Bill Text: CA SB168 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Recycling: beverage containers.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Failed) 2018-08-31 - From Assembly without further action. [SB168 Detail]

Download: California-2017-SB168-Amended.html

Amended  IN  Senate  January 18, 2018
Amended  IN  Senate  April 06, 2017
Amended  IN  Senate  February 28, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 168


Introduced by Senator Wieckowski

January 23, 2017


An act to amend, repeal, and add Sections 12024.13, 21608.5, and 23671 of the Business and Profession Code, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 47605.1 and 47612.1 of the Education Code, to amend, add, and repeal Section 1720.4 of the Labor Code, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 186.2 and 186.8 of the Penal Code, to amend Section 12165 of the Public Contract Code, to amend Sections 14526.5, 14571.5, and 14571.8 of, to amend and repeal Section 17002 of, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 615, 5845.8, 14315, 17000, 17001, 19535, 31178, 40003, 42476, 42889, and 48653 of, to add Section 14100.5 to, to add Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 14600) to Division 12.1 of, to add Chapter 20.5 (commencing with Section 42984) to Part 3 of Division 30 of, to repeal Section 40511 of, and to repeal and add Division 12.1 (commencing with Section 14500) of, the Public Resources Code, to amend Sections 17153.5 and 24315 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, to amend, repeal, and add Sections 2370 and 2382 of the Streets and Highways Code, and to amend, repeal, and add Section 79714 of the Water Code, relating to recycling. An act to add Sections 14514.2 and 14548 to, and to add and repeal Section 14549.7 of, the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 168, as amended, Wieckowski. Beverage Container Recycling Act of 2017. Recycling: beverage containers.
Existing law, the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, requires every beverage container sold or offered for sale in this state to have a minimum refund value. Under existing law, a beverage distributor is required to pay a redemption payment to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for every beverage container sold or offered for sale in the state to a dealer, and the department is required to deposit those amounts in the continuously appropriated California Beverage Container Recycling Fund.
Existing law requires each glass container manufacturer to use a minimum percentage of 35% of postfilled glass in the manufacturing of its glass food, drink, or beverage containers.
This bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2023, to establish minimum content standards, as defined, for beverage containers that are constructed of metal, glass, or plastic, or other material, or any combination thereof, except as specified in the above provision. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2020, to provide to the Legislature a report on the establishment and implementation of an extended producer responsibility program to replace the current California beverage container recycling program, as specified.

(1)Existing law, the Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act, requires a mattress recycling organization, comprised of manufacturers of mattresses sold in the state, to develop and submit to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery for approval a plan, including a budget to implement the plan, for the recovery and recycling of used mattresses. The act requires the organization to submit annual reports to the department and subjects the organization to audits, if necessary. The act requires the organization to reimburse the department for costs for implementing and enforcing the act. Under the act, a retailer is prohibited from selling, distributing, or offering for sale a mattress in the state unless the retailer is in compliance with the act, and a manufacturer or renovator is prohibited from selling, offering for sale, or importing a mattress, or selling or distributing a mattress to a distributor or retailer, unless the manufacturer or renovator is in compliance with the chapter. A violation of the act may be subject to an administrative civil penalty.

This bill would require distributors of beverage containers in the state to form a beverage container stewardship organization. The organization would be required to develop and submit a plan and budget for the recovery and recycling of empty beverage containers similar to that described in the Used Mattress Recovery and Recycling Act, and would require the organization to establish a stewardship fee, to be paid by distributor members of the organization, to assist in covering the costs of implementing the program. The act would require the organization to reimburse the department for the department’s costs of enforcement. The bill would impose similar administrative civil penalties for a violation of these provisions.

(2)The California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, which is administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, is established to promote beverage container recycling, and provides for the payment, collection, and distribution of certain payments and fees based on minimum refund values established for beverage containers. The act requires the department to annually designate convenience zones statewide and requires at least one certified recycling center or location within every convenience zone, as defined, that accepts all types of empty beverage containers and pays the refund value, if any, at one location. The act authorizes the director of the department to exempt, if certain conditions are met, an individual convenience zone from the requirement that it have at least one certified recycling center or location and limits the total number of exemptions the director may grant to 35% of the total number of convenience zones identified pursuant to the act. For purposes of the act, “supermarket” is defined as a full-line, self-service retail store with gross annual sales of $2,000,000, or more, and that sells specified food items. A violation of the act is an infraction.

This bill, for purposes of defining a “supermarket,” would increase the minimum gross annual sales to $4,000,000 and make conforming changes. The bill, until December 31, 2020, would increase the limit on the total number of exemptions the director may grant to 50%.

(3)This bill, commencing January 1, 2021, would revise and recast the provisions of the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, which would be renamed the Beverage Container Recycling Program, and would include wine and distilled spirits as beverages under the program. The bill would specify a refund value for beverage containers and would require the department to provide recommendations to the Legislature on ways to increase the aggregate recycling rate if the recycling rate for beverage containers drops below a certain threshold. The bill would require the beverage container stewardship organization, as a part of its stewardship plan described above, to establish processes for the payment and collection of minimum refund values by the organization. The bill would require the organization to, among other things, designate convenience zones in the state to provide for the convenient redemption of beverage containers by consumers, establish an incentive payment to be paid by the organization to recycling centers for empty beverage containers redeemed by the recycling center, establish a payment to be paid by the organization to a processor to help ensure the processor, recycling center, or dropoff or collection program is not operating at a loss, establish procedures and funding for the recycling of empty beverage containers collected pursuant to residential curbside collection programs and establish procedures for a consumer to redeem empty beverage containers if no certified recycling center is not established in a convenience zone. By increasing the scope of various crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the beverage container stewardship organization to retain refund values not redeemed and to use those moneys for the administration of the beverage container stewardship program and for specified purposes relating to the recycling of beverage containers. The bill would repeal certain annual disbursements that are made by the department under the act, and would limit moneys received by the department under the program to penalties for violating these provisions and charges to fund the department’s administration of the program.

(4)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.

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YESNO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 14514.2 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

14514.2.
 “Minimum content standard” means a requirement for the minimum percentage of a material type that a beverage container is constructed of, including, but not limited to, recycled material.

SEC. 2.

 Section 14548 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

14548.
 On or before January 1, 2023, and except as provided in Section 14549, the department shall establish minimum content standards for beverage containers that are constructed of metal, glass, or plastic, or other material, or any combination thereof.

SEC. 3.

 Section 14549.7 is added to the Public Resources Code, to read:

14549.7.
 (a) On or before January 1, 2020, the department shall provide to the Legislature a report on the establishment and implementation of an extended producer responsibility program to replace the current beverage container recycling program established by this division. The report shall include, but is not limited to, analyses and recommendations on all of the following:
(1) Establishment of a stewardship organization, including all of the following:
(A) Membership of the organization.
(B) Classification of the organization, such as whether the organization should be a nonprofit organization.
(C) Duties and responsibilities of the organization, including the components of a stewardship plan and annual reports to be submitted by the organization.
(2) Program funding.
(3) Goals of the program.
(4) Oversight and enforcement for the program.
(b) (1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 1, 2024.

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