BILL NUMBER: AB 274 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 9, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 26, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Portantino
FEBRUARY 12, 2009
An act to add Section 43501.2 amend
Sections 48000 and 48001 of, to add Section 48001.5 to, and to
add Article 2.1 (commencing with Section 48010) to Chapter 2 of Part
7 of Division 30 of, the Public Resources Code, and to amend
Section 45901 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, relating to
solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 274, as amended, Portantino. Solid waste: landfills: closure
plans.
(1) The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989, which
is administered by the California Integrated Waste Management Board
(board), requires the owner or operator of a solid waste landfill,
among other things, to prepare an initial estimate of closure and
postclosure maintenance costs and to submit to the regional water
board, the local law enforcement agency, and the board, a plan for
the closure of the solid waste landfill and a plan for the
postclosure maintenance of the solid waste landfill. A violation of
these provisions is a misdemeanor.
This bill would prohibit the owner or operator of a closed solid
waste landfill that is subject to a closure or a postclosure
maintenance plan from selling or offering for sale any portion of a
closed waste management unit unless the intended purchaser provides
evidence, to the satisfaction of the board, of his or her ability to
meet the financial assurance requirements of the act. By creating a
new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing
Existing law requires an operator of a solid waste
disposal facility to pay a quarterly fee to the State Board of
Equalization based on the amount of solid waste disposed of at each
disposal site. Commencing with the 1995-96 fiscal year, the act
requires the board California Integrated
Waste Management Board to establish the amount of the fee, as
specified, and limits the fee to a maximum of $1.40 per ton. The fees
are required to be deposited in the Integrated Waste Management
Account in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, and the board is
authorized to expend the money in the account, upon appropriation by
the Legislature, to administer and implement the act.
This bill , on and after January 1, 2011,
2012, would , authorize an
operator of a solid waste disposal facility that is required to meet
financial assurance requirements and is in operation on
September 1, 2010, July 1, 2011, to elect to
participate in the State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective
Action Trust Fund created by this bill.
The bill would require that a participating operator pay a fee of
$0.12 per ton per disposal site . The bill would require the fee
to be collected in the same manner as the solid waste
disposal fee described above, and require the board to fulfill
certain administrative reporting requirements to the state board. The
bill would also require that would the
fee be deposited in the fund and made available to the board
for expenditure, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for
postclosure activities and corrective actions not performed by
the any owner or operator of a
solid waste landfill when a participating
the owner or operator fails to comply with the board's
final order, the financial assurance mechanisms are inadequate to
fund necessary compliance activities, the solid waste landfill was
operating pursuant to a valid solid waste facilities permit on or
after January 1, 1988, and the board has first used and exhausted
the all immediately available financial
assurance mechanism provided by the public
operator.
The bill would require that the fee and this act would not be
operative on and after July 1, 2010
January 1, 2012, unless the board receives,
received, on or before July 1, 2010,
2011, letters of participation in the State
Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund
from landfill operators representing at least 50% of the total annual
waste disposal volume tonnage in
2009 2010, as determined by the board .
The bill would make conforming changes.
(3) 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.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 43501.2 is added to the
Public Resources Code, to read:
43501.2. The owner or operator of a closed solid waste landfill
that is subject to a closure or a postclosure maintenance plan may
not sell or offer for sale any portion of a closed waste management
unit unless the intended purchaser provides evidence, to the
satisfaction of the board, of his or her ability to meet the
financial assurance requirements of Article 4 (commencing with
Section 43600) of Chapter 2 of Part 4 of this division.
SECTION 1. Section 48000 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
48000. (a) Each operator of a disposal facility shall pay a fee
quarterly to the State Board of Equalization which is based on the
amount, by weight or volumetric equivalent, as determined by the
board, of all solid waste disposed of at each disposal site.
(b) (1) The fee for solid waste disposed of
shall be one dollar and thirty-four cents ($1.34) per ton. Commencing
with the 1995-96 fiscal year, the amount of the fee shall be
established by the board at an amount that is sufficient to generate
revenues equivalent to the approved budget for that fiscal year,
including a prudent reserve, but shall not exceed one dollar and
forty cents ($1.40) per ton.
(2) On and after January 1, 2012, the amount of the fee
established by the board pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be increased
by twelve cents ($0.12) per ton for each operator of a solid waste
landfill that notifies the board that it elects to participate in the
State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund
pursuant to Article 2.1.
(c) The board shall notify the State Board of
Equalization state board on the first day of the
period in which the rate shall take effect of any rate change
adopted pursuant to this section paragraphs
(1) and (2) of subdivision (b) .
