BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 346
                                                                  Page 1


          SENATE THIRD READING
          SB 346 (Kehoe)
          As Amended  August 20, 2010
          Majority vote

           SENATE VOTE  :22-16  
           
           ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY          6-3                    
          APPROPRIATIONS      12-5        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Nava, Chesbro, Davis,     |Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford,        |
          |     |Feuer, Monning, Ruskin    |     |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De  |
          |     |                          |     |Leon, Gatto, Hall,        |
          |     |                          |     |Skinner, Solorio,         |
          |     |                          |     |Torlakson, Torrico        |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Miller, Blakeslee, Smyth  |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller,   |
          |     |                          |     |Nielsen, Norby            |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY  :  Restricts the use of copper and other toxic chemicals  
          in automobile brake pads.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Limits the use of copper in motor vehicle brake pads to no  
            more than 5% by weight on or after January 1, 2021 and no more  
            than .5% by weight on or after January 2025.

          2)Exempts specific vehicles from the copper limitation in brake  
            pads including:

             a)   Military vehicles;
             b)   Vehicles with internal closed oil immersed brakes that  
               do not emit copper or other debris under normal operating  
               conditions;
             c)   Parking brakes;
             d)   Vehicles manufactured by small volume manufactures; and,  

             e)   Motorcycles.

          3)Exempts from the 5% copper brake pad restrictions all  
            vehicles, or brake pads used on those vehicles, manufactured  
            prior to January 1, 2021.








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          4)Exempts from the .5% copper brake pad restrictions all  
            vehicles, or brake pads used on those vehicles, manufactured  
            prior to December 31, 2024.

          5)Restricts the use of the following toxic materials in motor  
            vehicle brake pads by January 1, 2014:

             a)   Cadmium and its compounds:  0.01% by weight;
             b)   Chromium (VI)-salts:  0.1% by weight;
             c)   Lead and its compounds:  0.1% by weight; and,
             d)   Mercury and its compounds:  0.1% by weight.

          6)Requires manufacturers of brake pads to review safety data on  
            alternatives to copper in brake pads.  Allows manufactures to  
            conduct an additional alternatives analysis based on an open  
            source alternative analysis carried out by the brake pad  
            manufacturer.

          7)Requires brake pad manufacturers, beginning in 2014, to obtain  
            certification to demonstrate compliance with the 2014 limits  
            and to include that certification of the content of the brake  
            pads.

          8)Requires vehicle manufacturers and retailers of brake pads to  
            ensure that only compliant brake pads are sold in this state.

          9)Establishes a civil fine of up to $10,000 per violation of the  
            brake pad limitations and certification requirements.

          10) Allows a brake pad manufacturer, effective January 1, 2021,  
            to apply to DTSC for a one, two or three-year extension of the  
            2025 ban and for additional two-year extensions until January  
            1, 2030.  Heavy-duty brake pad manufacturers only will be able  
            to apply for two-year extensions until January 1, 2032.  

          11) Requires an application for an exemption to be forwarded by  
            DTSC to the Copper Brake Advisory Committee (CBAC), which will  
            be a 9 member committee appointed by the Secretary of the  
            California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal-EPA).  The  
            CBAC will be composed of: 

             a)   3 members representing the manufactures of brake  
               friction materials and motor vehicles;
             b)   3 members representing municipal storm water quality  








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               agencies and nongovernmental environmental organizations;  
               and
             c)   3 members who are experts in vehicle and braking safety,  
               economics and or relevant technical areas.

          12)Provides that members of the CBAC shall disclose financial  
            interest related to vehicle or vehicle parts prior to being  
            appointed.

          13)Allows the CBAC to request additional information from DTSC  
            with 75 days of receipt of a request for an extension.

          14)Provide that the Secretary of Cal-EPA shall rely on the  
            recommendations of the CBAC when making a determination on an  
            extension request.

          15)Establishes DTSC as the enforcing agency for the requirements  
            of this bill and permits them to remove non-compliant brake  
            pads from sale, but specifically does not authorize the recall  
            of vehicles to remove the illegal brake pads.

          16)Requires DTSC and the State Water Resources Control Board  
            (SWRCB) to submit a report to the Governor and legislature not  
            later than January 1, 2023, on recommended actions necessary  
            to address any deficiencies in meeting the copper reduction  
            targets established by this bill.


