(a) No retailer, as defined in subdivision (g) of Section 20999 of the Business and Professions Code, shall, on or after July 1, 1992, allow the operation of a pump, including any pump owned or operated by the state, or any county, city and county, or city, equipped with a nozzle from which gasoline or diesel fuel is dispensed, unless the nozzle is equipped with an operating hold open latch. Any hold open latch determined to be inoperative by the local fire marshal or district official shall be repaired or replaced by the retailer, within 48 hours after notification to the retailer of that determination, to avoid any applicable penalty or fine.
(b) For purposes of this section, a “hold open latch” means any device which is an integral part of the nozzle and is manufactured specifically for the purpose of dispensing fuel without requiring the consumer’s physical contact with the nozzle.
(c) Subdivision (a) does not apply to nozzles at facilities which are primarily in operation to refuel marine vessels or aircraft.
(d) Nothing in this section shall affect the current authority of any local fire marshal to establish and maintain fire safety provisions for his or her jurisdiction.
(Added by Stats. 1991, Ch. 468, Sec. 2.)