TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Gov. Sam Brownback has proposed spending an extra $430,000 to hire more state inspectors to oversee the accuracy of thousands of scales and product scanners.
The Topeka Capital-Journal (https://bit.ly/1biztBh ) reports that the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Weights and Measures licenses private companies and technicians to install and service scales. State inspectors then “spot-check” a fraction of the work.
Brownback has said that when he initiated the program more than 20 years ago as the state’s agriculture secretary it boosted compliance rates.
But open records requests filed by the Topeka Capital-Journal last year revealed that the state’s three inspectors had rejected almost three-fourths of the scales they spot-checked during a six-month period. The paper also reported there were almost no penalties for the companies whose work was found wanting.
___
Information from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, https://www.cjonline.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.