Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1328

Introduced by Senator Hill

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Section 13350 of, and to add Sections 12022.7 and 13304 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to weights and measures.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1328, as amended, Hill. Weights and measures.

(1) Under existing law, the Department of Food and Agriculture has general supervision of weights and measures and weighing and measuring devices sold or used in the state, and provides that the duty of enforcing and carrying out those provisions is vested with the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and in each sealer acting under the supervision and direction of the secretary. Existing law makes it unlawful for any person to sell poultry or smoked, fresh, frozen, cooked, dried, or pickled meats or fish other than by weight determined at the time of sale on a scale properly sealed in accordance with specified requirements, except as specified. Existing law specifies that fat added to fresh meat or roasts shall not be considered tare weight if the package is labeled as containing added fat. A violation of the provisions, or any regulations adopted pursuant to those provisions, regulating weights and measurements is a crime.

This bill would authorize the secretary, by regulation, to establish a uniform policy consistent with federal law relating to the use of dry tare weight or wet tare weight methods of measurement for the retail sale of meat, poultry, and fish products. Because a violation of a regulation adopted pursuant to those provisions would be a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) Existing law provides the criteria and methodology, as specified, by which local officials are to measure and verify the accuracy of a point-of-sale system used by retail establishments begin insert during an initial standard inspection end insert as a means for determining the price of an item being purchased by a begin delete consumer, and authorizes the board of supervisors of a county, by ordinance, to charge a point-of-sale inspection fee or an annual registration fee for the county’s costs for inspection and testing. Existing law provides that a sealer may reinspect any retail facility that has a compliance rate of less than 98%. end delete begin insert consumer. During an initial standard inspection, existing law specifies that only items computed at a higher price than the lowest advertised, posted, marked, displayed, or quoted price shall be considered not in compliance. Existing law authorizes enforcement action to be taken for any item not in compliance. end insert

The bill would begin delete establish a compliance rate modeled after the accuracy requirements described in the National Institute of Standards and Technology Handbook 130 for grocery stores, as defined, that have a policy to refund the amount of the product or provide the product free of charge in the event that the amount charged is greater than the amount advertised, posted, marked, displayed, or quoted. end delete begin insert prohibit a grocery store from being fined or assessed any other penalty for the first item not in compliance during an initial standard inspection if the grocery store meets specified requirements. end insert

(3) Existing law authorizes a city or county to license any kind of business, unless prohibited by law, and authorizes the city or county to levy license fees.

This bill would authorize the secretary, by regulation, to impose an additional assessment of up to $2 for the license of a business that uses a point-of-sale system, to be deposited in the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund, which would be available to the secretary, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for purposes of carrying out the provisions regulating the use of point-of-sale systems.

(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 12022.7 is added to the Business and
Professions Code, to read:

12022.7.  

The secretary may adopt regulations consistent with
federal law to establish a uniform policy relating to the use of dry
tare weight or wet tare weight methods of measurement for the
retail sale of meat, poultry, and fish products.

SEC. 2.  

Section 13304 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:

13304.  

The secretary may adopt regulations to impose an
additional assessment of up to two dollars ($2), not to exceed the
amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, to
obtain a business license for a business that uses a point-of-sale
system. The additional assessment shall be deposited in the
Department of Food and Agriculture begin delete Fund, end delete begin insert Fund end insert and shall be
available to the secretary, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
for purposes of carrying out the provisions of this chapter.

SEC. 3.  

Section 13350 of the Business and Professions Code
is amended to read:

13350.  

(a) The board of supervisors of any county or city and
county that has adopted or that adopts an ordinance for purposes
of determining the pricing accuracy of a retail establishment using
a point-of-sale (POS) begin delete system, end delete begin insert system end insert shall base the initial standard
inspection of the POS system on the following criteria:

(1) The initial standard inspection shall be performed by
collecting a random sample of items that shall include a maximum
of 50 percent sale items from either:

begin delete

(i)

end delete

begin insert (A) end insert  One department of a retail store.

begin delete

(ii)

end delete

begin insert (B) end insert  Multiple areas of a retail store.

begin delete

(iii)

end delete

begin insert (C) end insert  The entire store.

(2) The initial standard inspection shall be performed by testing
a minimum random sample of 10 items for a retail establishment
with three or fewer POS checkout registers.

(3) The initial standard inspection shall be performed by testing
a minimum random sample of 25 items for a retail establishment
with begin delete 4 end delete begin insert four end insert to begin delete 9 end delete begin insert nine end insert POS checkout registers.

(4) The initial standard inspection shall be performed by testing
a minimum random sample of 50 items for retail establishments
with 10 or more POS checkout registers.

(5) The sealer shall verify that the lowest advertised, posted,
marked, displayed, or quoted price is the same as the price
displayed or computed by the point-of-sale equipment or printed
receipt. Only items computed at a higher price than the lowest
advertised, posted, marked, displayed, or quoted price shall be
considered not in compliance.

(6) The minimum random sample size shall not apply to
inspections of any establishment at which fewer items than the
number specified as the minimum sample size are marked or
displayed with a posted or advertised item price.

(7) The maximum percentage of sale item restriction in
paragraph (1) shall not apply to inspections of any establishment
at which a marketing or promotional practice does not enable the
sampling of the minimum required percentage of nonsale items,
such as “Everything In Store 50 percent Off” or the like.

(8) The compliance rate percentage of a retail establishment
shall be determined by dividing the number of items in compliance
by the sample size multiplied by 100.

(b) Enforcement action may be taken for any item not in
compliance.

(c) The sealer may reinspect any retail facility that has a
compliance rate of less than 98 percent.

(d) (1) Notwithstanding begin delete subdivision (a), for end delete begin insert any other law, end insert a
grocery store that begin delete has a policy to refund the amount of the product,
or to provide the product free of charge, if the amount charged for
the item is greater than the price advertised, posted, marked,
displayed, or quoted, the compliance rate shall be modeled after
the accuracy requirements specified in the National Institute of
Standards and Technology Handbook 130, 2014 Edition (HB 130)
- Examination Procedures for Price Verification. end delete begin insert meets the
requirements of paragraph (2) shall not be fined or assessed any
other penalty for the first item not in compliance during an initial
standard inspection. end insert

begin insert

(2) (A) The grocery store has a policy to refund the amount of
the product, or to provide the product free of charge, if the amount
charged for the item is greater than the price advertised, posted,
marked, displayed, or quoted.

end insert begin insert

(B) The grocery store posts a description of the policy in a clear
and conspicuous manner at each checkout location.

end insert begin insert

(C) The entire store.

end insert begin delete

(2)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  For purposes of this subdivision, “grocery store” means a
full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of two
million dollars ($2,000,000) or more, and that sells a line of dry
groceries, canned goods, or nonfood items, and some perishable
items.

(e) The board of supervisors, by ordinance, may charge a
point-of-sale system inspection fee or an annual registration fee,
not to exceed the county’s total cost of inspecting or testing the
accuracy of prices accessed or generated by the system pursuant
to this section.

(f) The board of supervisors, by ordinance, may charge a
reinspection fee for reinspections of a retail establishment that fails
the prior inspection, not to exceed the county’s total cost of
reinspecting or testing the accuracy of prices accessed or generated
by the system pursuant to this section.

SEC. 4.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.