BILL NUMBER: AB 1001 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 8, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 3, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gordon
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Stone)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Section Sections
14538 and 14585 of the Public Resources Code, relating to
recycling , and making an appropriation therefor .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1001, as amended, Gordon. Recycling centers: beverage
containers.
Existing
(1) Existin g law, the
California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act,
requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment for every beverage
container sold or offered for sale in the state to the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery. The department is required to
deposit those amounts in the California Beverage Container Recycling
Fund.
The act requires the department to certify recycling centers and
requires, as a condition of certification, that if one or more
certified entities have operated at the same location within the past
5 years, the operations at the location of the recycling center
exhibit, to the satisfaction of the department, a pattern of
operation in compliance with the requirements of the act.
This bill would authorize the department to waive this requirement
if it makes a specified determination.
(2) The act continuously appropriates from the California Beverage
Container Recycling Fund to the department the amount necessary to
pay handling fees monthly, in the form and manner adopted by the
department, to certain supermarket sites and recyclers to provide an
incentive for the redemption of empty beverage containers in
convenience zones. Existing law specifies procedures for determining
the number of containers for which a handling fee may be paid
pursuant to a claim filed as specified and requires the per-container
handling fee to be set, until March 1, 2013, at an amount that is
not less than the amount of the per-container handling fee that was
in effect on July 1, 2011. Existing law requires the department to
conduct a survey of beverage container recycling costs every two
years and requires the department, after July 1, 2014, to determine
the handling fee by conducting this survey and using the statewide
weighted average costs incurred for the redemption of empty beverage
containers.
This bill would delete the requirement that the handling fees be
paid monthly and would instead require that claims for handling fees
be filed electronically as part of a specified shipping report
provided to the department. The bill would establish the amount of
the handling fees the department is required to pay on and after
January 1, 2014, based on the volume of beverage containers redeemed
at each eligible recycling site, as defined.
The bill would authorize the department, on and after January 1,
2017, to adjust the amount of handling fees based on costs determined
pursuant to a survey that department would be authorized to conduct
on and after January 1, 2016, and not more frequently than every 2
years thereafter. The bill would make an appropriation by changing
the terms and conditions under which the department is authorized to
make payments from a continuously appropriated fund.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no yes
. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 14538 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
14538. (a) The department shall certify the operators of
recycling centers pursuant to this section. The director shall adopt,
by regulation, a procedure for the certification of recycling
centers, including standards and requirements for certification.
These regulations shall require that all information be submitted to
the department under penalty of perjury. A recycling center shall
meet all of the standards and requirements contained in the
regulations for certification. The regulations shall require, but
shall not be limited to requiring, that all of the following
conditions be met for certification:
(1) The operator of the recycling center demonstrates, to the
satisfaction of the department, that the operator will operate in
accordance with this division.
(2) (A) If one or more certified entities have operated at the
same location within the past five years, the operations at the
location of the recycling center exhibit, to the satisfaction of the
department, a pattern of operation in compliance with the
requirements of this division and regulations adopted pursuant to
this division.
(B) The department shall may waive
the requirements of subparagraph (A) if the department determines
that the new operator applicant has no relationship or affiliation to
a previous certified entity that operated at the same location.
(3) The operator of the recycling center notifies the department
promptly of any material change in the nature of his or her
operations which conflicts with information submitted in the operator'
s application for certification.
(b) A certified recycling center shall comply with all of the
following requirements for operation:
(1) The operator of the recycling center shall not pay a refund
value for, or receive a refund value from any processor for, any food
or drink packaging material or any beverage container or other
product that does not have a refund value established pursuant to
Section 14560.
(2) The operator of a recycling center shall take those actions
that satisfy the department to prevent the payment of a refund value
for any food or drink packaging material or any beverage container or
other product that does not have a refund value established pursuant
to Section 14560.
(3) Unless exempted pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14572,
a certified recycling center shall accept, and pay at least the
refund value for, all empty beverage containers, regardless of type.
(4) A certified recycling center shall not pay any refund values,
processing payments, or administrative fees to a noncertified
recycler.
(5) A certified recycling center shall not pay any refund values,
processing payments, or administrative fees on empty beverage
containers or other containers that the certified recycling center
knew, or should have known, were coming into the state from out of
the state.
(6) A certified recycling center shall not claim refund values,
processing payments, or administrative fees on empty beverage
containers that the certified recycling center knew, or should have
known, were received from noncertified recyclers or on beverage
containers that the certified recycling center knew, or should have
known, come came from out of the state.
