BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 513 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 513 (Frazier) As Amended September 3, 2103 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |64-12|(May 29, 2013) |SENATE: |32-5 |(September 11, | | | | | | |2013) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES. SUMMARY : Establishes the Rubberized Asphalt Concrete (RAC) Market Development Act, which codifies the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) RAC grant program for local public works projects. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires CalRecycle, in accordance with its tire recycling program, to award grants to cities, counties, and other local government agencies for public works projects that utilize RAC and to state and local government agencies for disability access projects and Class I bikeways at state and local parks. 2)Requires that the grants award $2 per 12 pounds of crumb rubber used, and allows CalRecycle to adjust this amount as necessary. 3)Sunsets the bill's provisions on June 30, 2019. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill has one-time costs of up to $120,000 from the Tire Recycling Management Fund (special) to modify program requirements. COMMENTS : 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 AB 513 Page 2 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, 5 million were disposed in landfills. The remaining 2.1 million were otherwise recycled (generally other forms of reuse, such as dock 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 California Department of Transportation (CalTrans) 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. What is RAC ? 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 AB 513 Page 3 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. This bill . This bill is intended to increase the use of RAC throughout California by expanding and codifying CalRecycle's existing RAC grant program. It specifies that the grants will pay $2 per 12 pounds of crumb rubber used (approximately the weight of one passenger tire) and eliminates the current administrative cap of only three grants per local entity. The unused balance in the Tire Recycling Fund is projected to be $32 million in the 2013-14 Fiscal Year. Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0002701