Santa Clara County Waives Additional Fees For Small Businesses

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved a waiver of the annual Weights and Measures fee for 2021 during a meeting on Tuesday, a move that could save hundreds of dollars in fees for small businesses that use scanners and scales.

The waiver provides relief for about 1,000 small businesses like jewelry stores, farmers market vendors, gas stations, taxi operators and retail stores that use those devices.

The referral, brought forth by Supervisors Susan Ellenberg and Cindy Chavez, passed unanimously. Ellenberg said ahead of the vote that the waiver was another approach the county could take to support small businesses during the pandemic.

“We are targeting financial assistance to our smallest, most vulnerable business owners,” Ellenberg said. “This literally keeps money in their pockets and helps those experiencing the greatest need without unfairly advantaging those who are not facing the same degree of vulnerability.”

The waiver would cost the county’s general fund around $500,000.

The county requires a $100 registration fee for businesses that use the devices and an additional state charge of around $20 per device. Businesses that use price verification systems, or scanners, pay between another $200 and $495, depending on the number of scanners.

"(Small businesses) are holding it together by the skin of their teeth and so any assistance that we can provide, we should be providing," Chavez said ahead of the meeting. "These are all annualized costs that they would normally have so this allows them to again to tuck away some money and to use it for other things they need in their stores."

Jana Kadah of Bay City News Service contributed to this report.