Notice of Committee Passage of Substitute House Bill 1298

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SHB 1298, titled AN ACT Relating to device registration, civil penalties, and service agent registration for the weights and measures program, has been passed by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks. The Office of Financial Management has identified this bill as requiring a ten-year projection of increased cost to the taxpayers or affected fee payers.

Ten-year projection:

Fiscal Year		Commercial device registration fee	Service agent registration fee	Total
2020		$ 732,840	$ 11,160	$ 744,000
2021		732,840	11,160	$ 744,000
2022		740,160	11,280	$ 751,440
2023		747,574	11,380	$ 758,954
2024		755,044	11,500	$ 766,544
2025		762,589	11,620	$ 774,209
2026		770,211	11,740	$ 781,951
2027		777,911	11,860	$ 789,771
2028		785,709	11,960	$ 797,669
2029		793,565	12,080	$ 805,645
Total:		$ 7,598,443	$ 115,740	$ 7,714,183

Substitute House Bill 1298 changes multiple RCWs administered by the WSDA to increase weights and measures fees and to increase civil penalties.

Section 3 amends RCW 19.94.175 by raising the annual registration fees charged for weighing and measuring devices as follows: (a) weighing devices: small scale: ten to sixteen dollars; intermediate: $40 to $60; large: $75 to $120 dollars; railroad scales: $800 to $1,200 (b) liquid fuel metering devices: motor fuel meters- twenty gallons or less per minute: $10 to $16, motor fuel meters twenty-one to one hundred-fifty gallons per minute: $32 to $50, over one hundred fifty gallons per minute: $50 to $75 (c) liquid petroleum gas meters: one inch diameter or smaller: $25 to $40, over one inch: $50 to $80 dollars (d) fabric meters: $10 to $15 (e) cordage meters: $10 to $15 (f) mass flow meters: $200 to $300 (g) taxi meters: $25 to $40. The assumption is that the number of licenses will increase by one percent annually while expenses will increase at a five percent annual rate.

Section 8 amends RCW 19.94.2582 to give the department the authority to give competency examinations for people seeking to register as service agents. The assumption is that the number of licenses will increase by one percent annually while expenses will increase at a five percent annual rate.

Section 10 amends RCW 19.94.325(3) by raising the maximum penalty for using a weighing or measuring device without a WSDA seal of approval from $500 to $1,000. The cash receipt impact of this change is indeterminate.

Section 15 amends RCW 19.94.490 by raising the maximum penalty for a person who hinders or obstructs a director or a city sealer in the performance of their duties, from $500 to $1,000. The cash receipt impact of this change is indeterminate.

Section 16 amends RCW 19.94.500 by raising the maximum penalty for a person who impersonates a director or city sealer by using a seal of approval without authorization or by using a counterfeit seal of approval, from $1,000 to $5,000. The cash receipt impact of this change is indeterminate.

Section 17 amends RCW 19.94.510 by raising the maximum penalty for a person who engages in “unlawful practices” as enumerated in this statute, from $1,000 to $5,000, per violation.

Section 17 also amends RCW 19.94.510 by raising the maximum penalty for a person who violates RCW 19.94.390 (misrepresentation of price) from $1,000 to $2,000. Section three is amended by raising the maximum penalty for a person who falsifies a weighing or measuring device or commits a forth infraction of the acts listed in section one or two of this section, from $5,000 to $10,000, per violation. The cash receipt impact of this change is indeterminate.

Section 19 amends RCW 19.94.517 by raising the maximum civil penalty for use of a weighing or measuring device found to be incorrect to the economic benefit of the owner of the device and to the economic detriment to the customer, as follows: small device – first violation, $50 to $200, second or subsequent violation within one year of first violation $150 to $500; medium device-first violation, $100 to $400, second or subsequent violation within one year of first violation, $300 to $1,000; large device-first violation, $200 to $500, second or subsequent violation within one year of first violation, $500 to $2,000. The cash receipt impact of this change is indeterminate.

The following legislators voted do pass:

Senator Jim Honeyford
Republican
(360) 786-7684
Jim.Honeyford@leg.wa.gov

Senator John McCoy
Democrat
(360) 786-7674
John.McCoy@leg.wa.gov

Senator Shelly Short
Republican
(360) 786-7612
Shelly.Short@leg.wa.gov

Senator Christine Rolfes
Democrat
(360) 786-7644
Christine.Rolfes@leg.wa.gov

Senator Kevin Van De Wege
Democrat
(360) 786-7646
Kevin.VanDeWege@leg.wa.gov

Senator Judy Warnick
Republican
(360) 786-7624
Judith.Warnick@leg.wa.gov

Senator Jesse Salomon
Democrat
(360) 786-7662
SALOMON_JE@leg.wa.gov



Legislative Bill Information Website: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/

Initiative 960 Website: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/tax/default.asp