BILL NUMBER: AB 521	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 10, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly  Members   Hueso
    and Stone   Member
  Stone 
    (   Principal coauthor:   Senator 
 Hueso   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2013

    An act relating to solid waste.   An act to
add Chapter 20.5 (commencing with Section 42985) to Part 3 of
Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling.




	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 521, as amended,  Hueso  Stone.  Solid
waste: plastic.   Recycling: marine plastic pollution.

   The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989,
administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery,
requires every rigid plastic packaging container, as defined, sold or
offered for sale in this state to generally meet one of specified
criteria. 
   This bill would declare the intention of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would create the Plastic Pollution Reduction
Producer Responsibility Act to significantly reduce plastic pollution
in the marine environment and require producers of those products to
be financially responsible for this reduction.  
   This bill would require the department, by June 1, 2014, in
coordination with the Ocean Protection Council and the State Water
Resources Control Board, to adopt regulations to implement the bill.
The department would be required, by July 1, 2014, in consultation
with the council and the state water board, to adopt a list that
specifies those items, or categories of items, that the department
finds are the major sources of marine plastic pollution and,
therefore, would be a covered item for purposes of the bill. 

   The department would be required to notify the producer of a
covered item, and no later than 6 months after receiving that
notification, the producer of that covered item would be required to
design and submit to the department a plan to reduce the producer's
proportion of the marine plastic pollution caused by that covered
item for review and approval by the department. The bill would
require the plan to specify the measures to meet the marine plastic
pollution reduction targets that the producer of the covered item
would be required to achieve, as specified in the regulations. The
department would be required to recover the cost of reviewing and
approving the marine plastic pollution reduction plan by requiring
the producer to pay a fee to the department, which the department
would be required to set in an amount equivalent to the department's
costs of implementing the bill. The bill would establish the Marine
Plastic Pollution Prevention Subaccount in the Integrated Waste
Management Fund, would require the department to deposit the fees
into that subaccount, and would authorize the department to expend
those fees, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the
department's costs to implement the bill.  
   The bill would authorize the department to impose a civil penalty
administratively on a producer that is in violation of the bill. The
bill would establish the Marine Plastic Pollution Penalty Subaccount
in the Integrated Waste Management Fund, and would require the
collected civil penalties to be deposited in the Marine Plastic
Pollution Penalty Subaccount for expenditure by the department, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the department's costs to
enforce the bill.  
   The bill would authorize a producer, in lieu of submitting a
marine plastic pollution reduction plan to the department, to
voluntarily elect to pay an alternative compliance fee to the
department, which the department would be required to set in a
specified amount. The department would be required to deposit the
alternative compliance fees in the Marine Plastic Pollution Fund,
which the bill would establish in the State Treasury. The department
would be authorized to expend the moneys in the fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, in a specified manner, for
innovative product design for the covered item and for recovery,
collection, and recycling programs to prevent the marine plastic
pollution caused by the covered item. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Chapter 20.5 (commencing with Section
42985) is added to Part 3 of Division 30 of the   Public
Resources Code   , to read:  
      CHAPTER 20.5.  MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION



      Article 1.  Definitions


   42985.  For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (a) "Council" means the Ocean Protection Council.
   (b) "Covered item" means a source of marine plastic pollution
listed by the department pursuant to Section 42985.2.
   (c) "Marine plastic pollution" means plastic that is found in
rivers, streams, riparian habitats, beaches, and the marine
environment.
    (d) "Producer" means one of the following:
   (1) A person that manufactures a covered item and sells, offers
for sale, distributes, or uses that covered item in a commercial
enterprise under the person's own brand.
   (2) If there is no person that meets the conditions of paragraph
(1) with regard to that covered item, the producer is the owner or
licensee of a trademark under which the covered item is sold,
distributed, or used in a commercial enterprise in the state, whether
or not the trademark is registered.
   (3) If there is no person that meets the conditions of paragraphs
(1) or (2) with regard to that covered item, the producer is the
person that imports the covered item into the state for sale,
distribution, or use in a commercial enterprise.

