BILL NUMBER: AB 2505	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 23, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 22, 2008
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 7, 2008

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brownley
   (Coauthor: Assembly Member Huffman)

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2008

   An act to add Article 10.4.1 (commencing with Section 25214.25) to
Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code, relating
to hazardous waste.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2505, as amended, Brownley. Hazardous waste: polyvinyl chloride
packaging container.
   Existing law, the Toxics in Packaging Prevention Act, prohibits a
manufacturer or supplier, as defined, from offering for sale or for
promotional purposes in this state a package or packaging component
that includes specified regulated metals and prohibits a person from
offering for sale or for promotional purposes in this state a product
in a package that includes those intentionally introduced regulated
metals. A violation of the hazardous waste control laws, including
the act, is a crime.
   This bill would prohibit a person, on and after January 1, 2010,
from  manufacturing, importing,  selling  ,  or
distributing in commerce in this state a polyvinyl chloride packaging
container, as defined.  A person who manufactures, imports,
sells, or distributes a plastic packaging container, commencing
January 1, 2010, would be required to furnish a certificate of
compliance to the purchaser of the plastic packaging container. The
purchaser of the plastic container would be required to retain the
certificate of compliance for each plastic packaging container for as
long as the plastic packaging container is in use by the purchaser.

    The bill would provide that a person who violates this
prohibition is not subject to the criminal penalties imposed pursuant
to the hazardous waste control laws and instead would be liable for
 an administrative or  a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500
per day for each violation. The bill would require the collected
civil penalties to be deposited in the Hazardous Waste Control
Account, for expenditure by the department, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to implement and enforce this prohibition.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging poses an environmental and
human health risk throughout its life cycle.
   (b) PVC production involves the use of vinyl chloride, a known
carcinogen, which may pose a health hazard to those in and around
manufacturing facilities.
   (c) Many types of PVC packaging contain phthalates, a class of
chemicals that have hormone-disrupting effects on humans.
   (d) PVC packaging has been found by the Toxics in Packaging
Clearinghouse of the Council of State Governments and others to have
a high incidence rate of lead and cadmium heavy metal contamination.
   (e) The combustion of PVC emits dioxins.
   (f) PVC packaging is recycled at very low levels.
   (g) PVC is a problematic contaminant in the recycling stream of
other, more abundant, nontoxic plastic resins, preventing
municipalities from accepting greater quantities of packaging for
recycling and preventing municipalities from achieving higher
landfill diversion rates.
   (h) When disposed of in a solid waste landfill or as litter, PVC
packaging may leach its toxins into the surrounding groundwater.
   (i) Recognizing the threat leached toxins pose on marine wildlife,
the Ocean Protection Council recently passed a resolution calling
for the banning of vinyl chloride in plastic packaging.
   (j) Alternatives to polyvinyl chloride packaging are abundant,
affordable, and are already competitive in the marketplace.
  SEC. 2.  Article 10.4.1 (commencing with Section 25214.25) is added
to Chapter 6.5 of Division 20 of theHealth and Safety Code, to read:


      Article 10.4.1.  Polyvinyl Chloride Packaging


   25214.25.  (a) For the purposes of this article, unless the
context clearly requires otherwise, "polyvinyl chloride packaging
container" means a container that is used to contain, hold, protect,
or display another product, alone or in combination with paperboard
or other materials, that may be flexible or rigid, and to which all
of the following applies:
   (1) The container is comprised predominantly of polyvinyl chloride
plastic resin.
   (2) The container has the shape of a sack, cup, bottle, bowl, box,
clamshell, or other package shape, including a blister pack.
   (b) "Polyvinyl chloride packaging container" does not include any
of the following:
   (1) A container that is used to contain a petroleum-based product,
including a fuel, a lubricant, a fuel additive, or other
petroleum-based product used on or in motor vehicles.
   (2) A container that is used to contain a prescription or
over-the-counter human or veterinary drug, including, but not limited
to, a drug as defined in Section 109925 or as defined in Section 321
of Title 21 of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
   (3) A container that is used to contain a medical device, as
defined in Section 109920. 
   (4) A packaging container or packaging component used solely in
transportation and not made available to consumers. 
   25214.26.  On and after January 1, 2010, a person shall not
 sell   manufacture, import, sell,  or
distribute in commerce in this state a polyvinyl chloride packaging
container. 
   25214.27.  (a) Commencing January 1, 2010, each person who
manufactures, imports, sells, or distributes a plastic packaging
container shall furnish a certificate of compliance to the purchaser
of the plastic packaging container certifying that the plastic
container is in compliance with the requirements of this article. The
certificate of compliance shall be signed by the person with
authority who first comes into possession in the state of, or who
manufactures in the state, the plastic packaging container. A copy of
the certificate of compliance shall be kept on file by the person
who manufactures, imports, sells, or distributes the plastic
packaging container.
   (b) A purchaser of a plastic packaging container subject to
subdivision (a) shall retain the certificate of compliance for each
packaging container for as long as the plastic packaging container is
in use by the purchaser. For the purpose of this subdivision,
"purchaser" does not include the end user of the plastic packaging
container.
   (c) The person who manufactures, imports, sells, or distributes a
plastic packaging container shall provide to the department, upon
request, a copy of the certificate of compliance for the plastic
packaging container requested.
   (d) If a person who manufactures, imports, sells, or distributes a
plastic packaging container subject to subdivision (a) reformulates
or creates a new plastic packaging container, the person shall
provide the purchaser with an amended or new certificate of
compliance for the reformulated or new plastic packaging container.

    25214.27.   25214.28.   (a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a person who
violates this article shall not be subject to any criminal penalties
imposed pursuant to this chapter and shall only be subject to the
civil penalty specified in subdivision (b).
   (b)  (1)    A person who violates this article
shall be liable for  an administrative or  a civil penalty
not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per day for
each violation. That  administrative or  civil penalty may
be assessed and recovered in  an administrative action filed with
the Office of Administrative Hearings or in  a civil action
brought in any court of competent jurisdiction. 
   (2) In assessing the amount of an administrative or a civil
penalty for a violation of this article, the presiding officer or the
court, as applicable, shall consider all of the following: 

   (A) The nature and extent of the violation.  
   (B) The number of, and severity of, the violations.  
   (C) The economic effect of the penalty on the violator.  

   (D) Whether the violator took good faith measures to comply with
this article and the time these measures were taken.  
   (E) The willfulness of the violator's misconduct.  
   (F) The deterrent effect that the imposition of the penalty would
have on both the violator and the regulated community as a whole.
 
   (G) Any other factor that justice may require. 
   (c) Civil penalties collected pursuant to this article shall be
deposited in the Hazardous Waste Control Account, for expenditure by
the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement
and enforce this article.