(7) A certified recycling center shall prepare and maintain the
following documents involving empty beverage containers, as specified
by the department by regulation:
(A) Shipping reports that are required to be prepared by the
recycling center, or that are required to be obtained from other
recycling centers.
(B) Consumer transaction receipts.
(C) Consumer transaction logs.
(D) Rejected container receipts on materials subject to this
division.
(E) Receipts for transactions with beverage manufacturers on
materials subject to this division.
(F) Receipts for transactions with beverage distributors on
materials subject to this division.
(G) Documents authorizing the recycling center to cancel empty
beverage containers.
(H) Weight tickets.
(8) In addition to the requirements of paragraph (7), a certified
recycling center shall cooperate with the department and make
available its records of scrap transactions when the review of these
records is necessary for an audit or investigation by the department.
(c) The department may recover, in restitution pursuant to
paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 14591.2, payments made
from the fund to the certified recycling center pursuant to Section
14573.5 that are based on the documents specified in paragraph (7) of
subdivision (b), that are not prepared or maintained in compliance
with the department's regulations, and that do not allow the
department to verify claims for program payments.
(d) The department may certify a recycling center that will
operate less than 30 hours a week, as specified in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 14571.
SEC. 2. Section 14585 of the Public
Resources Code is amended to read:
14585. (a) The department shall adopt guidelines and methods for
paying handling fees to supermarket sites, nonprofit convenience zone
recyclers, or rural region recyclers to provide an incentive for the
redemption of empty beverage containers in convenience zones. The
guidelines shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
(1) Handling fees shall be paid on a monthly basis,
in the form and manner adopted by the department. The
department shall require that claims for the handling fee be filed
with electronically as part of the shipping
report provided to the department not later than the
first day of the second month following the month for which the
handling fee is claimed as a condition of receiving any handling fee.
department.
(2) The department shall determine the number of eligible
containers per site for which a handling fee will be paid
pursuant to subdivision (e) or (g) in the following manner:
(A) Each eligible site's combined monthly volume of glass and
plastic beverage containers shall be divided by the site's total
monthly volume of all empty beverage container types.
(B) If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is
equal to, or more than, 10 percent, the total monthly volume of the
site shall be the maximum volume which is eligible for a handling fee
for that month.
(C) If the quotient determined pursuant to subparagraph (A) is
less than 10 percent, the department shall divide the volume of glass
and plastic beverage containers by 10 percent. That quotient shall
be the maximum volume that is eligible for a handling fee for that
month.
(3) (A) On and after the effective date of the act amending this
section during the 2011-12 Regular Session, and until March 1, 2013,
the department shall pay a handling fee per eligible container in the
amount determined pursuant to subdivisions (f) and (g).
(B) On and after July 1, 2014, the department shall pay a handling
fee per eligible container in the amount determined pursuant to
subdivision (f).
(4) If the eligible volume in any given month would result in
handling fee payments that exceed the allocation of funds for that
month, as provided in subdivision (b), sites with higher eligible
monthly volumes shall receive handling fees for their entire eligible
monthly volume before sites with lower eligible monthly volumes
receive any handling fees.
(5)
(3) (A) If a dealer where a supermarket site, nonprofit
convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is located
ceases operation for remodeling or for a change of ownership, the
operator of that supermarket site nonprofit convenience zone
recycler, or rural region recycler shall be eligible to apply for
handling fees for that site for a period of three months following
the date of the closure of the dealer.
(B) Every supermarket site operator, nonprofit convenience zone
recycler, or rural region recycler shall promptly notify the
department of the closure of the dealer where the supermarket site,
nonprofit convenience zone recycler, or rural region recycler is
located.
(C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), any operator who fails to
provide notification to the department pursuant to subparagraph (B)
shall not be eligible to apply for handling fees.
(b) The department may allocate the amount authorized for
expenditure for the payment of handling fees pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14581 on a monthly basis and may
carry over any unexpended monthly allocation to a subsequent month or
months. However, unexpended monthly allocations shall not be carried
over to a subsequent fiscal year for the purpose of paying handling
fees but may be carried over for any other purpose pursuant to
Section 14581.
(c)
( b) (1) The department shall not make
handling fee payments to more than one certified recycling center in
a convenience zone. If a dealer is located in more than one
convenience zone, the department shall offer a single handling fee
payment to a supermarket site located at that dealer. This handling
fee payment shall not be split between the affected zones. The
department shall stop making handling fee payments if another
recycling center certifies to operate within the convenience zone
without receiving payments pursuant to this section, if the
department monitors the performance of the other recycling center for
60 days and determines that the recycling center is in compliance
with this division. Any recycling center that locates in a
convenience zone, thereby causing a preexisting recycling center to
become ineligible to receive handling fee payments, is ineligible to
receive any handling fee payments in that convenience zone.
