BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1109
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1109 (Huffman)
As Amended June 1, 2007
Majority vote
UTILITIES & COMMERCE 9-3
ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY 5-1
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|Ayes:|Levine, Bass, Blakeslee, |Ayes:|Huffman, Eng, Evans, |
| |Davis, Dymally, Huffman, | |Feuer, Nava |
| |Jones, Krekorian, | | |
| |Richardson | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Keene, Smyth, Tran |Nays:|Jeffries |
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Leno, Caballero, Davis, | | |
| |DeSaulnier, Huffman, | | |
| |Karnette, Krekorian, | | |
| |Lieu, Ma, Nava, Solorio, | | |
| |Feuer | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Walters, Emmerson, La | | |
| |Malfa, Nakanishi, Sharon | | |
| |Runner | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Creates the California Lighting Efficiency and Toxics
Reduction Act which would require the Department of Toxic
Substances Control (DTSC) to prescribe schedules for reducing
the levels of mercury and lead in general purpose lights.
Requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to approve a
statewide electrical consumption limit for lighting by 2018 that
is equivalent to a 50% reduction in consumption for indoor
lighting and a 25% reduction in commercial lighting and outdoor
lighting from 2007 levels. Specifically, this bill :
1)Prohibits, on and after January 1, 2010, the sale of general
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purpose lights that contain levels of hazardous substances
that would result in sale through the in European Union (EU)
pursuant to the Reduction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS)
Directive.
2)Requires every manufacturer of general purpose lights sold in
California that contain hazardous materials to ensure that a
system is in place that provides for the recycling of general
purpose lights.
3)Requires CEC, by December 31, 2008, to adopt minimum energy
efficiency standards for all general purpose lights such that
by 2018 energy consumption for indoor residential lighting is
reduced by 50% and energy consumption for indoor commercial
lighting and outdoor lighting is reduced by 25%.
4)Requires the Department of General Services (DGS) to replace
general purpose lights in state facilities that do not meet
the efficiency standards developed by CEC within two years of
the standards being adopted.
5)Defines "general purpose lights" to mean lamps, bulbs, tubes,
or other devices that provide functional illuminations for
indoor residential, indoor commercial, and outdoor use.
General purpose lights do not include lights needed to provide
special needs lighting for individuals with exceptional needs
or a specified list of specialty lighting.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides DTSC authority over the management and disposal of
universal waste, including flourescent tubes.
2)Requires DTSC to adopt regulations to prohibit the sale of
certain electronic products in California that are banned from
being sold in the EU due to the presence of heavy metals.
3)Requires CEC to create energy efficiency standards for new
construction and for numerous electronic products.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Special fund costs to DTSC of up to $100,000 for one staff
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position to review information submitted by manufacturers
demonstrating compliance with the RoHS Directive.
2)The CEC will incur the following:
a) One-time costs of $100,000 for one position plus
$300,000 in contract costs to determine baseline energy use
from lighting for 2007;
b) Contract costs of $500,000 plus ongoing costs of
$400,000 for four positions to develop and implement
standards, including a database and compliance and
enforcement mechanisms; and,
c) Contract costs of $500,000 plus ongoing costs of
$500,000 for five positions to institute programs and
activities to reduce consumption per the specified amounts
and to develop recommendations for further recommendations
beyond the 2018 deadline.
3)DGS indicates that the costs to meet the CEC's lighting
standards depend on the actual standards. DGS notes that in a
recent two-year period state made purchases totaling almost
$2.2 million through the California Lamp Contract, with the
majority being for "general purpose lights." To the extent
the new standards impose requirements not included in DGS'
current specifications, this could adversely affect
competition for the State lamp contract and one-time purchases
of lighting products, as some vendors' products might not
comply with the new standards, potentially resulting in
increased costs. DGS also notes that, if the new standards
required replacement of existing light fixtures to conform to
new product designs, this could result in very substantial
renovation costs in state facilities. Finally, DGS indicates
that all of these costs could be partially or wholly offset by
reduced operating costs due to lower energy consumption,
reduced maintenance, and longer lifespans for the light
products.
COMMENTS : The purpose of this bill is to significantly increase
the efficiency of indoor and outdoor lighting systems. CEC
reports that completely eliminating inefficient incandescent
bulbs will reduce CO2 emissions by 1.82 million metric tons per
year. Additionally, the author wants to ensure that
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manufacturers of new efficient lighting utilize the latest
technology to reduce, and where possible, eliminate the use of
toxic heavy metals such as lead and mercury.
The most common form of lighting in California today is
incandescent lighting. Almost 2% of all energy consumption in
the state comes from incandescent bulbs. An incandescent bulb
works by sending an electrical current through a filament. The
current heats the filament to an extremely high temperature and
creates light. Approximately 95% of the power consumed by an
incandescent light bulb is emitted as heat, rather than as
visible light, meaning that 95% of the electricity used when a
light bulb is turned on is wasted. Some forms of incandecent
lighting such as halogen lights increase efficiency somewhat so
that only 91% of the electricity used is lost to heat.
CEC already has efficiency standards for lighting. The newest
CEC standards, which go into effect on January 1, 2008, require
that a bulb that produces 850 lumens (a typical 60 watt bulb)
consumes no more than 57 watts. This is about a 5% efficiency
improvement from the 2007 usage. These standards are
periodically updated.
This bill requires CEC to adopt minimum energy efficiency
standards for all general purpose lights such that by 2018
energy consumption for indoor residential lighting is reduced by
50% and energy consumption for indoor commercial lighting and
outdoor lighting is reduced by 25%.
Given the fact that there are products on the market today that
improve the efficiency of the most common forms of lighting in
California by over 450%, these limits should be easy to meet.
Hazardous materials : Incandescent light bulbs contain lead and
compact florescent light bulbs contain trace amounts of mercury.
Even though both type of lights contain hazardous materials,
there are no effective disposal or recycling programs to prevent
the bulbs and their related toxic materials from ending up in
landfills. Several supporters of this bill believe that before
the state makes statutory and regulatory shift to compact
fluorescent lighting (CFL), recycling programs need to be
developed to make sure these new bulbs do not contaminate
landfills.
This bill addresses the hazardous material problem by proposing
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to stop the sale of lighting in California that does not meet
the standards established in the EU pursuant to their RoHS
directive. RoHS, refers to the ban on the use of hazardous
substances in electronic products under the EU directive
2002/95/EC. Under the EU RoHS, electronic products containing
lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, and two types of
brominated flame retardants are banned from sale beginning July
1, 2006. Currently, this ban only applies to products sold in
the EU, but it is expected to have a worldwide impact since
companies are not expected to create two versions of their
products for sale in different markets.
Analysis Prepared by : Edward Randolph / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083
FN: 0001431