20051206_o

ORDINANCE NO._______________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO,

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

* * * * * *

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 5.144 OF TITLE 5 OF THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO ORDINANCE CODE MODIFYING THE ANNUAL REGISTRATION FEES FOR POINT-OF-SALE SYSTEMS, ESTABLISHING A REINSPECTION FEE, AND MAKING LANGUAGE REVISIONS FOR CONSISTENCY WITH STATE LAW

The Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, ORDAINS as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 5.144.010 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.010. DEFINITIONS

(a)

“Department” shall mean the Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures Division of the Environmental Services Agency of the County of San Mateo.

(b)

“Person” shall mean any person, firm, corporation, business or association.

(c)

“Sell” includes barter, exchange, trade, keep for sale, offer for sale or expose for sale in any of their variant forms.

(d)

“Point-of-sale” system shall mean any system used by a retail establishment such as, but not limited to, Universal Product Code (UPC) scanners, price-look-up codes, or an electronic price look-up system as a means for determining the price of the item being purchased by a consumer.

(e)

“Point-of-sale” checkout register shall mean individual and separate checkout registers with equipment capable of retrieving electronically stored price information used for determining the price of the item being purchased by a consumer.

(f)

“Location” shall mean a premise on which a retail establishment or a single business operates a “point-of-sale” system.

(g)

“Commercial purpose” includes any sale of a commodity or thing by a person to a consumer.

(h)

“Commodity” shall mean any article of commerce or anything that is bought or sold.

(i)

“Advertise” shall mean to give a notice to attract public attention.

(j)

“Initial standard inspection” shall mean an inspection made at the customary time interval used by the Department.

SECTION 2. Section 5.144.020 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.020. REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS

(a)

No person shall temporarily or permanently, alone or in conjunction with others, establish, maintain, conduct or operate any point-of-sale system without first obtaining a Point-of-Sale System Registration Certificate.

(b)

Applications for Point-of-Sale System Registration Certificates and renewals thereof shall be filed with the Department upon such forms as may be prescribed.

(c)

The permits shall be effective for up to one calendar year and shall expire on December 31^st of each year. Such permits may be renewed without addition of a late charge if application for renewal is made within 60 days of the date of the first billing notice.

SECTION 3. Section 5.144.030 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 3. DURATION AND TRANSFERABILITY OF REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE

(a)

All registration certificates shall be valid for up to one year and expire on the first day of the following calendar year. Renewal of a certificate shall be made in a manner similar to the issuance of the original certificate. Registration certificates not renewed within 60-days of the date of the first billing notice shall be considered expired, until such time as the certificate fee and the applicable late charge have been received by the Department.

(b)

Registration certificates shall not be transferable between persons or locations.

(c)

In the case where a holder of a registration certificate leases, sublets, subcontracts, or in any manner allows any other person or entity to engage in activities regulated under the certificate, the point-of-sale system and stations must remain the responsibility of the certificate holder, unless the other person or entity obtains a separate registration certificate in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

SECTION 4. Section 5.144.040 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.040. AVAILABILITY OF REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE

At each location, the certificate holder shall make available to any official of the Department the applicable Point-of-Sale System Registration Certificate.

SECTION 5. Section 5.144.050 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.050. ANNUAL POINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM REGISTRATION FEE

(a)

An annual registration fee is required of each business location in the County that operates a point-of-sale system for commercial purposes.

(b)

The registration fee for the calendar year or any part thereof during which the permitted activity is carried on and for renewal is as set forth below. In no case shall the fee be more than the maximum charge as set forth in Section 13350 (d) of the California Business and Professions Code.

For purposes of this section, the registration fee for a business that uses a point-of-sale system shall be based on the number of point-of-sale checkout registers.


Number of Point-of-Sale Checkout Registers	Charge Per Location
1 to 3	$150.00
4 or more	$250.00


	The number of point-of sale checkout registers shall be determined as of the beginning of the fiscal year, or the commencement of business operations, whichever is earlier.

(c)	A late charge in the amount of 100% of the prescribed registration fee shall be added to the fee if application for renewal of the required certificate is made after 60-days of the date of the first billing notice.

(d)	Pursuant to Section 13350 (e) of the California Business and Professions Code, an hourly point-of-sale system reinspection fee in an amount based on a weighted average hourly rate as determined by the San Mateo County Sealer shall be charged. The reinspection fee shall be paid by the retail establishment within 60 days after the date billed by the Department.

	The term “reinspection” shall mean the re-testing or re-examination of a point-of-sale system after the Department has determined that a retail establishment failed an initial standard inspection.

SECTION 6. Section 5.144.060 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.060. REGISTRATION FEE PAYMENT AND USE

The fees imposed by section 5.144.050 shall be due and payable at the commencement of each calendar year. For businesses commencing operations during the calendar year, the fees shall be due and payable as of the date of commencement. The fees collected shall be placed in the general fund of the County and used solely to recover the costs of inspection of point-of-sale systems and the consumer notification program.

SECTION 7. Section 5.144.070 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.070. VIOLATIONS

It shall be unlawful for any person, or any registration certificate holder, employee or agent thereof to violate the provisions of this Chapter, and specifically it shall be unlawful to:

(a)	Use a point-of-sale system without a current Point-of-Sale System Registration Certificate.

(b)	Fail to make available the Point-of-Sale System Registration Certificate as required per Section 5.144.040.

(c)	Fail to post the phone number for consumers as specified in Section 5.144.090.