(2) The department shall offer a single handling fee payment to a
rural region recycler located anywhere inside a convenience zone, if
that convenience zone is not served by another certified recycling
center and the rural region recycler does either of the following:
(A) Operates a minimum of 30 hours per week in one convenience
zone.
(B) Serves two or more convenience zones, and meets all of the
following criteria:
(i) Is the only certified recycler within each convenience zone.
(ii) Is open and operating at least eight hours per week in each
convenience zone and is certified at each location.
(iii) Operates at least 30 hours per week in total for all
convenience zones served.
(d)
( c) The department may require the operator
of a supermarket site or rural region recycler receiving handling
fees to maintain records for each location where beverage containers
are redeemed, and may require the supermarket site or rural region
recycler to take any other action necessary for the department to
determine that the supermarket site or rural region recycler does not
receive an excessive handling fee.
(e)
( d) The department may determine and
utilize a standard container per pound rate, for each material type,
for the purpose of calculating volumes and making handling fee
payments.
(e) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (g), on and after
January 1, 2014, the department shall pay handling fees in the
following amounts:
(A) Two and one-tenth cents ($0.021) per beverage container for
the first 100,000 empty beverage containers redeemed per month at
each eligible recycling site.
(B) Five tenths of one cent ($0.005) per beverage container for
the next 100,000 empty beverage containers redeemed per month at each
eligible recycling site.
(C) Four tenths of one cent ($0.004) per beverage container for
any additional empty beverage containers redeemed per month at each
eligible recycling site.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "recycling site" means a
single location of a supermarket site, nonprofit convenience zone
recycler, or rural region recycler.
(f) (1) On or before January 1, 2008, and
and after January 1, 2016, but not more frequently than every
two years thereafter, the department shall
may conduct a survey pursuant to this subdivision of a
statistically significant sample of certified recycling centers that
receive handling fee payments to determine the actual cost incurred
for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those certified
recycling centers. The If the department
elects to conduct a survey, the department shall conduct
these cost surveys the survey in
conjunction with the cost surveys performed by the department
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 14575 to determine processing
payments and processing fees. The department shall include, in
determining the actual costs, only those allowable costs contained in
the regulations adopted pursuant to this division that are used by
the department to conduct cost surveys pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 14575.
(2) Using the information obtained pursuant to paragraph (1), the
department shall then determine the statewide weighted average cost
incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers, per empty
beverage container, at recycling centers that receive handling fees.
(3) Except as provided in subdivision (g), the department shall
determine the amount of the handling fee to be paid for each empty
beverage container by subtracting the amount of the statewide
weighted average cost per container to redeem empty beverage
containers by recycling centers that do not receive handling fees
from the amount of the statewide weighted average cost per container
determined pursuant to paragraph (2).
(4)
( 2) The department shall
may adjust the statewide average cost
costs determined pursuant to paragraph (2) for
each beverage container paragraph (1) annually
to reflect changes in the cost of living, as measured by the Bureau
of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor or a
successor agency of the United States government.
(5)
( 3) The cost information collected pursuant
to this section at recycling centers that receive handling fees
shall not be used in the calculation of the processing payments
determined pursuant to Section 14575.
(g) (1) On and after the effective date of the act amending this
section during the 2011-12 Regular Session, and until March 1, 2013,
the per-container handling fee shall not be less than the amount of
the per-container handling fee that was in effect on July 1, 2011.
(2) The department may update the methodology and scrap values
used for calculating the handling fee from the most recent cost
survey if it finds that the handling fee resulting from the most
recent cost survey does not accurately represent the actual cost
incurred for the redemption of empty beverage containers by those
certified recycling centers.
(g) (1) On and after January 1, 2017, the department may adjust
the amount of handling fees specified in subdivision (e) to better
reflect the cost of recycling at eligible recycling sites, using the
costs surveyed pursuant to subdivision (f).
(2) The department may, when adjusting the handling fee amounts,
establish one or more handling fee amounts using categories based on
the monthly recycling center volume, as determined by the department,
in a manner similar to the method for the calculation of handling
fees provided in subdivision (e).
(3) When adjusting handling fees pursuant to this subdivision, the
department shall adjust the handling fee amounts to reflect any
higher net cost per beverage container for the redemption of empty
beverage containers at recycling centers receiving handling fees, as
compared to the average net cost per container for the redemption of
empty beverage containers at recycling centers surveyed pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 14575.