BILL NUMBER: AB 2611 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 8, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ma
FEBRUARY 19, 2010
An act to amend Section 1138.2 of the Labor Code,
relating to employment. An act to amend Section
25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 42463
of the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2611, as amended, Ma. Labor disputes.
Recycling: electronic waste.
(1) Existing law, the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003
(act), requires a retailer selling a covered electronic device in
this state to collect a covered electronic waste recycling fee from
the consumer, as specified. Under existing law, the fees are
deposited in the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account, and
the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery are continuously
appropriated the money in the account to make electronic waste
recovery payments and recycling payments and to make payments to
manufacturers.
Existing law defines the term "covered electronic device" as a
video display device containing a screen greater than 4 inches,
measured diagonally, that is identified in the regulations that the
Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is required to adopt to
identify electronic devices, as defined, that the DTSC determines
are presumed to be, when discarded, a hazardous waste pursuant to the
hazardous waste control laws.
A violation of the act is a crime.
This bill would instead revise the definition of covered
electronic device as a video display device with more than 9 square
inches of screen size and would make conforming changes to the
provisions requiring the adoption of regulations. Since a violation
of the act is a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program by revising the requirement for a crime.
(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.
Existing law prohibits the issuing of a restraining order in a
labor dispute when the complainant has failed to comply with an
obligation imposed by law or has failed to make reasonable effort to
settle the dispute through negotiation.
This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to this provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) With the growing popularity of personal consumer electronics
in California's marketplace, technology is advancing in customizable
formats to meet the needs of targeted consumer groups.
(b) As technology progresses, it is necessary and appropriate to
review public policies that are intended to meet the needs of
California, but may need to be periodically updated to include the
needs of underrepresented groups such as those with physical
impairments.
(c) Under the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003 (Chapter 8.5
(commencing with Section 42460) of Part 3 of Division 30 of the
Public Resources Code), video displays on personal consumer
electronics devices, such as mobile phones, are required to be four
inches or smaller when measured diagonally or the device is subject
to the act's fees.
(d) A video screen that measures four inches diagonally may have
more overall surface area than screens that have longer diagonal
measurements but less overall screen size when measured for actual
surface area.
(e) Current requirements for touchscreens on mobile phone and
personal digital assistant (PDA) devices that seek to meet the
requirements for exemption from electronic waste recycling fees have
resulted in products that are difficult for the visually impaired to
take full advantage of, due to the available small screen sizes.
(f) The current four-inch diagonal measurement standard is
prejudicial against the visually impaired and hinders the
marketability of products with screens having greater than four inch
diagonal dimensions that would be otherwise better products with
larger screens.
(g) Therefore an objective standard needs to be established that
determines overall surface area for video screens that are exempted
from consumer electronic waste recycling fees.
SEC. 2. Section 25214.10.1 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
25214.10.1. (a) For purposes of this section, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1) "Electronic device" means a video display device, as defined
in subdivision (t) (u) of Section 42463
of the Public Resources Code, with a screen size of
greater than four inches nine
square inches of screen size .
(2) "Covered electronic device," "manufacturer," and "retailer"
have the same meaning as those terms are defined in Section 42463 of
the Public Resources Code.
(b) The department shall adopt regulations that identify
electronic devices that the department determines are presumed to be,
when discarded, a hazardous waste pursuant to this chapter.
(c) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (e), a manufacturer of
an electronic device that is identified in the regulations adopted by
the department shall send a notice in accordance with the schedule
specified in subparagraph (A) or (B), as applicable, of paragraph
(3), to any retailer that sells that electronic device manufactured
by the manufacturer. The notice shall identify the electronic device,
and shall inform the retailer that the electronic device is a
covered electronic device and is subject to a fee in accordance with
subdivision (d).
(2) A manufacturer subject to this subdivision shall also send a
copy of the notice to the State Board of Equalization.
(3) The notice required by this subdivision shall be sent in
accordance with the following schedule:
(A) On or before October 1, 2004, the manufacturer shall send a
notice covering any electronic device manufactured by that
manufacturer that is identified in the regulations adopted by the
department on or before July 1, 2004, that identify the electronic
devices that the department determines are presumed to be, when
discarded, a hazardous waste pursuant to this chapter.
(B) On or before April 1, 2005, and on or before every April 1 of
each year thereafter, the manufacturer shall send a notice covering
any electronic device manufactured by that manufacturer identified in
the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to subdivision
(b) on or before December 31 of the prior year.
