BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2251
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 7, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
Wesley Chesbro, Chair
AB 2251 (Yamada) - As Amended: March 28, 2014
SUBJECT : Weights and measures: beverage containers:
redemption value
SUMMARY : Clarifies the authority of the California Department
of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and county sealers to enforce
over-collection of the California Redemption Value (CRV) on
beverage containers.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the California Beverage Container Recycling and
Litter Reduction Act (Bottle Bill), which:
a) Requires beverage containers sold in this state to have
a CRV of 5 cents for containers that hold fewer than 24
ounces and 10 cents for containers that hold 24 ounces or
more and requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment
to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
(CalRecycle). Continuously appropriates these funds to
CalRecycle for the payment of refund values and processing
fees.
b) Defines a number of terms, including:
i) "Beverage" to include, among other things, soda,
beer and other malt beverages, wine and distilled spirit
coolers, carbonated mineral and soda waters,
noncarbonated fruit drinks, and vegetable juices in
liquid form that are intended for human consumption.
Excludes from the definition of beverage, among other
things, vegetable drinks in beverage containers of more
than 16 ounces, milk, medical food, and any product sold
in a container that is not an aluminum beverage
container, a glass container, a plastic beverage
container, or a bimetal container.
ii) "Dealer" to mean a retail establishment that offers
the sale of beverages in beverage containers to
consumers. Exempts lodging, eating, or drinking
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establishments and vending machines.
c) Requires CalRecycle to:
i) Establish reporting periods of six months each for
redemption rates and recycling rates for beverage
containers and requires them to determine and report the
redemption rates and recycling rates for those beverage
containers for each reporting period.
ii) Certify recycling centers and promulgate regulations
establishing a procedure for certification of recycling
centers. Specifies that these regulations shall include,
as a condition for certification, that if one or more
certified entities have operated at the same location
within the past five years, the recycling center must
demonstrate to CalRecycle that its operations exhibit a
pattern of compliance with the Bottle Bill and its
related regulations.
iii) Pay 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, and adopt guidelines and
methods specifying a procedure for the payment of these
fees.
iv) After deducting refund values, administrative fees,
and a reserve for contingencies, appropriate remaining
Fund monies to designated programs, grants, and fee
payments (PRC Section 14581).
d) Authorizes, but does not require, dealers to separately
identify the amount of any CRV on the consumer cash
register receipt.
e) Requires dealers with retail establishments larger than
4,000 square feet to separately identify the amount of CRV
in all advertising of beverages and on the shelf labels, as
specified.
f) Requires beverage manufacturers to include the correct
CRV value on the label of all beverage containers sold in
the state.
AB 2251
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2)Establishes the Division of Measurement Standards within CDFA,
which is tasked with responding to consumer complaints and
enforcing accuracy of commercial weighing and measuring
devices; verifying the quantity of bulk and packaged
commodities; enforcing the quality, advertising, and labeling
standards for most petroleum products; responding to
complaints of deceptive packaging; and, verifying and
enforcing cash register overcharges.
3)Prohibits a person, at the time of sale of a commodity, to
charge an amount greater than the advertised or posted price.
Requires CDFA and each county sealer to enforce this
requirement.
THIS BILL authorizes agricultural commissioners and sealers to
enforce the requirement that dealers are prohibited from
charging more for a redemption payment than the actual CRV.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : According to the author, current law limits
enforcement of improper CRV collection to CalRecycle, which
lacks adequate enforcement capabilities. The author states
that, "as the primary enforcement authority over retailers that
overcharge for goods and services, agricultural commissioners
and sealers are ideally situated to respond to overcharge
complaints regarding CRV." However, because the CRV is not a
commodity, they lack the authority to investigate and enforce
improper CRV collection.
Background on the Bottle Bill : The Bottle Bill is designed to
provide consumers with a financial incentive for recycling and
to make recycling convenient to consumers. The centerpiece of
the Bottle Bill is the CRV. Consumers pay a deposit, the CRV,
on each beverage container they purchase. Retailers collect the
CRV from consumers when they buy beverages. The dealer retains
a small percentage of the deposit for administration and remits
the remainder to the distributor, who also retains a small
portion for administration before remitting the balance to
CalRecycle. When consumers return their empty beverage
containers to a recycler (or donate them to a curbside or other
program), the deposit is paid back as a refund.
California's Bottle Bill has achieved an overall recycling rate
over 80 percent - higher than any other bottle bill program in
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North America. In some ways, the Bottle Bill program is a
victim of its own success. According to CalRecycle, the Bottle
Bill is currently operating under an approximately $100 million
annual structural deficit, mainly caused by historically high
recycling rates, along with mandated program payments. Fraud
also contributes to the structural deficit. CalRecycle has
taken a number of actions to improve enforcement and fraud
prevention in the program in recent years.
CalRecycle has previously teamed up with CDFA to improve
enforcement. In the summer of 2011, CalRecycle, in coordination
with CDFA, initiated a "no-cost" pilot program to survey and
document vehicles importing out-of-state beverage container
material into California through all 16 CDFA Border Protection
Stations. During the first 60 calendar days of the pilot
program, the information gathered indicated that over 2,500
vehicles (including 378 rental trucks filled to capacity)
imported out-of-state beverage container material through these
stations. Based on the survey data referenced above, CalRecycle
states that a conservative estimate of fraud exposure to the
Bottle Bill Fund is $7 million annually.
Agricultural commissioners and sealers : Agricultural
commissioners and sealers of weights and measures are licensed
by CDFA and appointed by the local board of county supervisors.
Under existing law, they are charged with investigating and
enforcing misrepresentations of charges for services and
commodities. Additionally, county sealers inspect weighing and
measuring devices such as gas pumps and scales, respond to
deceptive packaging complaints, scanner and cash register
inaccuracies, and related issues.
Suggested amendment : In order to alleviate any potential
confusion about which beverage containers are subject to the
bill's requirements, the committee may wish to amend the bill to
insert "subject to Division 12.1 (commencing with Section 14500)
of the Public Resources Code)" after "beverage container" on
page 2, line 11.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
AB 2251
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(sponsor)
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092