NCWM Holds Hybrid Interim Meeting

The National Conference on Weights and Measures held its hybrid Interim Meeting last week in Tampa and NPGA was able to participate virtually to provide support for its proposals to change Handbooks 44 and 130. Those documents are adopted throughout the country and enforced by the state weights and measures officials to ensure that consumers are receiving what they pay for, whether it be food, medicine, or fuel like propane.

NPGA submitted proposals to address issues related to metering LP-Gas, including temperature compensation, zero setback and timeout requirements. The NPGA proposals were classified as “developing status,” which means that the NCWM voting members (authorities representing each state) are supportive of the proposals but feel more fine tuning is needed. Very little editing is permitted during these meetings and in one case, another proposal submitted by another entity was similar enough to the NPGA proposal that a recommendation was made to work together to combine the intent of each into one proposal.

Positive steps were achieved during the meeting, including the advancement of a proposal by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to more narrowly define “LP-Gas Retail Motor Fuel Device” to address devices designed for use in filling motor vehicles that are “over the road,” which should help eliminate confusion regarding the filling of forklift cylinders and other containers providing fuel to “off-road” vehicles. The NCWM next meets at its Annual Meeting in July in Tacoma to continue the development of the 2023 handbooks. For more information, please contact Bruce Swiecicki.