CALIFORNIAAGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONERS AND SEALERS ASSOCIATION
MINUTES
LAWS AND REGULATIONS COMMITTEE
THURSDAY –MAY 4, 2006
EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL
333 MADONA ROAD
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA
COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Bill Stephans, ChairDennis GudgelJoe Moreo
John Snyder, SecretaryDave MoellerEd Layaye
David BengstonDavid Robinson Paul Boch
I.Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 8:33 a.m.
II.Approval of Minutes
It was M/S/P to approve the Winter Conference minutes ofNovember 3, 2005.
III.Additional Agenda Items - None
IV.Old Business
- Weights and Measures Seal Order for 2007
Ed Layaye reported that the vendor (Label Graphics) that has been providing the seals for many of the counties will offer a two year quote based on last years pricing, if we can commit to an order of at least 339,000 seals. This vendor also offers “over-laminated” seals, and the 2” diameter version at a cost of approximately 5 percent more. Ed and San BernardinoCountystaff has been providing this service to the counties for over 20 years and must now go back out to bid. Ed asked if any other counties would be interested in taking over this service which benefits several counties. No volunteers were forthcoming and no consensus was reached by the committee or association membersas more counties appear to be purchasing seals through their own sources.
Seeing no apparent resolution, Chairman Stephans offered to later survey the counties regarding their seal purchasing preference.
L&R Committee Minutes
May 4, 2006
Page 1 of 5
- Implementation of AB 889 - Discussion/Update
- Implementation Survey
In order to determine the statewide implementation status of AB 889, Bill Stephans has distributed both a general survey, and a supplemental survey to all counties. Bill reported the results of the two surveys to the group based on the 37 county responses. The surveys showed some considerable variability. Some counties have been able to justify the maximum fees while others were not. Several counties were also successful in obtaining approval for an automatic maximum fee increase over a three year period, as authorized by AB 889. Some counties received approval for programs which feature lower device registration fees for smaller businesses and Certified Farmers Markets, etc. Also, some counties that operate on a fiscal year cycle had not yet gone forward with their proposals to their respective Boards of Supervisors.
Dennis Gudgel reported his experience and provided a copy of an e-mail which documented the basis of considerable industry opposition to a Point of Sale Ordinance that was recently proposed in StanislausCounty. In summary, industry was not necessarily opposed to the proposed inspections, but was against the new proposed fees. Based on this situation, Dennis must now go back to his Board with a Point of Sale program based on funding from the county general fund.
Chairman Stephans further reported that the surveys showed that many counties have been successful in using the increased fees to bolster their programs by justifying increased staffing and program equipment, in addition to reducing general fund contributions.
b. Scanner Training/Procedures Clarification
Bill Stephans commented that even if a county does not currently have a “Scanner Ordinance” in place, it is still appropriate to participate in scanner related training offered by DMS. Such training would help those counties when responding to random “point of sale” related consumer complaints and it would support efforts toward future program development. DMS is willing to continue scanner training on an “as needed” basis, if not on an annual basis.
The question was posed as to whether Rite Aid settlement funds would be able to be utilized to assist counties in attending future scanner related training. The consensus of the committee was that the original motion to utilize these funds did not contain a specific time limit so that yes, they could be used for future training activities pertaining to price verification. It was reported that there currently is approximately $37,000 remaining in the Rite Aid fund.
V.New Business
- DMS Update
Mike Cleary reported that DMS is slowly but surely recovering from previous budget reductions that had resulted as a consequence of CDFA having to meet with required funding cuts. As a result, Mike indicated that he expects that his new year budget will be generally adequate to fulfill their mission.
Because the counties are experiencing funding increases as a result of AB 889, DMS is poised to respond to the increase need to train county staff. Hearing officer training will also be rolled out in the upcoming months.
Mike also reported that after a few glitches, the laboratories and related equipment, such as the water meter test bench and the type approval equipment, etc., are all up and running at their new location.
Given the ongoing push for the U.S. to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, Mike updated the group regarding issues related to alternative fuels such as hydrogen fuel cells and that as these issues continue to evolve locally and nationally, NIST will be conducting related research to develop appropriate standards and performance measures.
