Senate Bill No. 633

(By Senators Dempsey and Hunter)

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[Introduced February 17, 2003; referred to the Committee on Labor; and then to the Committee on Finance.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact sections eight and twenty, article one, chapter forty-seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to further amend said article by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-four, all relating to requiring the commissioner of the division of labor to establish registration fees for various service entities; creating a weights and measures fund within the state treasury; providing for expenditure of funds from the fund; and directing the commissioner to establish fees by emergency rule.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections eight and twenty, article one, chapter forty-seven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twenty-four, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
§47-1-8. Requirements for the registration of service persons and service agencies for commercial weighing and measuring devices; fees.

The uniform regulation for the voluntary registration of service persons and service agencies for commercial weighing and measuring devices as adopted by the national conference of weights and measures and published in national institute of standards and technology handbook 130, "Uniform Laws and Regulations" and supplements thereto or revisions thereof, shall apply to the registration of service persons and service agencies in the state, except insofar as modified or rejected by legislative rule. The commissioner shall establish annual registration fees for service persons and service agencies in accordance with the provisions of section twenty-four of this article.
§47-1-20. State measurement laboratory; fees.

The commissioner shall operate and maintain a state measurement laboratory certified and approved by the national institute of standards and technology. The laboratory shall be used to both house and maintain the state primary standards and secondary standards as traceable to the national standards and to test or calibrate any secondary or working standards which are submitted for test as required by this article.
The commissioner shall provide such personnel as required to operate the laboratory in a manner which is consistent with the needs of this article. Personnel shall be trained and certified to perform all such calibrations and tests as required by the national institute of standards and technology to maintain traceability of the state standards to national standards, and to properly maintain the laboratory facility as certified and traceable to the national institute of standards and technology.
 The commissioner shall establish a schedule of fees to be charged for laboratory services in accordance with the provisions of section twenty-four of this article.
§47-1-24. Weights and measures fund; expenditures; legislative rules.

There is hereby created in the state treasury a special revenue account to be known as the weights and measures fund. All fees collected under the provisions of this article shall be deposited into the weights and measures fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be authorized by legislative appropriation for the enforcement of this article: Provided, That all fees collected before the last day of June, two thousand four, may be used for the enforcement of this article without legislative appropriation.
Notwithstanding the provisions of section fifteen, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, the commissioner shall, by emergency rule, establish a schedule of fees as authorized by the provisions of this article.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the commissioner of the division of labor to establish registration fees for various service entities. The bill also creates a weights and measures fund with the state treasury while providing for expenditure of funds from the fund and directing the commissioner to establish fees by emergency rule.


Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

Section twenty-four is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.