BILL NUMBER: AB 1001 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 9, 2013
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 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.
(1) Existing 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 2 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
an unspecified amount of the handling fees the
department is required to pay on and after January 1, 2014, based on
the an unspecified 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 unspecified 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: 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 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, 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 in the form and manner adopted by
the department. The department shall require that claims for the
handling fee be filed electronically as part of the shipping report
provided to the 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) 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) (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.
(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.
(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 ($0.021) ____
cents ($____) 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 ($0.005) ____
of one cent ($____) 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 ($0.004) ____
of one cent ($____) 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 and after January 1, 2016, but not more frequently than
every two years thereafter, the department 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. If the
department elects to conduct a survey, the department shall conduct
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) The department may adjust the costs determined pursuant to
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.
(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 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.