      Article 2.  Covered Items


   42985.1.  (a) On or before June 1, 2014, the department, in
coordination with the council and the state water board, shall adopt
regulations for the implementation of this chapter.
   (b) The regulations shall include, but are not limited to,
procedures for the identification and listing of categories of
covered items, requirements for the contents, review, and approval of
marine plastic pollution reduction plans submitted pursuant to
Article 3 (commencing with Section 42985.5), and procedures for the
calculation of the amount and collection of the alternative
compliance fee specified in Article 4 (commencing with Section
42985.8).
   (c) (1) The regulations shall establish marine plastic pollution
reduction targets for a producer of a covered item to achieve in
implementing a marine plastic pollution reduction plan.
   (2) In establishing those targets, the department shall determine
the proportion of pollution reduction of a covered item in the state
that each producer is required to achieve based, in part, on the
producer's total sales of the covered item in the state.
   (3) In setting the reduction targets, the department shall use as
its goals an overall reduction in the amount of marine plastic
pollution from land-based sources by 75 percent in the year 2020 and
95 percent by 2025, as compared to the amount on June 1, 2014.
   42985.2.   (a) On or before July 1, 2014, the department shall, in
consultation with the council and the state water board, adopt a
list that specifies those items, or categories of items, that the
department finds are the major sources of marine plastic pollution in
the state. An item that is listed pursuant to this section is a
covered item for purposes of this chapter.
   (b) The department shall adopt the list specified in subdivision
(a) using the best data that is available as of July 1, 2014, and is
not required to conduct any additional studies or research for
purposes of adopting that list.
   (c) The department may exclude an item from the list adopted
pursuant to this section if the department determines the item is
subject to effective marine plastic pollution prevention policies.
   (d) The department may revise the list adopted pursuant to
subdivision (a) as additional studies or research are made available
to the department.
   42985.3.   The department shall notify the producer of a covered
item listed pursuant to Section 42985.2 in accordance with the
regulations adopted by the department.

      Article 3.  Marine Plastic Pollution Reduction Plan


   42985.5.  Except as provided in Article 4 (commencing with Section
42985.8), no later than six months after receiving a notification
pursuant to Section 42985.3, the producer of that covered item shall
design and submit to the department a plan to reduce the marine
plastic pollution caused by that covered item, which shall include
both of the following:
   (a) Measures to meet the producer's marine plastic pollution
reduction targets, as calculated pursuant to the regulations adopted
pursuant to Section 42985.1, which shall include utilization of
innovative product design, the recovery, collection, or recycling of
the covered item, or any one or combination of these measures.
   (b) Measures for monitoring and reporting on the progress made
towards the marine plastic pollution reduction targets specified in
the regulations.
   42985.6.  (a) The department, in consultation with the council and
the state water board, shall review the marine plastic pollution
reduction plan required to be prepared pursuant to Section 42985.5
and shall determine if it is complete. If the department determines
the plan is complete, the plan shall be deemed approved by the
department. If the department determines the plan is not complete,
the department may require the marine plastic pollution reduction
plan to be revised, pursuant to the regulations adopted by the
department.
   (b) The department shall recover the cost of reviewing and
approving the marine plastic pollution reduction plan by requiring a
producer to pay a fee to the department. The department shall set the
fee in an amount equivalent to the department's costs of
implementing this chapter, with regard to that producer.
   (c) The Marine Plastic Pollution Prevention Subaccount is hereby
established in the Integrated Waste Management Fund. The department
shall deposit the fees collected pursuant to this section into the
Marine Plastic Pollution Prevention Subaccount and may expend those
fees, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to cover the department'
s costs to implement this chapter.
    (d) The department shall periodically review the progress of a
producer in implementing, and meeting the targets specified in, the
producer's marine plastic pollution reduction plan.
   42985.7.   (a) A civil penalty of up to the following amounts may
be administratively imposed by the department on a producer who is in
violation of this chapter:
   (1) One thousand dollars ($1,000) per day.
   (2) Ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per day if the violation is
intentional, knowing, or negligent.
    (b) The Marine Plastic Pollution Penalty Subaccount is hereby
established in the Integrated Waste Management Fund.
   (c) All civil penalties collected pursuant to this chapter shall
be deposited in the Marine Plastic Pollution Penalty Subaccount and
may be expended by the department, upon appropriation by the
Legislature, to cover the department's costs to enforce this chapter.


