BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1219 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair SB 1219 (Wolk) - As Introduced: February 23, 2012 Policy Committee: Natural ResourcesVote:6-3 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill extends, until January 1, 2020, the At-Store Recycling Program for plastic bags and repeals the preemption that prohibits local governments from implementing separate plastic bag recycling programs, additional auditing or reporting requirements, or from imposing a fee on plastic bags. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible state costs, if any. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The author intends this bill to extend the statutory requirement that supermarkets provide plastic bag recycling services onsite, which the author describes as moderately successful, while removing prohibitions on potential local efforts to collect and recycle plastic bags, which the author believes may be more successful. 2)Background. Current law, since 2006, requires stores, defined as supermarkets and stores over 10,000 square feet that include a pharmacy, to establish an at-store recycling program for plastic carryout bags. The law also prevents local governments from requiring stores that are complying with the recycling program to implement separate bag recycling programs, additional auditing or reporting requirements, or imposing a bag fee. The program sunsets as of January 1, 2013. According to the Department of Resources Recycling and SB 1219 Page 2 Recovery (Calrecycle), the rate of plastic bag recycling has ranged between 2% and 3% over the life of the program. 3)This bill is supported by the Regional Council of Rural Counties, which supports allowing local governments to try innovative methods of encouraging plastic bag collection and recycling, methods that may be more successful than the existing and limited state program. 4)Opposition. This bill is opposed by the California Grocers Association, which contends the program should be extended in its entirety, including the preemptions against local plastic bag recycling programs. Analysis Prepared by : Jay Dickenson / APPR. / (916) 319-2081