(4) If a retailer sells a refurbished covered electronic device,
the manufacturer is required to comply with the notice requirement of
this subdivision only if the manufacturer directly supplies the
refurbished covered electronic device to the retailer.
(d) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (e), a covered
electronic device that is identified in the regulations adopted, on
or before July 1, 2004, by the department, that identify electronic
devices that the department determines are presumed to be, when
discarded, a hazardous waste pursuant to this chapter shall, on and
after January 1, 2005, be subject to Chapter 8.5 (commencing with
Section 42460) of Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code,
including the fee imposed pursuant to Section 42464 of the Public
Resources Code.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (e), a covered electronic
device identified in the regulations adopted by the department,
pursuant to subdivision (b), shall, on and after July 1 of the year
subsequent to the year in which the covered electronic device is
first identified in the regulations, be subject to Chapter 8.5
(commencing with Section 42460) of Part 3 of Division 30 of the
Public Resources Code, including the fee imposed pursuant to Section
42464 of the Public Resources Code.
(e) (1) If the manufacturer of an electronic device that is
identified in the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
subdivision (b) obtains the concurrence of the department that an
electronic device, when discarded, would not be a hazardous waste, in
accordance with procedures set forth in Section 66260.200 of Title
22 of the California Code of Regulations, the electronic device shall
cease to be a covered electronic device and shall cease to be
subject to subdivisions (c) and (d) on the first day of the quarter
that begins not less than 30 days after the date that the department
provides the manufacturer with a written nonhazardous concurrence for
the electronic device pursuant to this subdivision. A manufacturer
shall notify each retailer, to which that manufacturer has sold a
covered electronic device, that the device has been determined
pursuant to this subdivision to be nonhazardous and is no longer
subject to a covered electronic recycling fee.
(2) No later than 10 days after the date that the department
issues a written nonhazardous concurrence to the manufacturer, the
department shall do both of the following:
(A) Post on the department's Internet Web site a copy of
the nonhazardous concurrence, including, but not limited to, an
identification and description of the electronic device to which the
concurrence applies.
(B) Send a copy of the nonhazardous concurrence, including, but
not limited to, an identification and description of the electronic
device to which the concurrence applies, to the California
Integrated Waste Management Board Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery and the State Board of
Equalization.
(f) Notwithstanding Section 42474 of the Public Resources Code, a
fine or penalty shall not be assessed on a retailer who unknowingly
sells, or offers for sale, in this state a covered electronic device
for which the covered electronic waste recycling fee has not been
collected or paid, if the failure to collect the fee was due to the
failure of the State Board of Equalization to inform the retailer
that the electronic device was subject to the fee.
SEC. 3. Section 42463 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
42463. For the purposes of this chapter, the
following terms have the following meanings, unless the context
clearly requires otherwise:
(a) "Account" means the Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling
Account created in the Integrated Waste Management Fund under Section
42476.
(b) "Authorized collector" means any of the following:
(1) A city, county, or district that collects covered electronic
devices.
(2) A person or entity that is required or authorized by a city,
county, or district to collect covered electronic devices pursuant to
the terms of a contract, license, permit, or other written
authorization.
(3) A nonprofit organization that collects or accepts covered
electronic devices.
(4) A manufacturer or agent of the manufacturer that collects,
consolidates, and transports covered electronic devices for recycling
from consumers, businesses, institutions, and other generators.
(5) An entity that collects, handles, consolidates, and transports
covered electronic devices and has filed applicable notifications
with the department pursuant to Chapter 23 (commencing with Section
66273.1) of Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of
Regulations.
(c) "Board" means the California Integrated Waste
Management Board Department of Resources Recycling and
Recovery .
(d) "Consumer" means a person who purchases a new or refurbished
covered electronic device in a transaction that is a retail sale or
in a transaction to which a use tax applies pursuant to Part 1
(commencing with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and
Taxation Code.
(e) "Department" means the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(f) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), "covered electronic
device" means a video display device containing a screen with
greater than four inches, measured diagonally
nine square inches of surface , that is
identified in the regulations adopted by the department pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) "Covered electronic device" does not include any of the
following:
(A) A video display device that is a part of a motor vehicle, as
defined in Section 415 of the Vehicle Code, or any component part of
a motor vehicle assembled by, or for, a vehicle manufacturer or
franchised dealer, including replacement parts for use in a motor
vehicle.
(B) A video display device that is contained within, or a part of
a piece of industrial, commercial, or medical equipment, including
monitoring or control equipment.
