Bill Text - SB311 (2012)

(2nd New Title) establishing a director of the division of weights and measures and relative to the setting of weights and measures fees.


Revision: April 27, 2012, midnight

SB 311-FN-A – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

03/21/12 1266s

03/28/12 1484s

25Apr2012… 1703h

2012 SESSION

12-2963

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

AMENDED ANALYSIS

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 fiscal committee of the general court.

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.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

25Apr2012… 1703h

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, who shall serve thereafter at the pleasure of the commissioner.

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. The director shall operate under the duties prescribed to him or her by the commissioner, including but not limited to:

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 therefor, 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.

V. The director shall provide quarterly reports of complaints to the advisory board. Such reports shall include the date and nature of the complaint, the investigator of the complaint, and the resolution of the complaint.

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 nominated by the New Hampshire Grocers Association.

(b) One member nominated by the Oil Heat Council of New Hampshire.

(c) One member who is a scrap dealer.

(d) Two members who are farmers, one of whom is engaged in retail of his or her products.

(e) One legislator from the house environment and agriculture committee or the senate energy and natural resources committee.

(f) One member nominated by the Propane Gas Association of New England.

(g) One member nominated by the Independent Oil Marketers Association.

(h) One member of the general public who is not involved commercially with weights and measures.

(i) One member who is a weights and measures service technician registered under RSA 438:14-a.

II. The director of weights and measures shall serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member of the board.

III. Following an initial appointment for staggered terms, each board member 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 2 times per year at a time and place to be fixed by the chairman. Additional meetings shall occur 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 New Section; Authority of Inspectors. Amend RSA 438 by inserting after section 15-a the following new section:

438:15-b Authority of Inspectors. Effective no later than January 1, 2013, the commissioner, upon the recommendation of and consultation with the director of weights and measures, shall designate a sufficient number of inspectors to investigate and prosecute criminal complaints.

3 New Subparagraph; 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) Notwithstanding fees set in RSA 438:10-a, with the approval of the fiscal committee of the general court:

(A) Testing and certification.

(B) 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

Amended 04/11/12

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 Food states this bill, as amended by the Senate (Amendment #2012-1484s), will increase state general fund expenditures and revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. There is no fiscal impact on county and local revenue and expenditures.

METHODOLOGY:

    The Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food states this bill makes the director for the bureau of weights and measures an unclassified position, establishes an advisory committee for weights and measures, and provides rulemaking authority to the commissioner to establish and collect weights and measures fees, with approval of the fiscal committee. The Department states it is not able to determine the costs associated with establishing a new unclassified director of the weights and measures. The Department states the requirement that the person filling this position have police command or management experience may result in the position having a higher market value than the existing director position, which has $49,970 budgeted for the salary in FY 2013. The advisory board members are eligible to be reimbursed for necessary and reasonable expenses. The Department assumes board members will be reimbursed for travel as part of the necessary and reasonable expenses at 55.5 cents per mile, travel on average 80 miles per meeting, and attend four meetings in a year. This would result in expenditures of $1,954 (80 miles * 55.5 cents per mile * 11 members * 4 meetings). The Department is not able to determine what other, if any, expenses would need to be reimbursed. The Department states it has not been collecting the fees inadvertently voided by Chapter 202, Laws of 2011 (SB 157), which totals approximately $148,000 in fee revenue each year. The Department states this bill returns the authority to the commissioner to establish and collect weights and measures fees by rulemaking with approval by the fiscal committee. The Department is not able to determine how long the process will take to reestablish the fees or if fees will change as a result of the process to determine how much revenue will be collected.