      Article 4.  Alternative Compliance Program


   42985.8.   (a) In lieu of submitting a marine plastic pollution
reduction plan to the department pursuant to Article 3 (commencing
with Section 42985.5), a producer may voluntarily elect to pay an
alternative compliance fee to the department.
   (b) The department shall set the amount of the alternative
compliance fee in the regulations adopted pursuant to Section
42985.2, which shall be no greater than the amount that the producer
would expend in complying with the requirements of Article 3
(commencing with Section 42985.5).
   (c) The department shall deposit the alternative compliance fees
in the Marine Plastic Pollution Fund, which is hereby established in
the State Treasury. The department may expend the moneys in the fund,
upon appropriation by the Legislature, for both of the following
purposes, in the manner specified in subdivision (d):
   (1) Innovative product design for the covered item.
   (2) Recovery, collection, and recycling programs to prevent marine
plastic pollution caused by the covered item.
   (d) The department may expend the funds in the Marine Plastic
Pollution Fund by directly expending those funds, by transferring
those funds to other state agencies, or by providing grants to local
governments or other entities deemed eligible by the department,
including, but not limited to, nongovernmental organizations and
conservation corps.  
  SECTION 1.    The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
   (a) The health of California's ocean and coastline is increasingly
threatened by the persistent influx of plastic pollution on our
shores and into our ocean. Plastic marine pollution is hurting
California's environment and economy.
   (b) The vast majority of litter in California's coast and ocean
comes from land-based sources, and it is well documented from more
than 25 years of coastal cleanup data that up to 80 percent of this
litter is plastic.
   (c) A 2012 study by the Convention on Biological Diversity found
that 663 marine species have been impacted by marine litter through
entanglement and ingestion, which is a two-thirds increase in species
from a similar study in 1998.
   (d) In 2012, Region 9 of the federal Environmental Protection
Agency estimated California's coastal cities and counties spend more
than four hundred eighteen million dollars ($418,000,000) each year
to combat litter and curtail marine debris.
   (e) The global production and consumption of plastic, especially
single use plastic products, is on the rise.
   (f) Existing federal and state laws designed to combat marine
litter are failing to keep plastic pollution from entering the ocean
and harming marine wildlife and coastal economies.
   (g) Of the many plastic materials that pollute the ocean,
single-use plastic items are some of the worst offenders. While used
briefly on land, these items contain plastic that persists
indefinitely in the marine environment.
   (h) A new approach is needed in California to reduce the impacts
of single-use plastic products on California's environment and
economy.  
  SEC. 2.    It is the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation that would create the Plastic Pollution Reduction
Producer Responsibility Act to do all of the following:
   (a) Protect California's coasts and oceans by significantly
reducing plastic pollution in the marine environment and requiring
producers of those products to be financially responsible for the
reduction.
   (b) Reduce the financial burden on local governments, taxpayers,
and California regional water quality control boards in implementing
key marine plastic pollution prevention infrastructure and
activities.
   (c) Support California's economy by shifting the financial burden
to those responsible for marine plastic pollution and by providing
resources for local infrastructure projects.
   (d) Conduct ongoing monitoring to show measurable reduction of
plastic pollution in the marine environment and to better understand
the sources, pathways, and impacts of marine plastic pollution.