BILL NUMBER:S4080

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to requiring food
retailers to provide scales for customer use

PURPOSE:
To eliminate the thirty foot requirement for computing scales under
section 190.5 of the Agriculture and Markets Law.

SUMMARY:
Section 1 amends Subdivision 5 of Section 190 of the agriculture and
markets law to eliminate the thirty foot requirement for the location
of computing scales.

Section 2 states this act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after
it becomes law.

JUSTIFICATION:
Section 190.5 of the Agriculture and Markets Law was adopted in 1977
to allow consumers to verify the net contents of prepackaged grocery
products by requiring computing scales every thirty feet. Since that
time, the Department has implemented an extensive program whereby
county Consumer Affairs and Weights and Measures inspectors regularly
monitor prepackaged products for short weight violations.
              

To assist consumers with unpackaged products, food retailers typically
place hanging scales throughout the produce section to enable
consumers to determine the net weight of items they are selecting.
Retailers and local consumers have found that hanging scales are used
regularly and the computing scales receive little use. Mandating
computing scales every thirty feet is unnecessary in today's shopping
environment.

This bill will update the Agriculture and Markets Law to remove the
unnecessary and outdated mandate on food retailers to place a
computing scale every thirty feet within their store. One computing
scale per food store will still be required by law and subject to
current regulations.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after
it becomes law.