PROPOSED RULEMAKING
DEPARTMENT OF
GENERAL SERVICES
[ 70 PA. CODE CH. 110 ]
State Metrology Laboratory Fee Schedule
[49 Pa.B. 3313]
[Saturday, June 29, 2019]The Department of General Services (Department) proposes to amend § 110.2 (relating to State Metrology Laboratory fee schedule) to read as set forth in Annex A.
The proposed regulation increases the existing State Metrology Laboratory fees and updates description fields to accurately reflect the parameters and ranges covered under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Office of Weights and Measures Certificate of Metrological Traceability and the NIST National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program Scope of Accreditation used by the State Metrology Laboratory.
Authority
This proposed regulation is authorized under 3 Pa.C.S. §§ 4101—4194 (relating to Consolidated Weights and Measures Act) (act). Section 4178 of the act (relating to fees) requires that the Department establish, by regulation, fees for metrology laboratory calibration, type evaluation and other testing services. 3 Pa.C.S. § 4178. Section 4178 also provides that the Department shall alter these fees by regulation. This proposed rulemaking will increase fees to ensure the costs for the testing services rendered by the laboratory are borne by the parties who are receiving the services and not by the taxpayers.
Need for this Proposed Rulemaking
This proposed rulemaking fulfills the statutory requirement that the Department establish, charge, and collect the fees described section 4178 of the act. Currently, the State Metrology Laboratory (Laboratory) provides these services based upon a fee schedule established in 2010. This proposed rulemaking will allow the Commonwealth to charge an appropriate fee for the services provided, thus ensuring that the cost of performing these testing services is borne by the parties who are receiving the services and not by the taxpayers.
This proposed rulemaking will increase the fees charged for metrology laboratory calibration, type evaluation and other services performed by the Laboratory. These fees were last increased in 2010. The amount of that increase was based upon average metrology fees charged by other State metrology laboratories in 2006. By the time the Laboratory began charging the fees that were increased by regulation in 2010, the fees collected were insufficient to cover the costs for the testing services rendered by the Laboratory, and this trend continued. For example, in Fiscal Year (FY) 2014-2015, the costs for the testing services rendered by the Laboratory was $615,560.98, and the fees collected totaled $241,929.88, resulting in a shortfall of $373,631.10. In FY 2015-2016, the cost to run the Laboratory was $665,647.01, and the fees collected totaled $250,297.07, resulting in a shortfall of $415,349.94. In FY 2016-2017, the cost to run the Laboratory was $681,688.15, and the fees collected totaled $292,421.85, resulting in a shortfall of $389,266.30. In FY 2017-2018, the cost to run the Laboratory was $700,693.49, and the fees collected totaled $247,403.86, resulting in a shortfall of $453,289.63. Over the past 4 years, the Laboratory has had a total shortfall of $1,631,536.97. This $1,631,536.97 has not been borne by the primarily commercial customers of the Laboratory. Instead, it has been borne by the taxpayers and will continue to be borne by the taxpayers unless the fees are increased to cover this shortfall.
This proposed rulemaking also updates the description fields to accurately reflect the parameters and ranges covered under the NIST Office of Weights and Measures Certificate of Metrological Traceability and the NIST National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program Scope of Accreditation used by the Laboratory.
In summary, the Department is satisfied there is a need for this proposed rulemaking, and that it is otherwise consistent with Executive Order 1996-1 (see 4 Pa. Code §§ 1.371—1.382 (relating to Regulatory Review and Promulgation)).
Summary of this Proposed Rulemaking
This proposed rulemaking will increase the fees charged for metrology laboratory calibration, type evaluation and other services performed by the Laboratory in order to cover the costs for the testing services rendered by the Laboratory. The Department calculated each fee by averaging the fees reported from a 2013 survey the Department conducted of seven state-operated and one county-operated laboratories, then updating those averages by 16.71% which is the historical average fee increase calculated from data in the National Conference of Standards Laboratories State Laboratory Program Workload Surveys. The Department then rounded those fees to the nearest $5.00. This proposed rulemaking also updates description fields to accurately reflect the parameters and ranges used by the Laboratory.
Persons Likely to be Affected
Persons engaged in the business of selling, installing, servicing and repairing various types of commercial weighting and measuring devices will be charged fees according to the proposed fee schedule. All Laboratory customers, including small businesses, have benefitted from the fees that have not increased since 2010 despite increasing personnel costs for Laboratory employees and increasing costs to maintain or replace Laboratory equipment.
Updates to the description fields will accurately reflect the parameters and ranges used by the Laboratory and should not affect any group or entity.
Fiscal Impact
Commonwealth
The estimated annual revenue to the Commonwealth (Department) from this proposed rulemaking is approximately $645,094. This proposed rulemaking should not result in additional costs to the Commonwealth.
Political Subdivisions
No other government entity will incur any costs or realize any savings.
General Public
This proposed rulemaking will impose no costs and have no fiscal impact on the general public. However, the fee increase will ensure that the cost of performing Laboratory testing services is borne by the parties who are receiving the services and not by the taxpayers.
Private Sector
Persons engaged in the business of selling, installing, servicing and repairing various types of commercial weighting and measuring devices will be charged fees according to the proposed fee schedule. The anticipated fee per user is estimated to be $1,405, which is a $866 increase from the current $539 average fee per user. All Laboratory customers, including small businesses, have benefitted from the fees that have not increased since 2010 despite increasing personnel costs for Laboratory employees and increasing costs to maintain or replace Laboratory equipment.
