Weights and measures: inspection: fees.

(1) Existing law provides for the regulation of commercial weighing and measuring devices by the Department of Food and Agriculture, and provides for the enforcement of those provisions by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture and by county sealers of weights and measures in each county. Existing law requires the secretary to establish or adopt tolerances and specifications and other technical requirements for commercial weighing and measuring. Existing law requires the sealer of a county to inspect and test weighing and measuring devices, as specified, that are used or sold in the county. Existing law also requires the sealer of a county to weigh or measure packages to determine whether they contain the amount represented, as provided. Existing law, until January 1, 2019, authorizes the board of supervisors of a county, by ordinance, to charge an annual registration fee, not to exceed the county's total cost of actually inspecting or testing weighing and measuring devices required of the county sealer, to recover the costs of the county sealer to perform these duties. Existing law, until January 1, 2019, requires the secretary to establish by regulation an annual administrative fee to recover reasonable administrative and enforcement costs incurred by the department for exercising supervision over and performing investigations in connection with the activities performed by county sealers described above, and requires the administrative fee to be collected for every device registered with each county office of weights and measures and paid annually to the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund. This bill would extend the authority of the board of supervisors of a county to charge an annual registration fee to recover the costs of the county sealer, as provided, until January 1, 2022, and would extend certain other related provisions. The bill would also continue the annual administrative fee to recover the costs incurred by the department described above until January 1, 2022. (2) Existing law specifies that the annual registration fee for a business that uses a commercial weighing or measuring device or devices shall consist of a location fee, the Department of Food and Agriculture administrative fee described above, and a device fee. Existing law provides that the device fee for liquefied petroleum gas meters, truck mounted or stationary, shall not exceed $185 per device. This bill would revise this limitation to also apply to compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas meters beginning in 2021, but would impose a limitation on the device fee for compressed natural gas and liquefied natural gas meters of up to $75 in 2019 and up to $125 in 2020. (3) Existing law provides that the device fee for computing scales shall not exceed $20 per device. This bill would instead provide that the device fee shall not exceed $23 per device. (4) Existing law provides that the device fee for jewelry and prescription scales shall not exceed $80 per device and specifies that, for purposes of this provision, a jewelry or prescription scale is a scale that meets the specifications, tolerances, and sensitivity requirements established or adopted by the Secretary of Food and Agriculture applicable to those devices. This bill would revise this limitation to also apply to scales marked as, or meeting the design and performance requirements of, a Class II weighing device.