           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee the bill would result in cost to DTSC and Cal-EPA  
          including:

          1)One-time costs to DTSC of approximately $200,000 during  
            2010-11 and 2011-12 for manufacturer outreach and education,  
            including development of website materials. (Hazardous Waste  
            Control Account (HWCA))

          2)One-time costs to DTSC of approximately $200,000 during  
            2010-11 and 2011-12 to develop certification and marking  
            criteria.  (HWCA)

          3)One-time cost to DTSC of approximately $100,000 during 2011-12  
            to initially certify third-party certifiers of brake pads.  
            (HWCA)









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          4)Minor annual costs to DTSC in the tens of thousands of dollars  
            beginning in 2013-14 to accept filings by manufacturers of  
            brake pad certification, covered fully by filing fee.  (HWCA)

          5)Annual costs to DTSC of approximately $250,000 beginning in  
            2020-21 to accept and review requests for extension and  
            exemption withdrawal, fully covered by request fees.  (HWCA or  
            Brake Friction Materials Water Pollution Fund (BFMWPF))   

          6)Annual costs to DTSC ranging from $250,000 to $500,000  
            beginning in 2013-14 to enforce bans, including inspections of  
            brake manufacturers and third-party certifiers and laboratory  
            analysis of brake pads.  (HWCA or BFMWPF)

          7)Minor annual costs to the Secretary for Cal-EPA in the tens of  
            dollars beginning in 2020-21 to review extension and exemption  
            requests.  (GF)

          8)Minor, absorbable annual costs to ARB and DTSC beginning in  
            2020-21 to consult with DTSC on extension and exemption  
            requests.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, elevated copper levels occur  
          in urban watersheds across California.  Dissolved copper is  
          toxic to phytoplankton (the base of the aquatic food chain).  It  
          also impairs salmon's ability to avoid predators and deters them  
          from returning to their home streams to spawn.  Scientific  
          studies have shown that a major source of copper in highly  
          urbanized watersheds is material worn off vehicle brake pads.   
          It is estimated that about one-half of the copper found in  
          run-off is attributed to brake pads.

          According to the U.S. EPA, elevated levels of copper are toxic  
          to aquatic environments and may adversely affect fish,  
          invertebrates, plants, and amphibians.  Acute toxic effects may  
          include mortality of organisms; chronic toxicity can result in  
          reductions in survival, reproduction, and growth.

          Motor vehicles are a major source of toxic contaminants such as  
          copper, a metal that originates from vehicle exhaust and brake  
          pad wear.  Copper and other pollutants are deposited on roads  
          and other impervious surfaces and then transported to aquatic  
          habitats via stormwater runoff.

          SWRCB has established Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) as  








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          allowable pollution limits on copper and other pollutants in  
          several southern California urban watersheds.  Failure to comply  
          with these TMDLs will result in serious penalties to the local  
          governments.  The SWRCB is working to establish these TMDLs for  
          watersheds throughout California.  The ubiquity of copper in the  
          urban environment, and the technical difficulty and  
          impracticality of treating stormwater to remove it, mean that  
          compliance with copper TMDLs will not be feasible without source  
          reduction of copper.  Cost could go into the billions of dollars  
          to remediate if source reduction measures are not taken.

          As part of the Green Chemistry Initiative, the Governor signed  
          AB 1879 (Feuer and Huffman) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2008, into  
          law.  AB 1879 requires DTSC to adopt regulations by January 1.  
          2011, to identify and prioritize chemicals of concern, to  
          evaluate alternatives, and to specify regulatory responses where  
          chemicals of concern are found in consumer products.  "Consumer  
          product" is broadly defined as a product or part of a product  
          that is used, bought, or leased for use by a person for any  
          purposes and includes auto parts like vehicle brake pads.

          The enactment of this bill may have the effect of precluding any  
          action by DTSC on brake pads under the State Green Chemistry  
          statute.  Specifically, the current law provides an exemption  
          from Green Chemistry for those products subject to regulations  
          similar to the Green Chemistry Statutes (H&S code 252571(c)).   
          This bill may be interpreted as an exemption for vehicle brake  
          pads from the current authority under Green Chemistry and  
          thereby preclude any additional science based standards for  
          vehicle brakes.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Bob Fredenburg / E.S. & T.M. / (916)  
          319-3965 


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