Fees And Charges - Administration - Business & Professions - CA

Section § 12240

This law allows counties in California to charge businesses an annual fee to cover the costs of inspecting and testing various weighing and measuring devices. Fees vary depending on the type of device and its application, ranging from water submeters to jewelry scales. The law specifies maximum fees for different devices, such as $120 for a business location plus device-specific fees. It also details certain exceptions, like farm milk tanks and specific scales used at farmers' markets. Counties can collect these fees biennially or annually. The law further outlines conditions for vehicles and rental transactions, including when fees can be charged for odometer testing if complaints arise about their accuracy.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the county board of supervisors, by ordinance, may charge an annual registration fee, not to exceed the county’s total cost of actually inspecting or testing the devices as required by law, to recover the costs of inspecting or testing weighing and measuring devices required of the county sealer pursuant to Section 12210, and to recover the cost of carrying out Section 12211.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the annual registration fee shall not exceed the amount set forth in subdivisions (f) to (r), inclusive.

(c) The county may collect the fees biennially, in which case they shall not exceed twice the amount of an annual registration fee. The ordinance shall be adopted pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 25120) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division 2 of Title 3 of the Government Code.

(d) Retail gasoline pump meters, for which the above fees are assessed, shall be inspected as frequently as required by regulation, but not less than once every two years.

(e) Livestock scales, animal scales, and scales used primarily for weighing feed and seed, for which the above fees are assessed, shall be inspected as frequently as required by regulation.

(f) For purposes of this section, the annual registration fee for a business that uses a commercial weighing or measuring device or devices shall consist of a business location fee, a department administrative fee, as specified in Section 12241, and a device fee, as specified in subdivisions (g) to (r), inclusive. The business location fee and device fee shall not exceed one hundred twenty dollars ($120) per business location, plus 100 percent of the maximum applicable device fee listed in subdivisions (g) to (r), inclusive.

(g)

(1) For marinas, mobilehome parks, recreational vehicle parks, and apartment complexes, where the owner of the marina, park, or complex owns and is responsible for the utility meters, the device fee shall not exceed the following:

(A) For water submeters, six dollars ($6) per device per space or apartment.

(B) For electric submeters, three dollars ($3) per device per space or apartment.

(2) Marinas, mobilehome parks, recreational vehicle parks, and apartment complexes for which the above fees are assessed shall be inspected and tested as frequently as required by regulation.

(h) For weighing devices, other than livestock, with capacities of 10,000 pounds or greater, the device fee shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per device; for weighing devices, other than livestock scales, with capacities of at least 2,000 pounds but less than 10,000 pounds, the device fee shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per device.

(i) This section does not apply to farm milk tanks.

(j) A scale or device used in a certified farmers’ market, as defined by Section 113742 of the Health and Safety Code, is not required to be registered in the county where the market is conducted, if the scale or device has an unexpired seal for the current year, issued by a licensed California county sealer.

(k) For livestock scales with capacities of 10,000 pounds or greater, the device fee shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per device; for livestock scales with capacities of at least 2,000 pounds but less than 10,000 pounds, the device fee shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per device.

(l)

(1) For liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) meters, truck mounted or stationary, the device fee shall not exceed one hundred eighty-five dollars ($185) per device.

(2) For compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquified natural gas (LNG) meters, truck mounted or stationary, the device fee shall not exceed seventy-five dollars ($75) per device in 2019, one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) per device in 2020, and one hundred eighty-five dollars ($185) per device beginning in 2021.

(m) For wholesale and vehicle meters, the device fee shall not exceed seventy-five dollars ($75) per device.

(n) For computing scales and electronic counter scales interfaced with a cash register or any point-of-sale system, the device fee shall not exceed twenty-five dollars ($25) per device. For purposes of this subdivision, a computing scale or interfaced electronic counter scale shall be a weighing device with a capacity of less than 100 pounds that indicates, through its indicator or a point-of-sale system indicator, the money value of any commodity weighed, at predetermined unit prices, throughout all or part of the weighing range of the scale. For purposes of this subdivision, the portion of the annual registration fee consisting of the business location fee and the device fees authorized by this subdivision shall not exceed the sum of one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200) for each business location.

(o) For jewelry and prescription scales and scales marked as, or meeting the design and performance requirements of, a Class II weighing device, the device fee shall not exceed eighty dollars ($80) per device. For purposes of this subdivision, a jewelry or prescription scale or a scale marked as, or meeting the design and performance requirements of, a Class II weighing device shall be a scale that meets the specifications, tolerances, and sensitivity requirements established or adopted by the secretary applicable to those devices in accordance with Section 12107.

(p) For weighing devices, other than computing, interfaced electronic counter, jewelry, and prescription scales and scales marked as, or meeting the design and performance requirements of, a Class II weighing device, as defined in subdivisions (n) and (o), with capacities of at least 100 pounds but less than 2,000 pounds, the device fee shall not exceed fifty dollars ($50) per device.

(q) For vehicle odometers utilized to charge mileage usage fees in vehicle rental transactions or in computing other charges for service, including, but not limited to, ambulance, towing, or limousine services, the device fee shall not exceed sixty dollars ($60) per device.

