BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                           AB 1359

                                           



                       SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
                        Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
                              2011-2012 Regular Session
                                           
           BILL NO:    AB 1359
           AUTHOR:     Skinner
           AMENDED:    January 4, 2012
           FISCAL:     Yes               HEARING DATE:     March 19, 2012
           URGENCY:    No                CONSULTANT:       Peter Cowan
            
           SUBJECT  :    BEVERAGE CONTAINER RECYCLING

            SUMMARY  :    
           
            Existing law  , under the California Beverage Container 
           Recycling and Litter Reduction Act (the Act):

            1) Requires the Department of Resources Recycling and 
              Recovery (DRRR) to establish six months reporting periods 
              for redemption rates and recycling rates for specified 
              types of beverage containers.  And, requires DRRR to within 
              130 days of each reporting period, determine redemption 
              rates and recycling rates for those beverage containers and 
              issue a report on those determinations.  (Public Resources 
              Code §14551).




            2)Requires DRRR to calculate and collect a processing fee for 
              each beverage container with a specified scrap value.  
              Beverage manufacturers are required to pay DRRR the 
              applicable processing fee for each container sold or 
              transferred to a distributor or dealer within 40 days of 
              the sale, but allows a beverage manufacturer that meets 
              certain conditions and displays a pattern of operation in 
              compliance with the Act, to the satisfaction of DRRR, to 
              make a single annual payment of processing fees.  (§14575).











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            3) Requires a fiberglass manufacturer to ensure that the 
              annual tonnage of fiberglass manufactured or sold in the 
              state by that manufacturer contain at least 30% cullet, 
              unless DRRR makes a specified determination.  
              (§§19510-19512).


            This bill  :  

           1) Deletes the definition of "redemption rate" and provisions 
              that require the establishment of reporting periods and 
              calculations for redemption rates for beverage containers.  
              (§§14523.5 & 14551).

           2) Deletes obsolete conditions for the annual payment of 
              processing fees by beverage manufactures.  (§14575).

           3) Makes technical changes to the fiberglass 30% cullet 
              requirement and deletes obsolete provisions.  
              (§§19510-19512).
           4) Corrects references, deletes obsolete provisions, and makes 
              other conforming changes. 


            COMMENTS  :

            1) Purpose of Bill .  According to the author AB 1359 "helps 
              streamline Recycling & Litter Reduction Act. ÝBy deleting] 
              the provisions in the Act that establish reporting periods 
              and calculations for beverage container redemption rates."

            2) Background  .  The requirement for calculating both recycling 
              and redemption rates for aluminum, glass, plastic, and 
              other container materials has been in statute for years.  
              Recycling rates measure only containers subject to the Act, 
              and redemption rates have calculations that additionally 
              include containers not subject to the Act.  The redemption 
              rate was used in the past as a trigger for higher fees, 
              this trigger was removed by SB 332 (Sher) Chapter 815, 
              Statutes of 1999.  The remaining recycling rate calculation 
              is adequate to determine the numbers and types of 









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              containers returned for recycling.

              "Cullet" is postconsumer glass from food or beverage 
              containers and other sources.  According to a DRRR report 
              for 2010 the average cullet content in fiberglass produced 
              and sold in California exceeds 48%.

            3) Related legislation  .  SB 518 (Simitian) deletes the 
              definition of "redemption rate," removes the reporting 
              period and reporting requirements for redemption rates and 
              makes related clarifying amendments.  SB 518 is currently 
              on the Assembly floor.

               
            SOURCE  :        Assemblymember Skinner
            
           SUPPORT  :       None on file

            OPPOSITION  :    None on file