LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1764

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JUNE 26, 1997

      Assembly Bill No. 1764 of 1996 provides for the certification of commercial, self-administered pulse and blood pressure meters by the State Superintendent of Weights and Measures in the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety. The bill requires the superintendent to adopt standards of accuracy and reliability for these devices and to annually certify that those available for use by the public meet these standards.

       The bill does not impose fees or otherwise provide for the cost of its implementation by the Office of Weights and Measures. The department informally reports it is unable to estimate this cost due to a lack of reliable information on the number and type of commercial pulse and blood pressure meters installed in this State. The Office of Legislative Services (OLS) concurs with this assessment. However, OLS notes that N.J.S.A.51:1-54.3 permits the State Superintendent of Weights and Measures to establish fees sufficient to defray the cost of regulating weighing and measuring devices when such fees are not provided in law.

This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.