Kern County Municipal Code Ch. 5.80 Weighing and Measuring Instruments

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Editor's note— Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, Dec. 10, 2024, amended Ch. 5.80 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Ch. 5.80, §§ 5.80.010—5.80.120, pertained to similar subject matter, and derived from prior code § 5998; Ord. No. G-4735, § 2 (part), adopted 1988; Ord. No. G-5320, § 2, adopted 1990; Ord. No. G-5820, §§ 2—5, adopted 1992; Ord. No. G-5975, §§ 2—4, adopted 1993; Ord. No. G-6068, §§ 2, 3, adopted 1994; Ord. No. G-6552, § 2, adopted 1998; Ord. No. G-6750, § 2, adopted 2001; Ord. No. G-6784, §§ 2, 3, adopted 2001; Ord. No. G-7514, § 2 (part), adopted 2007; and Ord. No. G-8421, § 2, adopted Aug. 6, 2013.

This chapter provides for the registration of weighing and measuring instruments and devices and establishes fees for this registration. It authorizes the testing and inspection of weighing and measuring instruments and devices when requested by the owner or user of the instrument or device and establishes the fees to be charged for such service. The provisions of this chapter are authorized by Article 2 and 2.1 of Chapter 2 of Division 5 of the California Business and Professions Code. These functions shall be provided by the Weights and Measures Division of the Department of Agriculture and Measurement Standards.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

For the purpose of this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

A. "Weighing and measuring instrument or device" means "weighing instrument" and "measuring instrument" as defined in Section 12500 of the California Business and Professions Code.

B. "Commercial purposes" has the same meaning it has in Section 12500 of the California Business and Professions Code.

C. "Certified farmers' market" has the same meaning it has in Section 113742 of the California Health and Safety Code.

D. "Person" has the same meaning it has in Section 12011 of the California Business and Professions Code.

E. "Director" or "agricultural commissioner and sealer of weights and measures" means the agricultural commissioner and sealer of weights and measures of the department of agriculture and measurement standards of the county of Kern and his/her duly authorized agents.

F. "Location" means the room, house, building, motorized vehicle or space where one (1) or more weighing or measuring instruments or devices are located or from which one (1) or more weighing or measuring instruments or devices are operated.

G. "Hydrocarbon gas vapor-measuring device" means a system including a mechanism or device of the meter type, equipped with a totalizing index, designed to measure and deliver hydrocarbon gas in the vapor state (such as propane, propylene, butane, butylenes, ethane, methane and any other hydrocarbon gas/air mix) by definite volumes and generally installed in a permanent location.

H. "Water meter" means a system including a mechanism or device of the meter type, equipped with a totalizing index, designed to measure and deliver water in the liquid state by definite volumes and generally installed in a permanent location.

I. "Electric meter" means an electric watt-hour meter designed to measure and register the integral of an electrical quantity with respect to time.

J. "Jewelry or Prescription Scale or a scale marked as, or meeting the design and performance requirements of, a Class II weighing device" means a scale that meets the specifications, tolerances, and sensitivity requirements established or adopted by regulation applicable to those devices in accordance with Section 12107 of the California Business and Professions Code.

K. "Business location" means (a) each vehicle containing one (1) or more commercial devices (b) each business location that uses different categories or types of commercial devices that require the use of specialized testing equipment and that necessitates not more than one (1) inspection trip by the director.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

It is unlawful for any person to use a weighing or measuring instrument or device for commercial purposes unless the instrument or device carries a current registration certificate issued by the director. The registration certificate issued by the director shall be in addition to any other certificate, license or permit required by the county or any other public entity.

A. Except for hydrocarbon gas vapor-measuring devices, water meters and electric meters, the registration certificate shall be affixed to the instrument or device or conspicuously posted at all times at the location where such instrument or device is being used.

B. A single registration certificate shall be issued to a person for all hydrocarbon gas vapor-measuring devices, water meters and electric meters used by that person for commercial purposes and registered with the director. This certificate shall be maintained at the person's principal place of business subject to audit by the director at any time during regular business hours.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

The director shall issue the registration certificate upon receipt of a completed application and payment of the applicable fee. An application for a registration certificate must be submitted in the form prescribed by the director. Absent contrary instructions from the director, each application is to contain: (a) a description of the weighing and measuring instrument or device; (b) the manufacturer of the instrument or device; (c) the model of the instrument or device; (d) the serial or identification number of the instrument or device; (e) the location at which the device is installed; and (f) the date that the instrument or device was last tested by the director. In the case of hydrocarbon gas vapor-measuring devices, water meters and electric meters, the location set forth on the application may be the owner's principal place of business.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

A registration certificate shall be valid until December 31 of the calendar year the certificate was issued for. A registration certificate may be renewed from each calendar year upon payment of the applicable fee.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

Unless otherwise specified, the annual registration fee shall consist of a business location registration fee as specified in subsection (A) plus a device fee as specified in subsection (B).

A. The business location registration fee is: one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) per calendar year, as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240, as it shall be amended from time to time.

B. Device fees are as follows:

1. For marinas, mobile home parks, recreational vehicle parks, and apartment complexes, where the owner of the park or complex owns and is responsible for the utility meters, the sub-meter device fee shall be: water sub-meter, six dollars ($6.00), electric sub-meter, three dollars ($3.00), vapor sub-meter, ten dollars ($10.00), per device per space or apartment, as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240(g), as it shall be amended from time to time.

2. For weighing devices, other than livestock scales, with capacities of ten thousand (10,000) pounds or greater, the device fee shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) per device; for weighing devices other than livestock scales, with capacities of at least two thousand (2,000) pounds but less than ten thousand (10,000) pounds, the device fee shall be one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per device, as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240(h), as it shall be amended from time to time.

