Opinion ID: 613006
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: California's Regulation of Gasoline Dispensing Devices

Text: The California Department of Food and Agriculture's Division of Measurement Standards (DMS) regulates retail gasoline dispensing. See Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code §§ 12100, 13590, 12500(a)-(b). Any design of commercial weighing and measuring devices must be submitted to DMS for certification that the submitted design meets the requirements of California's regulatory regime. See Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 12500.5. If a device is inspected and deemed lawful, or correct, it is marked with a seal to be displayed to customers, identifying it as such. See Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code §§ 12505, 12500(c) (defining correct as meeting all requirements of California law). It is illegal to sell or use commercially any weighing or measuring device of a type or design which has not first been so approved ... Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 12500.5.
California's technical requirements for commercial weighing and measuring adopt, by reference, the latest standards as recommended by the National Conference on Weights and Measures [NCWM] and published in the National Institute of Standards and Technology [NIST] Handbook 44 `Specifications and Tolerances, and other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices [Handbook 44][.]' Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 12107; see Cal.Code Regs. tit. 4, § 4000. [3] To earn the mandatory seal of approval from DMS, weighing and measuring devices sold or used commercially in California must conform to Handbook 44. See Cal.Code Regs. tit. 4, § 4000. Handbook 44 standards require two pertinent dispenser design features. First, discharging or draining of gasoline from the meter or hose is prohibited. Second, if dispensers offer multiple grades of gasoline at different prices per grade, the selection of the unit price shall be made prior to delivery using controls on the device or other customer-activated controls. A system shall not permit a change to the unit price during delivery of [the] product. NIST Handbook 44 S.1.6.5.4.
In addition to complying with the requirements of the DMS, gasoline service stations must conform to the requirements of the California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board (ARB). The ARB's Certification Procedure for Vapor Recovery Systems at Gasoline Dispensing Facilities ... [ARB CP-201][,] is incorporated by reference into the California Administrative Code. Cal.Code Regs. tit. 17, § 94011. To earn this certification, all facilities installed since 2003 must use singlenozzle, single-hose gasoline dispensers. See ARB CP-201, § 4.11 (Feb. 9, 2005). [4]