SECTION 8. Section 5.144.080 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.080. PENALTIES

(a)	Unless otherwise provided, any person failing to comply with the provisions of this Chapter, and specifically the violations as defined in Section 5.144.070, shall be guilty of an infraction or misdemeanor as hereinafter specified.

(b)	Any person so convicted shall be:

	1.	Guilty of an infraction offense, punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) and not less than fifty dollars ($50) for a first offense.

	2.	Guilty of an infraction offense, punishable by a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) and not less than one hundred dollars ($100) for a second offense.

	3.	Guilty of a misdemeanor for the third and any additional offenses and punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000) and not less than five hundred dollars ($500) or any other penalty imposed by a court, or both.

(c)	Pursuant to Government Code section 25132, a first or second offense may be charged and prosecuted as a misdemeanor.

(d)	Payment of any fine or other penalty imposed by a court shall not relieve a person from the responsibility of obtaining a registration certificate for a point-of-sale system and/or the requirements of Section 5.144.090.

(e)	In addition to all other remedies provided by this Chapter or state law, in the event of continuing violation of the provisions of this Chapter, the Department may seek injunctive relief to restrain further violations.

SECTION 9. Section 5.144.090 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.090. NOTICE TO CONSUMER

In addition to the registration certificate requirements of this Chapter, every person who uses a point-of-sale system for commercial purposes shall post a notice which will be provided by the Department and displays the following information so as to be clearly visible to the general public and to consumers at each point-of-sale checkout register.

“Attention Consumer: You are entitled to the lowest advertised price offered by this store. For information or complaints, you may call the County of San Mateo Sealer of Weights and Measures at a phone number provided by the Department.”

“Clearly visible” for this section shall mean that the notice shall be so positioned that it may be accurately read from some reasonable consumer position.

Failure to comply with the provisions of this section shall be punishable as specified in Section 5.144.080

SECTION 10. This ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days from the date of adoption.


ORDINANCE NO._______________ BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

*** * * * * ***

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 5.144 OF TITLE 5 OF THE COUNTY OF SAN MATEO ORDINANCE CODE MODIFYING THE ANNUAL REGISTRATION FEES FOR POINT-OF-SALE SYSTEMS, ESTABLISHING A REINSPECTION FEE, AND MAKING LANGUAGE REVISIONS FOR CONSISTENCY WITH STATE LAW


The Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, ORDAINS as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 5.144.010 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.010. DEFINITIONS

(a)		“Department” shall mean the Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer of Weights and Measures Division of the Environmental Services Agency of the County of San Mateo.

(b)		“Person” shall mean any person, firm, corporation, business or association.

(c)		“Sell” includes barter, exchange, trade, keep for sale, offer for sale or expose for sale in any of their variant forms.

(d)		“Point-of-sale” system shall mean any system used by a retail establishment such as, but not limited to, Universal Product Code (UPC) scanners, price-look-up codes, or an electronic price look-up system as a means for determining the price of the item being purchased by a consumer.

(e)		“Point-of-sale” checkout register shall mean individual and separate checkout registers with equipment capable of retrieving electronically stored price information used for determining the price of the item being purchased by a consumer.

(f)		“Location” shall mean a premise on which a retail establishment or a single business operates a “point-of-sale” system.

(g)		“Commercial purpose” includes any sale of a commodity or thing by a person to a consumer.

(h)		“Commodity” shall mean any article of commerce or anything that is bought or sold.

(i)		“Advertise” shall mean to give a notice to attract public attention.

(j)		“Initial standard inspection” shall mean an inspection made at the customary time interval used by the Department.

SECTION 2. Section 5.144.020 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.020. REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS

(a)	No person shall temporarily or permanently, alone or in conjunction with others, establish, maintain, conduct or operate any point-of-sale system without first obtaining a Point-of-Sale System Registration Certificate.

(b)	Applications for Point-of-Sale System Registration Certificates and renewals thereof shall be filed with the Department upon such forms as may be prescribed.

(c)	The permits shall be effective for up to one calendar year and shall expire on December 31^st of each year. Such permits may be renewed without addition of a late charge if application for renewal is made within 60 days of the date of the first billing notice.

SECTION 3. Section 5.144.030 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 3. DURATION AND TRANSFERABILITY OF REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE

(a)	All registration certificates shall be valid for up to one year and expire on the first day of the following calendar year. Renewal of a certificate shall be made in a manner similar to the issuance of the original certificate. Registration certificates not renewed within 60-days of the date of the first billing notice shall be considered expired, until such time as the certificate fee and the applicable late charge have been received by the Department.

(b)	Registration certificates shall not be transferable between persons or locations.

(c)	In the case where a holder of a registration certificate leases, sublets, subcontracts, or in any manner allows any other person or entity to engage in activities regulated under the certificate, the point-of-sale system and stations must remain the responsibility of the certificate holder, unless the other person or entity obtains a separate registration certificate in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

SECTION 4. Section 5.144.040 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.040. AVAILABILITY OF REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE

At each location, the certificate holder shall make available to any official of the Department the applicable Point-of-Sale System Registration Certificate.

SECTION 5. Section 5.144.050 of the County of San Mateo Ordinance Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 5.144.050. ANNUAL POINT-OF-SALE SYSTEM REGISTRATION FEE

(a)	An annual registration fee is required of each business location in the County that operates a point-of-sale system for commercial purposes.

(b)	The registration fee for the calendar year or any part thereof during which the permitted activity is carried on and for renewal is as set forth below. In no case shall the fee be more than the maximum charge as set forth in Section 13350 (d) of the California Business and Professions Code.

	For purposes of this section, the registration fee for a business that uses a point-of-sale system shall be based on the number of point-of-sale checkout registers.