BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1566
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Date of Hearing: March 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1566 (Holden) - As Amended: March 17, 2014
SUBJECT : Inedible kitchen grease
SUMMARY : Makes a number of changes to statutes and enforcement
related to the regulation and transportation of inedible kitchen
grease (IKG). Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides several clarifying definitions pertaining to the
regulation and enforcement of transporting IKG.
2)Requires collection centers of IKG to be subject to program
regulations enforced by the State Department of Food and
Agriculture and law enforcement agencies.
3)Increases fines for a licensed renderer, collection center, or
registered transporter who fails to keep and maintain
sufficient records, as specified.
4)Clarifies that a peace officer or an authorized employee of
the California Highway Patrol (CHP) or Department of Food and
Agriculture is authorized to inspect the records of IKG
transporters, renderers, or collection centers.
5)Requires IKG transporters to keep in their possession a copy
of their Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)-issued
registration certificate and a manifest detailing the IKG
being transported, as specified.
6)Prohibits any person who is not a registered transporter or
licensed renderer of IKG to transport that product from any
location outside the state to any location within California.
7)Authorizes a peace officer to impound a vehicle for up to 15
days if the IKG transporter is involved in the theft or
illegal transport of IKG. The registered or legal owner of
the vehicle may receive the vehicle prior to the 15
day-requirement if specific conditions are met.
8)Requires each vehicle transporting IKG to have the proper
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decals and identification information required by the
Department of Food and Agriculture to be affixed to each
transporting vehicle, as specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires a licensed renderer to keep records for two years
encompassing specific information in connection to the receipt
of IKG provided by a transporter.
2)Requires all records retained by a licensed renderer or
transporter to be maintained at the renderer and transporter's
regular place of business. Requires records to be provided on
demand by any peace officer and authorizes any peace officer
to inspect any premises maintained by a licensed renderer or
transporter at any time during normal business hours to ensure
compliance with record maintenance requirements.
3)Imposes various fines, as specified, on any licensed renderer
or transporter who fails to keep specified records or any
licensed renderer or transporter who refuses to exhibit any
required records upon demand by any peace officer.
4)Prohibits any person from engaging in the transportation of
IKG without being registered with the state Department of Food
and Agriculture and without being in possession of a valid
registration certificate issued by DMV.
5)Prohibits any person who is not a registered transporter or
licensed renderer of IKG to transport that product from any
location within the state to any location outside of
California.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill "provides the
tools for state and local law enforcement to use in combatting
the growing occurrence of inedible kitchen grease theft. As
biofuels continue to grow as a source of alternative energy, the
value of kitchen grease will continue to skyrocket."
Over the past 15 years IKG theft has been a growing problem for
state regulators and law enforcement. In 2000, IKG was being
sold for approximately eight cents per pound. In 2014, IKG can
be sold for up to four times that amount contingent on market
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conditions. Specifically, in "high market" periods when the
market experiences spikes in gasoline and ethanol prices, the
demand grows for IKG to serve as a popular form of biodiesel to
fuel cars and trucks. A recent article in the New Yorker
reported that the increased demand for IKG has "provided
criminals with a potent incentive to get to spent oil before
renderers do." In fact, at the 2014 California Biodiesel and
Renewable Diesel Conference it was reported that approximately
40 to 50 percent of IKG is stolen by unlicensed transporters
during "high market" conditions. In "low market" conditions,
approximately 20 to 30 percent of IKG is stolen by unlicensed
transporters.
Additionally, IKG theft imposes ongoing negative public safety
and environmental impacts to local communities. The New Yorker
further reported that unlicensed transporters use bolt cutters
to remove locks on container lids, cut through steel with
blowtorches, and use vacuum hoses to suck grease into tanker
trucks with little, if any, concern for IKG leakage or spillage.
Further reports have indicated these tanker trucks are
typically improperly built, do not possess the proper licensing,
and do not appropriately dispose of IKG byproducts (e.g. animal
bones).
The State Department of Food and Agriculture's Inedible Kitchen
Grease Program (IKGP) is the regulatory and enforcement entity
for the IKG industry. IKGP was established in 1995 due to great
amount of theft of IKG beginning in the early '90s. The IKGP
mission is to stop the theft of IKG and related damage to IKG
containers through investigations and cooperation with local law
enforcement and local district attorneys. However, while the
IKGP has continued to make progress in enforcing program
regulations, biofuels continue to grow as a viable source of
alternative energy, which will in turn, continue to increase the
value of IKG.
The author of this bill asserts that this bill is designed to
"get ahead of the grease thieves, limit grease theft, and
preserve the input market for clean biofuels." This bill aims
to clarify existing law and increase enforcement and penalties
related to collecting and transporting IKG. Specifically, to
incentivize program compliance, fines are increased for IKG
transporters for IKGP violations, law enforcement will be
allowed to impound a transporting vehicle involved in IKG theft
to ensure the vehicle is safely taken off the streets and the
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IKG is appropriately transported by a licensed transporter, and
licensed transporters and renderers will be required to provide
specific identification on their transport vehicles and maintain
detailed records in order for law enforcement to better identify
illegal IKG transporters.
Double referred : This bill has also been referred to the
Assembly Agriculture Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Pacific Coast Rendering Association (sponsor)
California Grain and Feed Association
California Restaurant Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Manny Leon / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093