BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 513|
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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 513
          Author:   Frazier (D), et al.
          Amended:  9/3/13 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE  :  8-1, 7/3/13
          AYES:  Hill, Gaines, Calderon, Corbett, Hancock, Jackson, Leno,  
            Pavley
          NOES:  Fuller

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  6-1, 8/30/13
          AYES:  De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
          NOES:  Walters

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  64-12, 5/29/13 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Tire recycling program:  rubberized asphalt

           SOURCE  :     Californians Against Waste


           DIGEST  :    This bill establishes the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete  
          (RAC) Market Development Act, until January 1, 2020.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1. Pursuant to the California Integrated Waste Management Act of  
             1989, establishes a state policy goal that 75% of solid waste  
             generated be diverted from landfill disposal by 2020.
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          2. Under the California Tire Recycling Act, requires the  
             California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery  
             (CalRecycle) to manage and regulate waste tires within the  
             state, as specified.

          This bill establishes the RAC Market Development Act, which does  
             the following:

          1. Requires CalRecycle to award grants to (a) local agencies to  
             fund public works projects utilizing RAC; and (b) state and  
             local agencies, including regional park districts, to fund  
             disability access projects at parks and Class I bikeways that  
             utilize RAC.

          2. Requires CalRecycle to award the grants, except as described,  
             in the amount of $2 for every 12 pounds of crumb rubber used  
             in a public works or disability access project by a state or  
             local governmental agency, including a regional park  
             district.

          3. Authorizes CalRecycle to adjust the amount of grants awarded  
             to an amount that is greater than, or less than, $2 for every  
             12 pounds of crumb rubber if the CalRecycle finds this  
             adjustment furthers the purposes of RAC.

          4. Makes the act inoperative on June 30, 2019, and sunsets the  
             provisions of this bill on January 1, 2020.

           Background
           
           Tire management in California  .  According to CalRecycle,  
          approximately 40 million waste tires are generated in California  
          every year.  Although CalRecycle's diversion goal is 90%, the  
          most recent Five-Year Plan (2011) states that the current  
          diversion rate is around 74%.  According to the California Waste  
          Tire Market Report: 2011, of the 40.8 million tires generated;  
          8.8 million were recycled as ground rubber, of which 4.9 million  
          were used as RAC; 2 million were used in civil engineering  
          projects; 6.9 million were reused (either sold as used tires or  
          retreaded); 6.2 million were used as "tire derived fuel" in  
          cement kilns or at co-generation facilities; and, five million  
          were disposed in landfills.  The remaining 2.1 million were  
          otherwise recycled (generally other forms of reuse, such as dock  

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          bumpers), or used as landfill cover.  

          California's sluggish economy and high unemployment rate has  
          contributed to the decline in waste tires generated.  The same  
          factors, along with local government budget constraints and a  
          decline in use by the Department of Transportation, has resulted  
          in diminishing numbers of tires going to RAC.  Export, generally  
          for energy generation in Asia, has nearly tripled since 2009.   
          Appropriate tire recycling in California, provides significant  
          environmental benefits and creates green jobs.  

          RAC is a road paving material made by blending ground-up  
          recycled tires with asphalt to produce a binder, which is then  
          mixed with conventional aggregate materials.  There are two  
          primary types of binders for RAC, asphalt-rubber and terminal  
          blend.  Asphalt-rubber is defined by American Society for  
          Testing and Materials Standard D6114 as "a blend of paving grade  
          asphalt cement, ground recycled tire rubber and other additives  
          for use as binder in pavement construction."  The asphalt-rubber  
          binder is field blended (at the hot mix plant) and requires  
          specialized mobile mixing equipment. The amount of recycled  
          rubber content for asphalt-rubber is around 20%.  Asphalt-rubber  
          been successfully used in California for over 30 years.   
          Terminal blends are binder materials that use finely ground  
          crumb rubber and are typically blended at the asphalt refinery.   
          Historically, terminal blend binders contained up to 10% crumb  
          rubber.  However, in recent years the crumb rubber modifier  
          content has been increased to 15-20% in some projects.  Terminal  
          blend has 20 years of successful use in California.  While there  
          are a number of recycling technologies for waste tires, RAC  
          continues to be among the highest and best uses.  

          RAC has a number of benefits, both environmental and economic.   
          RAC does not require as thick an application as conventional  
          asphalt and has a longer life-span due to its resistance to  
          cutting and cracking.  Some studies suggest that RAC lasts up to  
          50% longer.  RAC also provides significant noise reduction over  
          conventional asphalt and concrete roads.  Moreover, RAC uses a  
          lot of tires.  A two-inch thick resurfacing project uses about  
          2,000 waste tires per lane mile.  

          CalRecycle currently allocates $3 million annually for RAC  
          grants to local governments through its authority under the Tire  
          Recycling Act, and as prescribed in its Five-Year Plan. 

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           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  Yes   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

           Ongoing costs of approximately $350,000 annually for 3.5 PYs  
            from the California Tire Recycling Management Fund for  
            CalRecycle for the administration of the new RAC grant  
            program. 
           Annual appropriation of $7 million from the California Tire  
            Recycling Management Fund beginning FY 2014-15 through FY  
            2018-19 to the grant program.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/30/13)

          Californians Against Waste (source)
          California Association of Recycling Market Development Zones
          California Park & Recreation Society
          California State Association of Counties
          Council of San Benito County Governments
          East Bay Regional Park District
          League of California Cities
          Mojave Desert and Mountain Recycling Authority
          Natural Resources Defense Council

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author, "In  
          California, waste tires continue to be landfilled, burned, and  
          exported at alarmingly high rates.  About 13.8 million out of  
          40.8 million tires generated are landfilled or burned each year.  
           An additional 9.6 million are exported overseas, where they are  
          burned in kilns.  

          If not managed correctly, these waste tires are a potential  
          threat to both California's environment and public health and  
          safety.  Waste tires that are illegally stockpiled are a fire  
          risk and an appealing habitat for rodents and insects.

          The tire fire in Tracy, California contained about 7 million  
          illegally stockpiled tires that burned for over two years.  Tire  
          fires emit carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, and nitrogen oxides  
          that have severe and costly impacts on air, water, and soil and  
          can cause many long lasting health problems including cancer,  
          depression, and nervous system ailments.  The cleanup for tire  

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          fires can cost millions and put many communities, firefighters,  
          and cleanup teams at risk.

          Furthermore, waste tires provide an ideal mosquito breeding  
          ground, since tires are insulated, they can hold water, and  
          provide shelter.  Mosquitoes pose a major health risk and can  
          transfer deadly diseases like Malaria, Dengue Fever, West Nile  
          Virus, Yellow Fever, and Arboviral Encephalitis.

          When recycled, however, these tires provide significant  
          environmental benefits, and result in job creation through  
          processing and remanufacturing."

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  64-12, 5/29/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly,  
            Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,  
            Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández,  
            Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina,  
            Melendez, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,  
            Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,  
            Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Waldron,  
            Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Allen, Bigelow, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth Gaines,  
            Harkey, Logue, Mansoor, Morrell, Wagner, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Gorell, Holden, Linder, Vacancy


          RM:d  8/31/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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