(r) This section does not apply to odometers in rental passenger vehicles, as defined in Section 465 of the Vehicle Code, that are subject to Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 1939.01) of Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code. If a person files a complaint with the county sealer regarding the accuracy of a rental passenger vehicle odometer, the county sealer may charge a fee to the operator of the vehicle rental business sufficient to recover, but not to exceed, the reasonable cost of testing the device in investigation of the complaint.

(s) For vehicle odometers utilized to charge mileage usage fees in vehicle rental transactions involving nonpassenger vehicles that are not subject to Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 1939.01) of Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, the portion of the annual registration fee consisting of the business location fee and the device fee authorized pursuant to subdivision (q) shall not exceed the sum of three hundred forty dollars ($340) for each business location.

(t) For all other commercial weighing or measuring devices not listed in subdivisions (g) to (r), inclusive, the device fee shall not exceed twenty-six dollars ($26) per device. For purposes of this subdivision, the total portion of the annual registration fee consisting of the business location fee and the device fees authorized by this subdivision shall not exceed the sum of one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200), for each business location.

(u) For purposes of this section, a single business location is defined as:

(1) Each business location that uses one or more categories or types of commercial devices as set forth in subdivisions (g) to (p), inclusive, and in subdivision (t), that require the use of specialized testing equipment and that necessitates not more than one inspection trip by a weights and measures official.

(2) Each vehicle, except for those vehicles that are employed in vehicle rental transactions, in which one or more commercial devices is installed and used.

(3)

(A) For vehicles that are employed in vehicle rental transactions and that are not subject to Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 1939.01) of Title 5 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, each business location at which vehicles are stored or maintained by a vehicle rental company for the purposes of renting vehicles to customers.

(B) A facility that meets all of the following criteria shall not be considered a business location for the purposes of this paragraph:

(i) The facility is not wholly, or in any part, owned, leased, or operated by the vehicle rental company.

(ii) The facility is not operated or staffed by an employee of the vehicle rental company.

(iii) The facility stores or maintains, on a temporary basis, vehicles at the location for customer convenience.

(C) If a person files a complaint with the county sealer regarding the accuracy of an odometer in a vehicle found or located at a facility described in subparagraph (B), the county sealer may charge a fee to the operator of the vehicle rental company sufficient to recover, but not to exceed, the reasonable cost of testing the device in investigation of the complaint.

annual registration fee weighing and measuring devices county board of supervisors

Section § 12241

In California, the secretary is required to set up a yearly fee to cover the costs that come with supervising and investigating certain activities related to weights and measures. This fee helps pay for maintaining state standards and certification services. It applies to every device that is registered with the county's weights and measures office and is paid into a specific fund.

The secretary shall 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 pursuant to Sections 12210 and 12211 and to recover reasonable costs incurred by the department for the safekeeping and certification of the state standards pursuant to Section 12304 and for certification services provided pursuant to Sections 12305 and 12310. This administrative fee shall be collected for every device registered with each county office of weights and measures, and paid to the Department of Food and Agriculture Fund.

annual administrative fee supervision costs investigations

Section § 12242

The money collected from certain fees will go into the county's main bank account and can only be spent on specific tasks mentioned in other sections of the law.

The revenue from any fee charged pursuant to Section 12240 shall be deposited in the general fund of the county and used solely for the activities required by Sections 12210 and 12211.

county general fund fee revenue financial allocation

Section § 12243

Before a county board of supervisors can adopt a new fee ordinance, they must hold at least one public meeting during a regular board meeting where people can present their thoughts. They need to mail details about this meeting, like the time and place, to anyone who requests it, at least 14 days in advance. This request for information is valid for a year, but you have to renew it by April 1 each year if you want to keep getting notices. The board can charge a small fee for mailing these notices. Also, 10 days before the meeting, they must tell the public how much the service will cost, how they plan to pay for it, and include any use of general fund money. If the fee collected is more than the actual cost of the service, the extra money should lower the fee.

In addition to providing notice as otherwise required, before adopting an ordinance charging fees pursuant to Section 12240, the board of supervisors shall hold at least one public meeting, at which oral or written presentations can be made, as part of a regularly scheduled meeting. Notice of the time and place of the meeting, including a general explanation of the matter to be considered, and a statement that the information required by this section is available, shall be mailed at least 14 days prior to the meeting to any interested party who files a written request with the board of supervisors. Any written request for the mailed notices shall be valid for one year from the date on which it is filed unless a renewal request is filed. Renewal requests for the mailed notices shall be filed on or before April 1 of each year. The board of supervisors may establish a reasonable annual charge for sending the notices based on the estimated cost of providing that service. At least 10 days prior to the meeting, the board of supervisors shall make available to the public information indicating the amount of cost, or estimated cost, required to provide the service for which the fee is charged and the revenue sources anticipated to provide the service, including general fund revenues. If the fees create revenues in excess of actual cost, those revenues shall be used to reduce the fee creating the excess.

board of supervisors public meeting fee ordinance

Section § 12244

This law allows the board of supervisors to recoup the expenses of holding a meeting by charging fees for the services discussed during that meeting.

Any costs incurred by the board of supervisors in conducting the required meeting may be recovered from fees charged for the services which were the subject of the meeting.

board of supervisors meeting expenses cost recovery

Section § 12246

This rule will only be valid until January 1, 2029, and will be officially canceled on that date.

This article shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed.

expiration date repealed January 1

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