BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 744|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 744
Author: Wyland (R)
Amended: 8/21/12
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
SENATE FLOOR : 28-8, 5/31/11
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Blakeslee, Calderon, Correa, De
Le�n, Dutton, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, Lieu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod,
Padilla, Price, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland,
Vargas, Walters, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Corbett, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Leno, Liu,
Pavley, Wolk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Cannella, La Malfa, Rubio
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 43-27, 8/23/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Water submeters: testing
SOURCE : Utility Conservation Coalition
DIGEST : This bill, until January 1, 2016, deems any
water submeter tested by equipment that is regularly
calibrated by tests that are directly traceable to
CONTINUED
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standards promulgated by the National Institute of
Standards and Technology (NIST) to be tested, sealed, and
approved for commercial use, if specified conditions are
met.
Assembly Amendments (1) require manufacturers of submeters
and licensed service agents to notify the county sealer of
water submeters at the time a meter is installed or
otherwise placed in service and provide that a failure to
do so shall only be punishable by a civil penalty of not
more than $1,000, as provided; (2) revise the submeter
testing requirement to provide a submeter which is tested
by equipment which is regularly calibrated by tests that
are directly traceable to standards promulgated by the NIST
shall be deemed to be tested and sealed and approved for
use; (3) provide that any person installing or possessing a
water submeter that complies with the provisions of this
bill will not be guilty of a misdemeanor unless there is a
knowing and willful intent to use an incorrect or
inaccurate water submeter; (4) authorize a county sealer
to test a water submeter, as provided, require an incorrect
water submeter to be replaced with a compliant one within a
reasonable period of time if one is available; and (5)
extend the sunset from January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2016.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that the Division of Measurement Standards
(DMS) within the Department of Food and Agriculture 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.
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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. Deems any water submeter tested by equipment that is
regularly calibrated by tests that are directly
traceable to standards promulgated by the NIST to be
tested, sealed, and approved for commercial use, if all
of the following conditions are met:
A. The submeter complies with the accuracy
tolerance for submeters as published in the NIST
Handbook 44 (NIST Handbook);
B. The submeter is a type approved by the DMS; and,
C. The identity of the entity that performed the
test and the test results are attached to the
submeter.
2. Deems that no water submeter shall be considered to have
been put unlawfully into service prior to its
installation if the water submeter is to be used in a
multiunit residential structure.
3. Requires water submeter manufacturers, or the licensed
service agent responsible for the installation of water
submeters, to notify the county sealer of when water
submeters are installed or placed into service, or
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otherwise be subject to a civil penalty up to $1,000.
4. States that an individual installing or possessing a
water submeter and compliant with this bill shall not be
guilty of a misdemeanor unless there is a knowing and
willful intent to use an inaccurate or incorrect water
submeter.
5. States that an owner complying with this bill shall not
be liable for any penalty or fine pursuant to this bill.
6. Clarifies that a public entity may adopt and enforce an
ordinance, rule, regulation, or policy that is
consistent with this bill.
7. Authorizes a county sealer to test a water submeter at
an owner's request, a resident's written request, or
periodically at its discretion. If the county sealer
determines the water submeter is incorrect, the owner
shall do both of the following:
A. Replace the water submeter with a compliant one
within a reasonable time if one is available; and
B. Notify the tenant in writing, within 21 days, of
the date that the water submeter was removed and
replaced.
8. Sunsets these provisions on January 1, 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/23/12)
Utility Conservation Coalition (source)
American Utility Management
Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles
Apartment Investment and Management Company
Association of California Water Agencies
Badger Meter, Inc.
California Apartment Association
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California Building Industry Association
California Business Properties Association
Castaic Lake Water Agency
Essex Property Trust
Green Plumbers
Home Builders Association of Tulare and Kern County
Inovonics Corp.
Master Meter
Ocius LLC
Pinnacle Family of Companies
R&V Management Corporation
San Diego County Apartment Association
San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce
Santa Barbara Rental Property Association
Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce
United Chamber of Commerce San Fernando Valley and Region
Wasatch Property Management
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/23/12)
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers
Association
California State Association of Counties
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Counties of Del Norte, Fresno, Kern, Los Angeles, Placer,
Sacramento, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa
Cruz, Stanislaus, and Ventura
Kings County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County District Attorney's
Mendocino County Board of Supervisors
Mendocino County Sealer of Weights and Measures
Merced County Board of Supervisors
Regional Council of Rural Counties
San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Service Employees International Union
Shasta County Board of Supervisors
Sierra Club
Solano County Board of Supervisors
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Sutter County Board of Supervisors
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
Western Center on Law & Poverty
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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.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Sierra Club states in
opposition, "SB 744 will NOT result in greater water
conservation in California. There is no requirement in SB
744 that the residents that receive water delivered through
and measured by these submeters will be charged on a
volumetric basis. Water metering and volumetric pricing
are paramount to giving Californians an accurate price
signal regarding their water use. Water savings will not
result from the use of these submeters if the water
measured and delivered is not priced according to the
volume each residence uses.
"Furthermore, if SB 744 passes, meters will be installed
without guarantee that they're accurate. There will be no
assurance that the reading on the meter will accurately
reflect the amount of water that is passing through it, and
the bills being paid by residents may or may not reflect
how much water was actually used."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 43-27, 8/23/12
AYES: Atkins, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Campos, Cedillo,
Donnelly, Eng, Fletcher, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gatto, Gorell, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
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Hill, Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Morrell, Nestande, Norby, Olsen, Perea,
Silva, Smyth, Solorio, Torres, Wagner, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bonilla, Brownley,
Butler, Carter, Conway, Feuer, Fong, Gordon, Grove,
Hueso, Huffman, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Monning,
Nielsen, Pan, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Swanson,
Valadao, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beall, Chesbro, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Furutani, Halderman, Roger Hern�ndez, Mitchell, Skinner
JJA:d 8/25/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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