Bill Text: CA SB1159 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Plastic bag: labeling.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-05-14 - Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. [SB1159 Detail]
Download: California-2011-SB1159-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1159 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 17, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 12, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Calderon
FEBRUARY 22, 2012
An act to add Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 42250) to Part
3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling
, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately
.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1159, as amended, Calderon. Plastic bag: labeling.
(1) Existing law requires an operator of a store, as defined, to
establish an at-store recycling program that provides to customers
the opportunity to return clean plastic carryout bags to that store.
Existing law prohibits a city, county, or other local public agency
from taking specified regulatory actions with regard to the recycling
of plastic carryout bags. These requirements and prohibitions are
repealed on January 1, 2013.
This bill would enact the Plastic Bag Reduction and Recycling Act
of 2012 and would prohibit the operator of a supermarket, as defined,
on and after July 1, 2013, from distributing a plastic carryout bag
to a customer unless the plastic carryout bag displays the phrase
"Please Recycle This Bag," in accordance with specified requirements.
The bill would provide that a violation of this requirement by the
operator of a supermarket is an infraction, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program by creating a new crime. The bill would
authorize the city attorney or district attorney to bring an action
against the operator of the supermarket convicted of violating this
requirement for the recovery of the costs of the enforcement action.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 5.1 (commencing with Section 42250) is added to
Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 5.1. PLASTIC BAG REDUCTION AND RECYCLING ACT
42250. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Plastic Bag Reduction and Recycling Act of 2012.
42251. The Legislature finds and declares that regulation of
plastic bag use, including specifying the recycled content of those
bags and providing recycling opportunities, requires a statewide and
unified approach.
42252. For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Manufacturer" means the producer of a plastic carryout bag
sold to a supermarket.
(b) "Operator" means a person in control of, or having daily
responsibility for, the daily operation of a supermarket, which may
include, but is not limited to, the owner of the supermarket.
(c) "Plastic carryout bag" means a plastic carryout bag provided
by a supermarket to a customer at the point of sale. A plastic
carryout bag does not include a reusable bag or a bag that is labeled
compostable, biodegradable, or degradable in accordance with Chapter
5.7 (commencing with Section 42355).
(d) "Reusable bag" means a durable plastic bag with handles that
is at least 2.25 mils thick and is specifically designed and
manufactured for multiple reuse.
(e) "Supermarket" means a retail establishment that provides
plastic carryout bags to its customers as a result of the sale of a
product and meets the definition of a "supermarket" as found in
Section 14526.5.
42253. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), on and after
July 1, 2013, the operator of a supermarket shall not distribute a
plastic carryout bag to a customer unless the plastic carryout bag
displays the phrase "Please Recycle This Bag" on both the front and
back panel of the plastic carryout bag, which phrase meets all of the
following requirements:
(1) The phrase shall be at least one inch in height and 75 percent
of the width of each of the front and back panels of the bag.
(2) The phrase shall be displayed in a prominent location upon the
upper one-half of each panel and not in the gusset or on the base of
the bag.
(3) The phrase shall be printed in a bold font.
(b) The operator of a supermarket may distribute to a customer a
plastic carryout bag that does not comply with subdivision (a) if the
operator purchased and received the plastic carryout bag from a
manufacturer before July 1, 2013.
42254. This chapter does not prohibit any other phrase or
communication from being printed upon a plastic carryout bag
distributed by a supermarket if the phrase or communication does not
contradict or interfere with the label required by Section 42253.
42255. (a) A violation of this chapter by the operator of a
supermarket is an infraction.
(b) In addition to the penalties for an infraction specified in
Section 19.8 of the Penal Code, the city attorney or district
attorney may bring an action against the operator of a supermarket
convicted of a violation of this chapter to recover the costs of the
enforcement action.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to encourage the recycling of plastic bags, thereby
protecting public health and safety and the environment, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.
