BILL NUMBER: SB 624	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 19, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 13, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Romero

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

    An act to amend Sections 40116 and 40201 of, and to add
Section 40103 to, the Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.
  An act to amend Section 425.2 of the Government Code,
relating to the state rock. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 624, as amended, Romero.  Solid waste: anaerobic
digestion.   State rock.  
   Existing law establishes various animals, vegetables, and minerals
as emblematic of the state and provide that serpentine is the
official state rock and lithologic emblem.  
   This bill would remove serpentine as the state rock and lithologic
emblem and would leave the state rock unspecified. The bill would
also make a statement of findings about serpentine and its
association with an increased risk of the cancer mesothelioma. 

   The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989 establishes
an integrated waste management program administered by the
California Integrated Waste Management Board that requires each city,
county, and regional agency, if any, to develop a source reduction
and recycling element of an integrated waste management plan, which
is required to divert 50% of the solid waste subject to the element
from landfill disposal or transformation, through source reduction,
recycling, and composting activities. The act allows the source
reduction and recycling element to include not more than 10%
diversion through transformation, as defined. The act defines the
term "compost" for the purposes of the act as the product resulting
from the controlled biological decomposition of organic wastes that
are source separated from the municipal solid waste stream, or which
are separated at a centralized facility. The act defines the term
"transformation" as meaning incineration, pyrolysis, distillation, or
biological conversion, and excludes composting, gasification, or
biomass conversion from that definition.  
   This bill would define the term "anaerobic digestion" for purposes
of the act. The bill would additionally define the term "composting
operation" or "composting facility" as an operation or facility that
produces compost, including, but not limited to, an entity that
produces compost either aerobically or nonaerobically and an
operation or facility that utilizes anaerobic digestion. The bill
would revise the definition of the term "transformation" to exclude
anaerobic digestion. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes
  no  . State-mandated local program: no.


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

   SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares the
following:  
   (a) Serpentine was designated the official State Rock in 1965 and
is found in 49 counties in California.  
   (b) Serpentine contains the deadly mineral chrysotile asbestos, a
known carcinogen, exposure to which increases the risk of the cancer
mesothelioma.  
   (c) California has the highest rate of mesothelioma deaths in the
nation.  
   (d) California should not designate a rock known to be toxic to
the health of its residents as the state's official rock.  
   (e) It is the intent of the Legislature to remove serpentine as
the State Rock and provide for a suitable replacement. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 425.2 of the   Government
Code   is amended to read: 
   425.2.   Serpentine   ____  is the
official State Rock and lithologic emblem. 
  SECTION 1.    Section 40103 is added to the Public
Resources Code, to read:
   40103.  "Anaerobic digestion" means a process using the bacterial
breakdown of compostable organic material that meets all of the
following conditions:
   (a) The process involves the natural biodegradation of organic
materials in the absence of oxygen.
   (b) The temperature during the process does not exceed 140 degrees
Fahrenheit in an engineered and controlled environment. 

  SEC. 2.    Section 40116 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
   40116.  (a) "Compost" means the product resulting from the
controlled biological decomposition of organic wastes that are source
separated from the municipal solid waste stream, or that are
separated at a centralized facility. "Compost" includes vegetable,
yard, and wood wastes that are not hazardous waste.
   (b) "Composting operation" or "composting facility" means an
operation or facility that produces compost, including, but not
limited to, an entity that produces compost either aerobically or
nonaerobically and an operation or facility that utilizes anaerobic
digestion.  
  SEC. 3.    Section 40201 of the Public Resources
Code is amended to read:
   40201.  "Transformation" means incineration, pyrolysis,
distillation, or biological conversion other than composting.
"Transformation" does not include composting, anaerobic digestion,
gasification, or biomass conversion.