- Water Vending Machines
Frank Carl reported regarding the status of AB 2644 (Montanez). This pending legislation would require specific notification postings such as last date of service, a “1-800 number” for complaints, etc., on water vending machines. We are currently written into the bill to perform inspections regarding the required postings. If we find violations, we are to notify the State Department of Health. Bill Stephans indicated that a simple/uniform form could be developed, with a box to check if a violation is found. This form could then be faxed to a central, Health Department location. The Department of Health is currently opposed to this legislation.
C.Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel Pump Labeling
David Lazier from DMS provided a comprehensive report on this topic, complete with a power point presentation and accompanying handout.
Federal EPA has mandated that as of June 1, 2006, 80% of all produced diesel fuel shall contain no more that 15 ppm of sulfur. After October 1, 2010, all produced diesel fuel must meet this fuel specification to comply with air quality standards. The California Air Resources Board however, has gone beyond this federal mandate by requiring that 100% of diesel fuel produced in California meet the 15 ppm sulfur standard by June 1, 2006. Also, California makes no exception for off-road vehicles and equipment. All 2007 model year and newer vehicles must use Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel.
Except within California, the federal mandate also requires specific fuel pump labeling to clearly identify the specific sulfur content and vehicle usage (on-road vs. off-road). California’s labeling requirements will remain as they are: Brand name, Grade (#1 or 2) and Product (Diesel Fuel).
D.Storage Tank Labels with Respect to Water Resources-Debris Bucket Requirement.
David Lazier continued with another power point presentation, with handout, regarding storage tank labels and water resources debris bucket requirements.
The Water Resources Board regulations required “spill buckets” and “debris buckets” to be installed around underground tank inlets by April of 2005, and DMS Notice P-05-2 advised Weights and Measures Officials of this requirement.
Spill buckets are not removable and contain a valve to drain spilled engine fuel into the storage tank. Debris buckets are removable and are designed to trap trash and debris that may get under the fill access lids and plug the drain valve.
Debris buckets frequently hide the required storage tank labels, which is a violation. Drivers usually will not remove the debris bucket unless it is necessary to hook up their delivery hose so an inadvertent delivery of the wrong fuel could be added to an underground storage tank.
The intent of the label requirement is to prevent the accidental dumping of the wrong product into the storage tank by the delivery driver, weights and measures officials or service agents.
L&R Committee Minutes
May 4, 2006
Page 1 of 5
The following represent three possible solutions to this visibility problem:
- Affix labels both under the debris bucket and to the debris bucket in order to prevent the mix up of buckets when removed and provides label visibility;
- Affix a label that is a collar in the fill opening;
- Affix a label to the ground outside of the fill cover opening.
- Petroleum/Weighmaster Contract Reduction
Mike Cleary reported that the county Petroleum/Weighmaster contract for fiscal year 2006/07 was reduced by 10%. These funds are being diverted to finance the process of automating and maintaining the Weights and Measures monthly reports. These reports are currently processed manually via hard copies which can result in additional errors. The contract money was identified because Petroleum and Weighmaster programs are “part and parcel” of the data collected and processed on the monthly report. This project is intended to improve and simplify data collection, improve uniformity, and provides the state and counties with aweb based program, with easy and comprehensive access to local and regional Weights and Measures related data. Mike also indicated that he hopes that the automation of this report will facilitate the similar automation of the other CDFA related monthly reports for which we are responsible. Approximately $80,000 was removed from the county contracts statewide to help fund the automation.
Because the counties generally received no prior explanation and no contract “cover letter” identifying the reductions, Mike expressed his apologies for the “surprise” and his intent to prevent such oversights from occurring in the future. Mike also offered to the counties the use of DMS staff to help cover any lost inspections due to the contract reductions. Mike assured the committee and association that as soon as this specific project is completed, which should be sometime in August, the 10% reduction in the county contracts would be completely restored for the next year.
There being no further actions brought before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 10:03a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
John Snyder, Secretary