BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2251
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2251 (Yamada)
As Amended July 2, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 5, 2014) |SENATE: |36-0 |(August 7, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: NAT. RES.
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.
The Senate amendments :
1)Specify that a violation is an infraction punishable by a fine
of up to $100, if the overcharge is one dollar or less.
2)Require the sealer to report any actions taken to enforce this
bill's provisions in its annual report to CDFA.
3)Specify that nothing in this bill limits or alters the
authority of the California Department of Resources Recycling
and Recovery (CalRecycle).
4)Requires CalRecycle to notify CDFA of any changes to refund
values, redemption payments, or the responsibilities of a
dealer.
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 $0.05 for containers that hold fewer than 24
ounces and $0.10 for containers that hold 24 ounces or more
and requires a distributor to pay a redemption payment to
the CalRecycle. Continuously appropriates these funds to
CalRecycle for the payment of refund values and processing
fees.
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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
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.
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iv) After deducting refund values, administrative fees,
and a reserve for contingencies, appropriate remaining
fund monies to designated programs, grants, and fee
payments (Public Resources Code (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.
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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
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.
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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% higher than any other bottle bill program in 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.
In April of this year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) arrested
six people in two different cases for importing beverage
containers into California and illegally redeeming them for CRV.
The total amount of the fraud for both cases was approximately
$425,000. DOJ estimates fraud in the program to be around $40
million annually.
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
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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.
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0004288