Actions

Meetings

Agriculture: Mar 23, 2011

Calendars

Active List: Apr 4, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 28, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 29, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 30, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Mar 31, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Apr 4, 2011

Votes

Memo

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This bill will update the Agriculture and Markets Law to remove the unnecessary and outdated mandate on food retailers to place a computing scale every thirty feet within their store.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.

Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________

S. 4080                                                  A. 6423

2011-2012 Regular Sessions

S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y

March 16, 2011
___________

IN SENATE -- Introduced by Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered print-
  ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture

IN ASSEMBLY -- Introduced by M. of A. MAGEE -- read once and referred to
  the Committee on Agriculture

AN  ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to requir-
  ing food retailers to provide scales for customer use

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 190 of the agriculture and markets
law,  as added by chapter 874 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as
follows:
  5. Wherever food or food products are packaged or wrapped for sale  by
a  retailer in advance of being sold, or offered or exposed for sale, an
accurate computing scale of sufficient  capacity  shall  be  maintained.
Such  scale  shall  be  [located not more than thirty feet from the pre-
packaged display and shall be so] placed as to be easily  accessible  to
customers[. A] AND A prominent and conspicuous sign reading "for custom-
er use" shall be displayed on or near such scale.
  S  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
have become a law.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10201-01-1