Revision: March 30, 2012, midnight
SB 311-FN-A – AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
03/21/12 1266s
03/28/12 1484s
2012 SESSION
08/10
SENATE BILL 311-FN-A
AN ACT establishing a director of the division of weights and measures and relative to the setting of weights and measures fees.
SPONSORS: Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. White, Dist 9; Sen. Groen, Dist 6; Rep. C. McGuire, Merr 8; Rep. Winter, Merr 3; Rep. Bettencourt, Rock 4
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill:
I. Establishes a director of the division of weights and measures.
II. Allows the commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets, and food to set fees for testing, certification, and licenses with the approval of the joint legislative fiscal committee.
III. Allows the commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets and food to enter into agreements to lease vehicles for inspectors.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/21/12 1266s
03/28/12 1484s
12-2963
08/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT establishing a director of the division of weights and measures and relative to the setting of weights and measures fees.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Sections; Division of Weights And Measures; Director. Amend RSA 438 by inserting after section 8 the following new sections:
438:8-a Division Director; Salary.
I. The commissioner shall nominate a director for the division of weights and measures for appointment by the governor, with the consent of the council. The director shall serve a term of 4 years from the date of appointment. The director shall be qualified by reason of professional competence, education, and expertise including management experience and at least 5 years of experience as a full time police officer at a command or management level.
II. The salary of the director shall be determined after assessment and review of the appropriate temporary letter grade allocation in RSA 94:1-a, I(b) for the position which shall be conducted pursuant to RSA 94:1-d and RSA 14:14-c.
438:8-b Division Director; Duties.
I. Subject to direction from the commissioner, the director of weights and measures shall direct and supervise the functions of the division of weights and measures including the work of the inspectors, the metrologist, and the clerical staff.
II. The director, in accordance with the policies of the department of administrative services shall keep records on the weights and measures inspectors which shall include by employee, the hours worked, approval of any overtime hours worked and the reason therefore, and accurate records of leave time accrued and used.
III. The director shall designate the procedure for prosecuting violations of this chapter and shall make judicious use of the civil penalty system in lieu of criminal prosecution when in his or her judgment it will be equally or more effective in enforcing the provisions of this chapter.
IV. The director shall, with approval of the commissioner, establish a code of conduct for the inspectors which shall be available upon request and shall establish rules, regulations, and standard operating procedures for the inspectors.
438:8-c Weights and Measures Advisory Board.
I. There shall be a weights and measures advisory board consisting of 11 members. The members shall be appointed by commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets and food, and shall include the following:
(a) Two members who are grocers.
(b) Two members who are oil dealers.
(c) Two members who are scrap dealers.
(d) Two members who are engaged in farmers’ markets.
(e) One member who sells wood by the cord.
(f) One gasoline filling station operator.
(g) One member of the general public who is not involved commercially with weights and measures.
II. The director of weights and measures shall serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board.
III. Board members shall serve for a term of 4 years. Board members shall not serve more than 2 consecutive terms. The board shall annually elect from among its members a chairman and a vice-chairman.
IV. Board members shall serve without compensation, except that they shall receive reimbursement for their reasonable and necessary expenses in the performance of their duties. This reimbursement shall be a charge against the appropriation for the department for weights and measures.
V. The board shall meet at least 4 times per year at a time and place to be fixed by the chairman, either upon his or her own motion or at the request of 3 or more board members.
VI. The weights and measures advisory board shall regularly advise the director of the division of weights and measures and the commissioner on all matters related to the enforcement of this chapter.
2 Authority of Inspectors. RSA 438:15-a is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
438:15-a Authority of Inspectors. Effective no later than January 1, 2013, the arrest powers of inspectors in the division of weights and measures shall lapse unless and until reauthorized on an individual basis by the commissioner upon recommendation of the director of weights and measures and henceforth only such inspectors as the commissioner shall designate and swear in on an annual basis after consultation with the director of weights and measures shall possess the power of arrest.
