BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 513|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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.
CONTINUED
AB 513
Page
2
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
CONTINUED
AB 513
Page
3
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.
CONTINUED
AB 513
Page
4
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
CONTINUED
AB 513
Page
5
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
**** END ****
CONTINUED