(d) The board and the State Board of Equalization
state board shall ensure that all of
the fees for solid waste imposed pursuant to this section that are
collected at a transfer station are paid to the State Board
of Equalization state board in accordance with
this article.
(e) (1) The fee imposed by paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) shall
not be operative after January 1, 2012, unless the board receives, on
or before January 1, 2012, letters of participation in the State
Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund from
landfill operators representing at least 50 percent of the total
volume of waste disposed of in 2010.
(2) The board shall notify the state board, on or before January
30, 2012, if the fee imposed by paragraph (2) of subdivision (b)
shall become operative, pursuant to paragraph (1).
SEC. 2. Section 48001 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
48001. The revenue from the fees paid pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (b) of Section 48000 shall, after payment of
refunds and administrative costs of collection, be deposited in the
Integrated Waste Management Account, which is hereby created in the
fund.
SEC. 3. Section 48001.5 is added to the
Public Resources Code , to read:
48001.5. (a) The revenue from the fees paid pursuant to paragraph
(2) of subdivision (b) of Section 48000 shall, after payment of
refunds and administrative costs of collection, be deposited in the
State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund, which
is hereby created in the State Treasury.
(b) Fees, revenues, and all interest earned shall be available to
the board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to carry out the
purposes of Article 2.1, including all of the following:
(1) Corrective action and postclosure activities pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 48011.
(2) Administrative costs incurred by the board in implementing
Article 2.1.
(3) Any startup costs incurred by the board in implementing
Article 2.1 that were incurred before fees were paid pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 48000.
SEC. 2. SEC. 4. Article 2.1
(commencing with Section 48010) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 7 of
Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
Article 2.1. State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective
Action Trust Fund
48010. (a) On and after January 1, 2011, each operator of a solid
waste landfill that notifies the board that it elects to participate
in the State Solid Waste Postclosure Trust Fund shall pay a fee
quarterly to the State Board of Equalization that is based on the
amount, by weight or volumetric equivalent, as determined by the
board, of all solid waste disposed of at each disposal site.
(b) The fee shall be twelve cents ($0.12) per ton and shall be
collected in the same manner as the solid waste disposal fee. The
board shall deposit proceeds from this fee in the State Solid Waste
Postclosure Trust Fund, which is hereby created in the State
Treasury. Fee revenues and all interest earned shall be available to
the board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to carry out the
purposes of this article.
(c) The board shall notify the State Board of Equalization on the
first day of the period in which the rate shall take effect and of
any rate change adopted pursuant to this section.
(d) The board and the State Board of Equalization shall ensure
that all the fees for solid waste imposed pursuant to this section
that are collected at a transfer station are paid to the State Board
of Equalization in accordance with this article.
48011. 48010. (a) (1) An operator
of a landfill that is required to maintain evidence of
financial ability pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section
43600) of Chapter 2 of Part 4 and is operating on September 1, 2010,
, that is operating the landfill on July 1, 2011, and
that elects to participate in the State Solid Waste Postclosure
and Corrective Action Trust Fund pursuant to this
article, shall submit written notice to the board on or before
September 1, 2010 July 1, 2011 .
(2) An operator of multiple landfills that elects to participate
in the State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action
Trust Fund is required to submit written notice that includes all of
the operator's operating landfills and all other landfills in
which that operator has in common ownership .
(3) The board shall provide to the state board the name and
address, and any other information necessary to administer and
collect the fee imposed pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b)
of Section 48000, of every operator of a landfill electing to
participate in the State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective
Action Trust Fund on or before August 31, 2011.
(b) If an operator that is operating a landfill on July 1,
2011, submits a written notification to the board that it
elects to participate after the trust fund fee goes into
effect, the operator shall pay all back fees and a 5 percent penalty.
goes into effect, the operator shall pay
all trust fund fees applicable from January 1, 2012, and a 5 percent
penalty before being allowed to participate.
(c) For new landfills that receive a solid waste facility permit
after September 1, 2010, July 1, 2011,
the operator's election to participate in the State Solid Waste
Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund shall be
submitted in writing to the board before the board concurs
on in the issuance of the permit pursuant to
Section 44009.
(d) All elections to participate made by landfill
operators pursuant to this section are final, binding, and
irrevocable for those operators and their successors and
assignees .
48012. (a) The board may only expend the
48011. (a) For the purposes of this article,
"solid waste landfill" means a disposal site that is required to
maintain evidence of financial ability pursuant to Part 4 (commencing
with Section 43600) of Chapter 2 of Part 4.
