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Calaveras Ag Commissioner Outlines Pest, Weights & Measures Work and EV‑charger Testing Needs
Summary
Agricultural Commissioner Jesse Fowler updated the board on pest prevention, weights and measures, subvention funding and future needs including testing commercial EV chargers; Fowler said the department met maintenance‑of‑effort requirements and described staffing and funding constraints.
Jesse Fowler, Calaveras County agricultural commissioner and director of weights and measures, briefed the Board of Supervisors on Nov. 25 about the department’s regulatory programs, funding and near‑term equipment and staffing needs.
Fowler reviewed pest exclusion and detection work, noting the county runs species‑specific traps and inspects nursery shipments under state contracts. She said the department received CDFA funding to inspect nursery shipments and profiled about 3,500 packages in a recent year to check for hitchhiking pests. Fowler also described the county’s invasive‑weed work, a four‑year CDFA grant for nearly $98,000, and outreach partnerships including the Central Sierra Partnership Against Weeds.
Weights and measures accounted for roughly 35% of staff time last fiscal year, Fowler said. That program is largely funded by fees and penalties and supplemented by statewide settlement funds that finance consumer‑protection projects. Fowler highlighted the statewide role of county seal inspections and noted the 2026 seals will mark the nation’s semiquincentennial.
Looking ahead, Fowler flagged Assembly Bill 2037 and the county’s growing need to test commercial electric vehicle chargers — a capability that requires specialized testing equipment (quoted at roughly $55,000–$60,000 per tester) and potentially an electric test vehicle. Fowler said CDFA can loan testing gear but that there is a long statewide wait list; she estimated the county will need additional staff as charger devices multiply and exemptions for early installations expire.
On funding, Fowler explained subvention mechanics and said Calaveras met the maintenance‑of‑effort test for unclaimed gas‑tax subventions. She noted that approximately 44 cents of every general‑fund dollar spent on the department is reimbursed through subventions and contracts, and emphasized high staffing costs driven by license and degree requirements for technical inspectors.
Fowler closed by offering departmental contact information, announcing a recent move to 556 Mountain Ranch Road in San Andreas and encouraging public outreach and reporting of suspicious pests or devices.
