Amended  IN  Assembly  May 18, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 26, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 16, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2

Introduced by Assembly Member Ward

December 05, 2022

An act to add Chapter 8.7 (commencing with Section 42499.6) to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2, as amended, Ward. Recycling: solar photovoltaic modules.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, generally regulates the disposal, management, and recycling of solid waste. The act establishes stewardship programs for various products, including, among others, carpet, mattresses, and pharmaceutical and sharps waste.
This bill would require a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels sold or offered for sale in this state, or its agent, to develop an end-of-life management plan for the management and recycling of the solar photovoltaic panels it manufactured and the component materials. The bill would specify the required contents of an end-of-life management plan and would require the department to provide guidelines for developing an end-of-life management plan. The bill would require an end-of-life management plan be submitted to the department for approval or disapproval and would require a manufacturer or its agent to implement the plan as approved. The bill would require a manufacturer or its agent to report to the department annually regarding the implementation of its end-of-life management plan, as specified. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for the implementation of these provisions. provisions and to impose an administrative fee to cover the department’s full administrative and enforcement costs of these provisions. The bill would subject a manufacturer that violates the requirements of this bill to an administrative civil penalty of $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for a subsequent violation.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Chapter 8.7 (commencing with Section 42499.6) is added to Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER  8.7. Solar Panels

42499.6.
 (a) Pursuant to this chapter, a manufacturer of solar photovoltaic panels sold or offered for sale in this state shall develop an end-of-life management plan for the safe, convenient, and environmentally sound management and recycling of the solar photovoltaic panels it manufactured and their component materials.
(b) A manufacturer may designate an agent to act on behalf of the manufacturer to develop an end-of-life management plan provided that the designated agent provides the department with written notice of the arrangement within 60 days of the start of the agency. The written notice shall identify the manufacturer, the agent, and the brand names and model numbers of the solar photovoltaic panels for which the agent is responsible for developing an end-of-life management plan. An agent shall provide the department written notice within 60 days of the termination, expiration, or modification of its agency with a manufacturer.
(c) An end-of-life management plan shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) A plan to minimize the release of hazardous substances into the environment.
(2) A plan to maximize recovery of components, including rare earth metals and other commercially valuable materials.
(3) A plan to disseminate to relevant stakeholders information necessary for the proper dismantling, transportation, and treatment of solar photovoltaic panels in a manner consistent with paragraphs (1) and (2). For purposes of this paragraph, “relevant stakeholders” includes, but is not limited to, consumers, installers, building demolition firms, and recycling and treatment facilities.
(4) Performance goals, including, but not limited to, a goal for the rate of combined reuse and recycling of collected solar photovoltaic panels as a percentage of the total weight of solar photovoltaic panels collected, which rate shall be no less than 85 percent.
(d) The department shall develop guidelines for the development of end-of-life management plans.
(e) A manufacturer or its agent, as described in subdivision (b), shall develop an end-of-life management plan for each model of solar photovoltaic panel it manufactures and sells or offers for sale in this state and submit it to the department for approval or disapproval, based on the plan’s compliance with this section and any regulations or guidelines adopted by the department pursuant to this section. The end-of-life management plan shall be submitted by July 1, 2026, and for solar photovoltaic panels first sold or offered for sale after July 1, 2026, the end-of-life management plan shall be submitted no later than 30 days after the solar photovoltaic panel is first sold or offered for sale in this state.
(f) A manufacturer or its agent, as described in subdivision (b), may amend an end-of-life management plan provided the amended plan is submitted to the department for approval or disapproval.
(g) A manufacturer shall implement an end-of-life management plan, as it is approved by the department.
(h) Beginning January 1, 2027, and by January 1 of each year thereafter, a manufacturer or its agent, as described in subdivision (b), shall provide the department with a written report for the prior calendar year documenting the implementation of its end-of-life management plan and assessing the achievement of the performance goals contained in the plan.
(i) The manufacturer shall pay the department an administrative fee as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (j).

(i)

(j) (1) The department shall adopt regulations for the implementation of this chapter with an effective date of no later than January 1, 2026.
(2) The regulations shall impose a fee on manufacturers of solar photovoltaic panels sold or offered for sale in the state in an amount that is sufficient to cover the department’s full administrative and enforcement costs of the requirements of this chapter, including, but not limited to, program development costs and regulatory costs incurred by the department before any end-of-life management plan is submitted. Fee revenues collected pursuant to this section shall only be used to administer and enforce this chapter.

(j)

(k) A manufacturer that violates any requirement of this section is liable for an administrative civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) for the first violation and one thousand dollars ($1,000) for a subsequent violation.