Paperwork Requirements
This proposed rulemaking will not result in an increase in paperwork for the Laboratory, which is already required to issue invoices, collect payments and transmit payments to the Treasury Department. Similarly, under section 4193(c) (relating to disposition of funds) of the act, the Treasury Department will have no increase in paperwork. There will be no increase in paperwork for the regulated community.
Effective Date
This proposed rulemaking will be effective upon final-form publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
Sunset Date
There is no sunset date for this proposed rulemaking. The Department will review the efficacy of this regulation on an ongoing basis.
Public Comment Period and Contact Person
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding this proposed rulemaking within 30 days following publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Comments are to be submitted to Mary W. Fox, Assistant Chief Counsel, Office of Chief Counsel, Department of General Services, 401 North Street, Room 603, Harrisburg, PA 17120, (717) 787-6789.
Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P.S. § 745.5(a)), on June 18, 2019, the Department submitted a copy of this proposed rulemaking to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC), the Chairpersons of the House and Senate State Government Committees, and the Legislative Reference Bureau. In addition to submitting this proposed rulemaking, the Department has provided IRRC, the Committees, and the LRB with a copy of a detailed Regulatory Analysis Form prepared by the Department. A copy of this material is available to the public upon request.
Under section 5(g) of the Regulatory Review Act, IRRC may convey any comments, recommendations or objections to this proposed rulemaking within 30 days of the close of the public comment period. The comments, recommendations or objections must specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review, prior to final-form publication of this rulemaking by the Department, the General Assembly and the Governor.
CURTIS M. TOPPER,
SecretaryFiscal Note: 08-27. No fiscal impact. The fee increases are necessary to cover the associated operating costs of the Laboratory; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 70. WEIGHTS, MEASURES AND STANDARDS
PART V. STATE METROLOGY LABORATORY
CHAPTER 110. GENERAL PROVISIONS § 110.2. State Metrology Laboratory fee schedule.
* * * * * (c) Schedule of fees. The State Metrology Laboratory shall charge the following fees for the indicated [ testing ] calibration services:
General type of test Description Fee Precision mass [ Up to ASTM E 617 Class 2 or
best calibration but not to a
specific class to and including
30 kg. or 50 lb. ]
ASTM or OIML Class weights
calibrated by use of the Mass Code
50 lb to 0.001 lb, 30 kg to 1 mg[ $30 per weight ] $75 per man-hour Precision mass [ASTM E617 Class 3 and 4 and
OIML Class F1 and F2 to and
including 30 kg. or 50 lb.]
ASTM Class 1, 2, 3, 4
OIML Class E2, F1, F2 or best
calibration not to a specific class
1000 lb to 0.001 lb
30 kg to 1 mg[ $30 ] $65 per weight Ordinary mass,
Small[NIST Class F and ASTM E617
Classes 5, 6, 7 and OIML Class
M1, M2 and M3 to and including
5 kg. or 10 lb.]
NIST Class F
ASTM 5, 6, 7
OIML M1, M1-2, M2, M2-3, M3
10 lb to 0.001 lb
5 kg to 1 mg[$6] $20 per weight (without adjustment)
[$10] $40 per weight (with adjustment)Ordinary mass,
Medium[NIST Class F and ASTM E617
Classes 5, 6 and 7 from 10 kg.
or 20 lb. to 50 kg. or 100 lb.]
NIST Class F
ASTM 5, 6, 7
OIML M1, M1-2, M2, M2-3, M3
100 lb to >10 lb
50 kg to >5 kg[$10] $20 per weight (without adjustment)
[$20] $40 per weight (with adjustment)Ordinary mass,
Large[NIST Class F and ASTM E617
Classes 5, 6 and 7 from 100 kg.
or 200 lb. to 2500 kg. or 5500 lb.]
NIST Class F
ASTM 5, 6, 7
OIML M1, M1-2, M2, M2-3, M3
6,000 lb to >100 lb
2,500 kg to >50 kg[$20] $45 per weight (without adjustment)
[$40] $70 per weight (with adjustment)Ordinary mass Weight Carts
2,000 lb to 6,000 lb.[$210] $315 per cart Volume transfer [5 gallon/20 liter test measures]
Test Measures
5 gallon
5 liter to 20 liter[$45] $120 per measure (includes adjustment) Volume transfer [10 gallon to 50 gallon]
Provers
10 gallon to 100 gallon
40 liter to 378 liter[$150] $440 per prover (includes adjustment) [Volume transfer] [51 to 100 gallon] [$150 per prover (includes adjustment)] Volume transfer [Greater than 100 gallon]
Provers
101 gallon to 1,500 gallon
379 liter to 5,000 liter[$150] $440 plus $1 per each additional gallon over 100 [gallons] gallon (includes adjustment) Gravimetric
Calibrations[Metal] Test Measures [to 5 gallon
or 20 liter or 1 cubic foot]
1 gallon to 10 gallon
5 liter to 20 liter[$180] $825 per item Gravimetric Calibrations Provers
11 gallon to 130 gallon
21 liter to 500 liter$1,640 per item Length Calibrations Metal Tapes [or Rules]
to 200 feet[$15] $40 per point tested Timing Devices Stopwatches
to 24 hours[$30] $70 per item Wheel Load Weighers NIST Handbook 44
Class IIII Scales
to 20,000 lb[$20] $70 per scale Force Gauges to 50 lbf $180 per gauge Special Tests $75 per man-hour (d) Payment of fees. A nonrefundable deposit for the estimated fee shall be submitted when the [testing] calibration request is made. Fees are payable at the time the metrology service is provided, regardless of whether the item [tested] calibrated is certified or approved.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 19-960. Filed for public inspection June 28, 2019, 9:00 a.m.]
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