Bill Text: CA AB2451 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Weights and measures: water submeters.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-25 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 539, Statutes of 2014. [AB2451 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB2451-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2451 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 539
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 25, 2014
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 18, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 19, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 13, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 10, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Daly
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Section 12531 of, and to add Sections 12210.3,
12210.7, 12518, and 12519 to, the Business and Professions Code,
relating to weights and measures.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2451, Daly. Weights and measures: water submeters.
(1) Existing law requires the sealer of a county to inspect and
test weighing and measuring devices, as specified, that are used or
sold for commercial purposes in the county. Existing law, until
January 1, 2016, authorizes the county board of supervisors to charge
fees to recover the costs of the county sealer to perform these
duties. For marinas, mobilehome parks, recreational vehicle parks,
and apartment complexes, where the owner is responsible for the
utility meters, existing law prohibits the device fee for water
submeters from exceeding $2 per device per space or apartment.
This bill would require a county sealer who possesses the
appropriate equipment for performing tests on water submeters to
inspect, test, and certify to the accuracy of a water submeter, upon
request of the owner, user, or operator of the water submeter, if any
of specified conditions exist. By placing additional duties on local
officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would permit the board of supervisors of the county to
authorize the sealer to establish a schedule of fees to cover the
costs of performing those services.
This bill would authorize, upon written request of the owner,
user, or operator, a water submeter that has been inspected, tested,
and sealed by a sealer in one county to be installed in another
county if certain conditions are met, including that the sealer of
the county in which the water submeter is to be installed does not
have reason to believe that the water submeter has been tampered
with, damaged, or otherwise rendered inoperable since its inspection,
testing, and sealing.
(2) Existing law requires a sealer to seize and condemn, and
authorizes the sealer to destroy, incorrect weights and measures and
weighing and measuring instruments used for commercial purposes that
are not susceptible of repair. Existing law requires a sealer to mark
incorrect devices, that are susceptible of repair, with a tag or
other device with the words "Out of order." For these purposes,
existing law defines "incorrect" as any instrument that fails to meet
prescribed tolerances and specifications and other technical
requirements for commercial weighing and measuring.
This bill would require a water submeter, that has been tested and
found to be incorrect before its initial installation, to be marked
with the words "Out of order" and to be returned to a service agent
only if certain conditions are met. Because the bill would impose
additional duties on county sealers and because a violation of this
provision would be a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
The bill would further specify that an owner, user, or operator of
a water submeter that has previously been sealed, installed, and
used commercially who submits the water submeter to a sealer for
inspection and testing shall not be subject to criminal prosecution
or liable for fines or other penalties for a violation of specified
provisions regulating weights and measures if the device is found to
be incorrect, if prescribed conditions apply.
(3) Existing law regulates the utilization and repair of weighing
or measuring devices. Under existing law, for purposes of weighing
and measuring devices, the term "placed in service" means to permit
the use of a device that has been tested and found to be correct, as
specified, and type approved, as provided, or to submit a device to a
sealer for verification prior to installation. Under existing law, a
device may only be placed in service by a sealer or a service
agency.
This bill would limit 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, and type approved, as provided.
(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 with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 12210.3 is added to the Business and
Professions Code, to read:
12210.3. (a) A county sealer who possesses the appropriate
equipment to perform tests on water submeters shall inspect, test,
and certify to the accuracy of a water submeter, within his or her
county and upon written request of the owner, user, or operator of
the water submeter, if any of the following circumstances exist:
(1) The service is requested to be performed in addition to, or
according to a schedule different from, any inspection frequency
established by regulations adopted pursuant to Section 12212.
(2) The requested service pertains to a water submeter not
intended to be placed into service in the county within six months.
(3) The requested service pertains to a water submeter intended to
be placed into service in a different county.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 12210.5, the board of supervisors may
authorize the sealer to establish, from time to time, a schedule of
fees to cover the cost of services provided under subdivision (a) and
to charge and collect the fees. The fee schedule shall be limited to
the actual cost of performing those services.
SEC. 2. Section 12210.7 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
12210.7. A county sealer shall, within his or her county and upon
written request of the owner, user, or operator of the water
submeter, authorize the installation of a water submeter that has
been inspected, tested, and sealed by the county sealer of another
county if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) The meter bears a seal that represents the most recent seal of
the county in which the water submeter was inspected, in accordance
with the provisions of Section 12505.
(b) The water submeter is installed no later than 12 months after
the water submeter was inspected, tested, and sealed.
(c) The county sealer does not have reason to believe the water
submeter has been tampered with, damaged, or otherwise rendered
inoperable since the inspection, testing, and sealing by the other
county sealer.
SEC. 3. Section 12518 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
12518. A water submeter submitted to a sealer by an owner, user,
or operator for inspection and testing before its initial
installation that is found to be incorrect, as defined in Section
12500, shall be marked with the words, "Out of Order," in accordance
with Section 12506, and shall be returned to a service agent only if
both of the following conditions are met:
(a) The water submeter has no signs of intentional tampering by
which to facilitate fraud.
(b) The water submeter shall not be placed into service in
California.
SEC. 4. Section 12519 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
12519. (a) Notwithstanding any other law, an owner, user, or
operator of a water submeter that has previously been sealed,
installed, and used commercially who submits the water submeter to a
sealer for inspection and testing shall not be subject to criminal
prosecution or liable for other fines or other penalties for a
violation of any provision of this division, if the device is found
to be incorrect, if all of the following conditions apply:
(1) The water submeter had, prior to installation and use, been
submitted to a county sealer as one of a submeter lot where the lot
was sampled and tested for compliance with all applicable laws and
all applicable regulations adopted by the secretary in accordance
with Section 12107.
(2) The specific water submeter had, at no prior time, been
directly subjected to a physical test of its performance
characteristics or accuracy by a county sealer.
(3) The specific water submeter has been deemed by the county
sealer to show no signs of intentional tampering, damage, or
alteration in its design or calibration while under the use or
control of the owner, user, or operator.
(4) The owner, user, or operator has maintained the water submeter
in accordance with applicable provisions of this division, and any
regulations adopted under Section 12107.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a water submeter that meets
all of the conditions set forth in subdivision (a) shall not be
permitted to be reinstalled and placed into commercial use unless it
is repaired and recalibrated by a service agent, and inspected and
sealed by the county sealer.
SEC. 5. Section 12531 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
12531. As used in this chapter, the following definitions are
applicable:
(a) "Service agency" means a person, as defined in Section 12011,
that for hire, award, commission, or any other payment of any kind,
repairs a commercial device.
(b) "Service agent" means a person employed by a service agency to
repair a commercial device.
(c) "Device" means a weighing or measuring equipment, contrivance,
or instrument used, or designed to be used, for determining weight
or measure, and includes any tool, appliance, or accessory used in
connection therewith, that is used for commercial purposes, as
defined in subdivision (e) of Section 12500.
(d) "Placed in service" means to permit the use of a device that
has been tested and found to be correct, as defined in subdivision
(c) of Section 12500, and type approved, as provided for in Section
12500.5.
(e) "Correct" means a device that meets all of the tolerance and
specification requirements of Section 12107.
(f) "Repair," in any of its variant forms, means to provide
maintenance, or to install, adjust, recondition, or service a device.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because a local agency or school district has the authority
to levy service charges, fees, or assessments sufficient to pay for
the program or level of service mandated by this act or because 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.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.