3. For livestock scales with capacities of greater than ten thousand (10,000) pounds, the device fee shall be one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per device; for livestock scales with capacities of at least two thousand (2,000) pounds and up to ten thousand (10,000) pounds, the device fee shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00) per device, as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240(k), as it shall be amended from time to time.

4. For liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) meters, compressed natural gas (CNG) meters, and liquefied natural gas (LNG), vehicle mounted or stationary, the registration fee shall be one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) per location/vehicle and one hundred eighty-five dollars ($185.00) per device, as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240(I), as it shall be amended from time to time.

5. For wholesale and vehicle meters, the registration fee shall be one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) per location/vehicle and seventy-five dollars ($75.00) per device as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240(m), as it shall be amended from time to time.

6. For jewelry and prescription scales, the device fee shall be eighty dollars ($80) per device, as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240(o), as it shall be amended from time to time.

7. For all other weighing devices with capacities of at least one hundred (100) pounds but less than two thousand (2,000) pounds, the device fee shall be fifty dollars ($50) per device, as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240(p), as it shall be amended from time to time.

8. Unless otherwise specified in subsection (8)(a)—(8)(g), for other commercial weighing or measuring devices not listed in (B)(1) to (B)(7) above, the device fee shall be, twenty-six dollars ($26.00) per device as set forth in Business and Professions Code Section 12240(t), as it shall be amended from time to time. The total annual registration fee shall not exceed the sum of one thousand two hundred dollars ($1,200.00) for each business location.

a. For computing scales, counter scales, dormant scales, hanging scales, platform scales less than one hundred (100) pounds capacity, the device registration fee shall be, one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) and twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per device.

b. For odometers—ambulances and tow trucks, the device registration fee shall be one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) per location/vehicle and sixty dollars ($60.00) per device.

c. For odometers—truck rentals, the device registration fee shall be, one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) per location and sixty dollars ($60.00) per vehicle. The total annual registration fee shall not exceed the sum of three hundred forty dollars ($340.00) for each business location.

d. For non-fixed produce scales, the device registration fee shall be, twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per location and twenty dollars ($20.00) per device when the scales are brought to the Department for testing.

e. For taxi meters, the device registration fee shall be, one hundred twenty dollars ($120.00) per location/vehicle and sixty dollars ($60.00) per device.

f. For timing devices—laundromats and carwashes, the device registration fee shall be, one hundred dollars ($100.00) per location and ten dollars ($10.00) per device. The total annual registration fee shall not exceed the sum of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for each business location.

g. For timing devices—parking meters, the device registration fee shall be, one hundred dollars ($100.00) per location and ten dollars ($10.00) per device.

C. The failure to renew a registration certificate for a weighing and measuring instrument or device, including hydrocarbon gas vapor-measuring devices, water meters and electric meters, prior to its expiration shall cause the imposition of a delinquent fee in the amount of fifty dollars ($50.00) per registrant.

D. Weighing and measuring instruments and devices that are exempt from the payment of an annual registration fee by state law shall not be issued registration certificates.

E. In no case, shall the annual registration certificate fees set forth in this section for any weighing and measuring instrument or device exceed the cost, as determined by statute, of inspecting or testing the weighing and measuring instruments or devices.

F. A scale or device used in a certified farmers' market, as defined in 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 county sealer.

G. 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 the investigation of the complaint.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

A registration certificate may be issued to a corporation duly authorized to transact business in the state, or to a person operating under a fictitious name who has complied with all the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 17900) of Part 3 of Division 7 of the California Business and Professions Code. Except as provided in this chapter, all such certificates shall be issued in the true name of the applicant and no business, occupation or activity for which a registration certificate is required by this chapter may be conducted under any false or fictitious name. A certificate issued to a corporation shall designate such corporation by the exact name which appears in the articles of incorporation of such corporation.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

A registration certificate is not transferable from one person to another, and is valid only for the specific instruments and devices identified in the registration certificate application. If the instrument or device is identified in the application as being used at a fixed location, the registration certificate is valid only so long as the instrument or device is used at the identified location.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

At the request of the owner or user of a weighing or measuring instrument or device used for commercial purposes, the director may inspect and test the device, provided such inspection or testing of the device could legally be performed by a registered repairman. The director shall charge a fee for any such test or inspection in the amount established, from time to time, by the California Director of Food and Agriculture pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 12210.5.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

Upon the written request of any person, the director may calibrate, test, weigh, and measure, and certify to the accuracy of, noncommercial weights and measures and weighing and measuring devices, and instruments, tools, and accessories connected therewith. The director shall charge a fee for such service. The fees to be charged shall be identical to those established by the Director of Food and Agriculture pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 12210.5. For certifications pursuant to Business and Professions Code Section 12314, the director shall charge the fee established by the board of supervisors for such certification.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

When inspecting, testing, calibrating, and/or certifying to the accuracy of any weighing or measuring device pursuant to Sections 5.80.090 and 5.80.100, the director shall charge a fee for the time he or his staff devotes to the test that is not otherwise provided for in this chapter. Such fee is designated as a standby fee and shall be in the amount established from time to time by the board of supervisors.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)

After any commercial weighing or measuring instrument or device has been tested and found to be outside the tolerances and specifications set by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the director may reinspect, retest and recertify such an instrument or device in order to determine if it is within those tolerances and specifications. The director shall charge a fee for any such reinspection, retesting, or recertification. In no case shall this fee exceed the actual cost of the reinspection, retesting, or recertification. This fee shall be designated as a reinspection fee and shall be in the amount established from time to time by the board of supervisors.

(Ord. No. G-9311, § 2, 12-10-24)