3 New Subparagraphs; Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food; Authority to Set Fees. Amend RSA 438:8, I(h) by inserting after subparagraph (4) the following new subparagraph:
(5) With the approval of the joint legislative fiscal committee:
(i) Testing and certification.
(ii) Licenses, including application, initial issuance, replacement and duplication.
4 Existing Director of Weights and Measures. The existing position of director of weights and measures shall lapse upon the effective date of this act and the appropriation for such position shall be available to compensate the new unclassified position of director of the division of weights and measures established by this act.
5 Vehicle Usage. The commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets and food, upon recommendation of the director of weights and measures and upon determining that it would be less expensive to lease vehicles for the inspectors than to reimburse them for private vehicle mileage, is authorized to enter into vehicle leasing agreements for said purpose.
6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
LBAO
12-2963
Revised 01/05/12
SB 311 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT establishing a director of the division of weights and measures and relative to the setting of weights and measures fees.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Agriculture, Markets and Foods states this bill will increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2013 and each year thereafter, and decrease state revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2013. The Department of Safety states this bill will increase state, county, and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. The Judicial Branch states this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on state expenditures in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Agriculture, Markets and Foods states this bill transfers the authority over weights and measures to the Department of Safety. The Department assumes the FY 2013 budget for the division of weights and measures would be transferred to the Department of Safety. This bill does not transfer the weights and measures personnel or the metrology lab. The Department assumes the personnel funded by the division of weights and measures and not transferred to the Department of Safety will be laid off. The Department estimates payout costs for the personnel to be $180,000 of general funds in FY 2013. There are two positions, a program specialist (vacant) and a clerk position that work 100 percent and 60 percent, respectively, on weights and measures functions funded by the product and scale testing fund located in the division of regulatory services. Because these positions are not budgeted in the division of weights and measures, the Department assumes the funding for these positions would not transfer to the Department of Safety. The Department states the clerk position would be assigned to other functions and the program specialist position would remain vacant. The Department assumes there will be increased costs to the Department of Safety to hire positions to perform responsibilities of the division of weights and measures. The Department also states the Department of Safety will need to establish a metrology lab and hire a metrologist. The Department indicates there would be indeterminable costs associated with designing, constructing, preparing and occupying a lab space. Additionally, revenue would not be generated for the period from the closure of the existing lab to the opening of a new lab. The Department states the metrology lab collects approximately $70,000 in revenue annually. The removal of police powers from inspectors will necessitate the use of law enforcement for criminal cases. The Department assumes 30-40 criminal cases per year which would be handled by the state police.
The Department of Safety states the transferring of the division of weights and measures to the Department will increase expenditures by an indeterminable amount. There will be costs associated with the move, such as identifying space and moving expenses. There will also be some costs associated with administrative functions such as requisitioning, purchasing, invoicing, payroll, mailroom, and other business office duties that cannot be determined. The removing of police powers from the inspectors will necessitate law enforcement taking over cases requiring criminal investigation and prosecution. State police would handle all these cases, except in towns or cities of greater than 3,000 population where the state police have no authority. Local police and sheriffs would need to handle criminal investigations where the state police are not able. The Department would also have costs associated with forming and maintaining a metrology laboratory and a safe place to keep and store all the state standards for weighing and measuring. There will be costs associated with the advisory board of an indeterminable amount as the bill allows for members of the advisory board to receive reimbursement for their reasonable and necessary expenses in performance of their duty. Finally, the Department states the bill establishes an unclassified director position that will result in an indeterminable increase in costs. The Department states it has no information to determine the qualifications, or salary for this position.
The Judicial Branch states this bill contains the same provisions in RSA 438, which is repealed by this bill. Though this bill has the same penalties as RSA 438, the Branch is not able to determine the fiscal impact as it cannot predict if the Department of Safety will enforce weights and measures laws more aggressively, less aggressively or identical to the Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food.