(b) The board may expend money in
the State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action
Trust Fund to pay for corrective action and postclosure activities
that have not been performed by the owner or operator of a
solid waste landfill participating in the State Solid Waste
Postclosure Trust Fund, and only , upon a
determination by the board that all of the following conditions are
met:
(1) The solid waste landfill owner or operator has failed to
comply with a final enforcement order issued by the
enforcement age ncy, the regional water board, or the
board.
(2) The financial assurance mechanisms are inadequate to
fund necessary compliance activities pay for the
required corrective action or postclosure maintenance activities or
both that action and those activities .
(3) The solid waste landfill was operating pursuant to a valid
solid waste facilities permit on or after January 1, 1988, when the
state's requirements for solid waste landfill financial assurances
went into effect as a result of Assembly Bill 2448 of the 1987-88
Regular Session, and is required to have financial assurances
pursuant to Sections 43600 to 43610.1, inclusive
Article 4 (commencing with Section 43600) of Chapter 2 of Part 4
.
(4) The board has first used and exhausted the
all immediately available financial assurance mechanisms
provided by the public operator.
(5) The solid waste landfill owner and operator are otherwise
unable or unwilling to pay, in a timely manner, for the required
corrective action or postclosure maintenance activities or both that
action and those activities.
(b)
(c) The board may adopt regulations, if necessary,
setting forth additional criteria for making expenditures from the
State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust
Fund.
(c)
(d) Notwithstanding Section 10295 of the Public
Contract Code, a contract entered into by the board for the purposes
of this section article is not subject
to approval by the Department of General Services.
(d)
(e) No liability or obligation is imposed on the state
under this subdivision article , and
the board shall not incur any obligation beyond the extent to which
money is expended from the State Solid Waste Postclosure and
Corrective Action Trust Fund pursuant to this section
article .
(e)
(f) The board shall, to the maximum extent feasible,
recover from the landfill owner or operator the amount of
money expended from the State Solid Waste Postclosure and
Corrective Action Trust Fund, including a reasonable amount for
any contract administration costs of the board
board contract administration costs and an amount equal to
the interest that would have been earned on the expended funds
as the result of the operator's failure to comply with the
final order issued by the board . The board shall deposit
all funds recovered pursuant to an action authorized by this section
into the State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action
Trust Fund.
(f)
(g) The amount of any cost incurred by the board
pursuant to this section is recoverable from the landfill owner
or operator in a civil action brought by the Attorney General
pursuant to Section 40432. (g)
The board may impose a lien on the
(h) The board may, consistent with
Section 48023.5, impose a lien on the owner's or operator's
assets or real property as an additional remedy to recover funds from
the operator for expenditures from the State Solid Waste Postclosure
and Corrective Action Trust Fund.
48013. On or before January 1, 2014, and every two years
thereafter
48012. After January 1, 2015, as part of the annual report
required pursuant to Section 40507 , the board shall report
to the Legislature on expenditures from the State
Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund,
the status of cost recovery actions, and any recommended statutory
changes that are required necessary to
ensure adequate resources are available to carry out the purposes of
the State Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action
Trust Fund.
48014. (a) The fee imposed by Section 48010 and this article
shall not be operative after July 1, 2010 unless the board receives
on or before July 1, 2010, letters of participation in the State
Solid Waste Postclosure Trust Fund from landfill operators
representing at least 50 percent of the total annual waste disposal
volume in 2009.
(b)
48013. An operator of multiple landfills that
who is required to maintain evidence of
financial ability pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section
43600) of Chapter 2 of Part 4 and that are operating on July
1, 2010, is required to include all of the operator's operating
landfills in the letter of participation. whose
landfills are operating on July 1, 2010, shall include all other
landfills in which that operator has in common ownership
in the letter of participation.
SEC. 5. Section 45901 of the Revenue
and Taxation Code is amended to read:
45901. All fees, interest, and penalties imposed and all amounts
of fee required to be paid to the state pursuant to Section 45051
shall be paid to the board in the form of remittances payable to the
State Board of Equalization of the State of California. The board
shall transmit the payments to the Treasurer for deposit in
the Integrated Waste Management Account in the Integrated Waste
Management Fund. in the following manner:
(a) The payments from the fees paid pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 48000 of the Public Resources Code and
related interest and penalties shall be transmitted to the Treasurer
for deposit in the Integrated Waste Management Account in the
Integrated Waste Management Fund.
(b) The payments from the fees paid pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 48000 of the Public Resources Code and
related interest and penalties shall be transmitted to the State
Solid Waste Postclosure and Corrective Action Trust Fund.
SEC. 3. 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.