(C) A video display device that is contained within a clothes
washer, clothes dryer, refrigerator, refrigerator and freezer,
microwave oven, conventional oven or range, dishwasher, room
air-conditioner, dehumidifier, or air purifier.
(D) An electronic device, on and after the date that it ceases to
be a covered electronic device under subdivision (e) of Section
25214.10.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(g) "Covered electronic waste" or "covered e-waste" means a
covered electronic device that is discarded.
(h) "Covered electronic waste recycling fee" or "covered e-waste
recycling fee" means the fee imposed pursuant to Article 3
(commencing with Section 42464).
(i) "Covered electronic waste recycler" or "covered e-waste
recycler" means any of the following:
(1) A person who engages in the manual or mechanical separation of
covered electronic devices to recover components and commodities
contained therein for the purpose of reuse or recycling.
(2) A person who changes the physical or chemical composition of a
covered electronic device, in accordance with the requirements of
Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division 20 of the
Health and Safety Code and the regulations adopted pursuant to that
chapter, by deconstructing, size reduction, crushing, cutting,
sawing, compacting, shredding, or refining for purposes of
segregating components, for purposes of recovering or recycling those
components, and who arranges for the transport of those components
to an end user.
(3) A manufacturer who meets any conditions established by this
chapter and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 25100) of Division
20 of the Health and Safety Code for the collection or recycling of
covered electronic waste.
(j) "Discarded" has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (b)
of Section 25124 of the Health and Safety Code.
(k) "Electronic waste recovery payment" means an amount
established and paid by the board pursuant to Section 42477.
( l ) "Electronic waste recycling payment" means an
amount established and paid by the board pursuant to Section 42478.
(m) "Hazardous material" has the same meaning as defined in
Section 25501 of the Health and Safety Code.
(n) "Manufacturer" means either of the following:
(1) A person who manufactures a covered electronic device sold in
this state.
(2) A person who sells a covered electronic device in this state
under that person's brand name.
(o) "Person" means an individual, trust firm, joint stock company,
business concern, and corporation, including, but not limited to, a
government corporation, partnership, limited liability company, and
association. Notwithstanding Section 40170, "person" also includes a
city, county, city and county, district, commission, the state or a
department, agency, or political subdivision thereof, an interstate
body, and the United States and its agencies and instrumentalities to
the extent permitted by law.
(p) "Recycling" has the same meaning as defined in subdivision (a)
of Section 25121.1 of the Health and Safety Code.
(q) "Refurbished," when used to describe a covered electronic
device, means a device that the manufacturer has tested and returned
to a condition that meets factory specifications for the device, has
repackaged, and has labeled as refurbished.
(r) "Retailer" means a person who makes a retail sale of a new or
refurbished covered electronic device. "Retailer" includes a
manufacturer of a covered electronic device who sells that covered
electronic device directly to a consumer through any means,
including, but not limited to, a transaction conducted through a
sales outlet, catalog, or the Internet, or any other similar
electronic means.
(s) (1) "Retail sale" has the same meaning as defined under
Section 6007 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(2) "Retail sale" does not include the sale of a covered
electronic device that is temporarily stored or used in California
for the sole purpose of preparing the covered electronic device for
use thereafter solely outside the state, and that is subsequently
transported outside the state and thereafter used solely outside the
state.
(t) "Vendor" means a person that makes a sale of a covered
electronic device for the purpose of resale to a retailer who is the
lessor of the covered electronic device to a consumer under a lease
that is a continuing sale and purchase pursuant to Part 1 (commencing
with Section 6001) of Division 2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(u) "Video display device" means an electronic device with an
output surface that displays, or is capable of displaying, moving
graphical images or a visual representation of image sequences or
pictures, showing a number of quickly changing images on a screen in
fast succession to create the illusion of motion, including, if
applicable, a device that is an integral part of the display, in that
it cannot be easily removed from the display by the consumer, that
produces the moving image on the screen. A video display device may
use, but is not limited to, a cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal
display (LCD), gas plasma, digital light processing, or other image
projection technology.
SEC. 4. 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.
SECTION 1. Section 1138.2 of the Labor Code is
amended to read:
1138.2. No restraining order or injunctive relief shall be
granted to a complainant involved in the labor dispute in question
who has failed to comply with an obligation imposed by law, or who
has failed to make every reasonable effort to settle that dispute
either by negotiation or with the aid of any available governmental
machinery of mediation or voluntary arbitration.