Master Meter supports the bill, stating, "Our companies have long been
concerned about regulations in California governing the testing,
certification and use of submeters in the state. California is,
for example, the only state that tests submeters after other
reputable testing has been done elsewhere on high precision testing
equipment. This is a redundancy that impedes the ability of
manufacturers like us to market our products in California.
Notably, my company, Master Meter, that was the country's largest
manufacturer of submeters, has essentially withdrawn from the
California market for submeters."
The California Apartment Association (CAA) supports the installation
of water submeters in individual apartment units, and believes this
to be an important step towards conservation in California.
However, CAA states, water submeters must be readily available in
order for owners and developers of multifamily housing to install
them.
The Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles , the San Diego County
Apartment Association , and the Santa Barbara Rental Property
Association support the bill stating that particularly in Southern
California, property owners are working with local governments and
water agencies to help increase water savings in rental housing.
Among the most effective water-saving improvements is the
establishment of water-use measurement, which means residents pay
for the amount of water they use, making submeters an excellent
tool for these purposes.
The California Building Industry Association (CBIA) supports the bill
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stating that California is home to the nation's most ambitious
water conservation goals, and central to these efforts are an
adequate supply of submeters for use in multifamily housing. The
continued difficulty, and now complete inability, to obtain hot
water meters in the state is dramatically hurting the cause of
water conservation.
5. Arguments in Opposition. The California Agricultural Commissioners
and Sealers Association (CACASA) opposes the bill, arguing that the
"carve-out for a singular type of device and category of
manufacturer presents an unacceptable risk to the longstanding
assurances of integrity, quality, and accuracy that weights and
measures laws and regulations provide to the marketplace,
protecting consumers and manufacturers, alike." CACASA states the
bill does not define "water submeter," does not establish standards
for a "test bench," and does not give quality or accurate standards
for a "cross-check measure."
According to CACASA, the bill removes the requirement that only a
licensed sealer can test and place into commercial service a
weighing, measuring or counting device. This would remove the
impartiality of the sealer, according to CACASA, in testing and
sealing the device, since sealers are prohibited by law from having
any direct or indirect interest in the sale, adjusting or repairing
of any weighing, measuring or counting device. CACASA is also
concerned that the bill does not require any notification to the
county sealer that a water submeter is placed into service; an
existing requirement to monitor the quality and accuracy work to
ensure that consumers are protected from faulty installations.
CACASA indicates that certain manufacturers of water submeters have
historically, attempted to implement poorly designed, inaccurate
meters that carry high failure rates when tested by sealers, while
other manufactures supply quality, accurate meters to the
marketplace. Allowing manufacturers to test and seal their own
devices may allow inaccurate and incorrect devices to be placed
into commercial use, thus monetarily harming either the water
supplier or the apartment, or mobile home park tenant.
The Sponsor has indicated a willingness to work with CACASA and the
Committee to clarify the provisions in the bill and address issues
raised by CACASA.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
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Support:
Utility Conservation Coalition (Sponsor)
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
Association of California Water Agencies
California Apartment Association
California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
Inovonics Corp.
Master Meter
San Diego County Apartment Association
Santa Barbara Rental Property Association
Opposition:
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
Consultant:G. V. Ayers