Merced County, CA WEIGHING AND MEASURING DEVICE REGISTRATION PERMIT

§ 6.58.010 Purpose.

In accordance with the authority granted by the state of California under Section 12240 of the Business and Professions Code, an annual device registration permit fee may be charged establishments and individuals using commercial weighing and measuring devices.

In accordance with the authority granted by the state of California under Section 12210.5 of the Business and Professions Code, a fee may be charged the owner or user of a commercially used weighing or measuring device, when inspection or testing of the device as performed by the sealer of weights and measures could legally have been performed by a registered repairperson.

In accordance with the authority granted by the state of California under Section 12210(b) of the Business and Professions Code, a fee may be charged any person, firm, or corporation who requests in writing the calibrating, testing, weighing, measuring, and certifying as to the accuracy of noncommercial weights and measures and weighing and measuring devices, and instruments, tools, and accessories connected therewith.

The purpose of this chapter is to authorize the inspections described in subsection C and to provide for the collection of fees to recover the cost of inspecting and/or testing weighing and measuring devices required or requested to be tested/certified by the county sealer of weights and measures.

(Ord. 1132, 1983; Ord. 1387, 1991; Ord. 1446, 1992; Ord. 1483, 1993)

§ 6.58.020 Definitions.

"Commercial weighing and measuring devices for which a registration permit fee is required"

shall be such devices as classified in Title 4, Article 2, commencing with Section 4001, of the California Code of Regulations, and the regulations of the Director of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.

"Noncommercial weighing and measuring devices for which a fee for calibrating, testing, weighing and measuring may be charged"

shall be those devices defined in the California Code of Regulations, Title 4, Article 2, commencing with Section 4001 except commercial weighing and measuring devices.

"Sealer of weights and measures"

means the director of the Merced County department of weights and measures, a division of the office of the agricultural commissioner, and its agents and employees duly authorized to act on behalf of said department.

(Ord. 1132, 1983; Ord. 1387, 1991; Ord. 1446, 1992; Ord. 1483, 1993)

§ 6.58.030 Device registration permit.

No person shall temporarily or permanently, alone or in conjunction with others, maintain or operate any commercial weighing or measuring device, as described in the current schedule developed pursuant to Section 12240 of the Business and Professions Code, without first obtaining an annual device registration permit.

(Ord. 1132, 1983; Ord. 1387, 1991; Ord. 1446, 1992; Ord. 1483, 1993)

§ 6.58.040 Application and fees.

Applications for device registration permits and renewals thereof shall be filed with the sealer of weights and measures upon such forms as he or she may prescribe.

Device registration fees charged will be in accordance with Business and Professions Code Division 5 Article 2.1 Section 12240 and approved by the Merced County board of supervisors.

The minimum annual device registration fee shall be five dollars per location.

Except as provided in subsection E of this section, the device registration permit fee for the calendar year or any part thereof during which the permitted activity is carried on and for renewal thereof shall be collected annually as follows:

The business location fee and device fee shall not exceed $100 per business location, plus 100% of the maximum applicable device fee listed in subdivisions (a) to (p), inclusive.

For marinas, mobile home 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:

For water submeters, two dollars per device per space or apartment.

ii.

For electric submeters, three dollars per device per space or apartment.

iii.

For vapor submeters, four dollars per device per space or apartment.

Marinas, mobile home 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.

For weighing devices, other than livestock, with capacities of 10,000 pounds or greater, the device fee shall not exceed $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 $150 per device.

This section does not apply to farm milk tanks.

A scale or device used in a certified farmers' market, as defined by Section 113745 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.

For livestock scales with capacities of 10,000 pounds or greater, the device fee shall not exceed $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 $100 per device.

For liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) meters, truck mounted or stationary, the device fee shall not exceed $175 per device.

For wholesale and vehicle meters, the device fee shall not exceed $75 per device.

For computing scales, the device fee shall not exceed $20 per device. For purposes of this subdivision, a computing scale shall be a weighing device with a capacity of less than 100 pounds that indicates the money value of any commodity weighed, at predetermined unit prices, throughout all or part of the weighing range of the scale. For the 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 $1,000 for each business location.

For jewelry and prescription scales, the device fee shall not exceed $20 per device. For purposes of this subdivision, a jewelry or prescription scale 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 Business and Professions Code Section 12107.

For weighing devices, other than computing, jewelry, and prescription scales as defined in subdivisions (i) and (j), with capacities of at least 100 pounds but less than 2,000 pounds, the device fee shall not exceed $50 per device.

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 $20 per device.

This section does not apply to odometers in rental passenger vehicles, as defined in Section 465 of the Vehicle Code, that are subject to Section 1936 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.

For vehicle odometers utilized to charge mileage usage fees in vehicle rental transactions involving nonpassenger vehicles that are not subject to Section 1936 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 (l) shall not exceed the sum of $340 for each business location.

For all other commercial weighing or measuring devices not listed in subdivisions (a) to (n), inclusive, the device fee shall not exceed $20 per device. For the 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 $1,000, for each business location.

For the purposes of this section, a single business location is defined as:

(i)

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

(ii)

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

(iii)

(A)

For vehicles that are employed in vehicle rental transactions and that are not subject to Section 1936 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:

(1)

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

(2)

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

(3)

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.

For non-fixed location scales (with a capacity of 40 pounds or less) which include, but are not limited to, farmers markets or swap meets brought into the Merced County weights and measures office for testing the location fee will be waived and the device fee shall be $20 per device.

In the event Business and Professions Code Section 12240 sets and fixes device registration fees in amounts greater than those set forth in this section, the sealer of weights and measures shall charge the higher fee.

Each device registration permit shall expire on December 31st of the current year provided such permit may be renewed without penalty on or before 30 days following the expiration date. A registration certificate for which timely payment has not been made shall cease to be valid until such time as the director has received such payment, together with applicable penalty fees.

To any new or renewal permit fee not paid on or before 30 days following the expiration date of the registration permit, there shall be added a penalty as follows: Any annual device registration fee (device fee plus location fee) not paid within 30 days of the initial billing will incur a penalty of 25% of the initial fee. If the fees are not paid within 60 days of initial billing, the initial fee will be doubled. Fees not paid after 90 days of the initial billing will be forwarded to revenue and reimbursement.

(Ord. 1132, 1983; Ord. 1387, 1991; Ord. 1446, 1992; Ord. 1483, 1993; Ord. 1506, 1994; Ord. 1775, 2006; Ord. 1909 § 1, 2013)

§ 6.58.050 Noncommercial fees.

The fees for the calibrating, testing, certifying, weighing and measuring of noncommercial weighing and measuring devices shall be those established annually by the Merced County auditor based on the cost to perform such services as determined by the weighted average hourly rate (WAHR) method.