BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 744|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 744
Author: Wyland (R)
Amended: 5/3/11
Vote: 21
SENATE BUS., PROF. & ECON. DEVEL. COMMITTEE : 9-0, 4/25/11
AYES: Price, Emmerson, Corbett, Correa, Hernandez, Negrete
McLeod, Vargas, Walters, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Water submeters: testing
SOURCE : Utility Conservation Coalition
DIGEST : This bill provides, until January 1, 2015, 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, and 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.
ANALYSIS :
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
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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.
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.
4. Provides that a device may only be placed in service by
a sealer or a service agency that repairs a commercial
device.
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.
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.
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4. Sunsets the provisions of the bill on January 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/16/11)
Utility Conservation Coalition (source)
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
Badger Meter
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 : (Verified 5/16/11)
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers
Association
California State Association of Counties
County of Sonoma
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The sponsor of this bill, 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.
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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.
JJA:do 5/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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