BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2748 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 14, 2014 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 2748 (Committee on ESTM) - As Amended: April 21, 2014 Policy Committee: Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Vote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill exempts certain businesses participating in voluntary paint stewardship programs from the requirement to implement a hazardous materials business plan (HMBP). Specifically, this bill: 1)Provides that a business that handles paint that will be recycled or otherwise managed under an architectural paint recovery program approved by CalRecycle is only required to establish and implement a HMBP if it handles a total weight of 10,000 pounds of solid paint or a total volume of 1,000 gallons of liquid paint at any one time during the reporting year. 2)Prohibits a unified program agency (CUPA) from imposing a fee on exempt businesses. FISCAL EFFECT Minor, absorbable costs. COMMENTS 1)Rationale. Current law requires businesses that handle hazardous waste, including used paint collected under California's voluntary paint stewardship program, to submit a HMBP to the local unified program agency. Both the HMBP requirements and the CalRecycle paint stewardship program include safe management requirements for collected paint. This bill will encourage smaller facilities, such as retail AB 2748 Page 2 sites where paint is purchased, to participate as public drop-off sites for leftover paint by eliminating duplicative requirements on businesses that are part of the CalRecycle-approved paint stewardship program. 2)Background. According to CalRecycle, Californians generate millions of gallons of leftover paint each year. Prior to the passage of the California Paint Stewardship Law,(AB 1343 (Huffman) Chapter 420, Statutes of 2010), the only way for consumers to properly manage their leftover paint was through local household hazardous waste programs. AB 1343 created a postconsumer paint management program for the reuse, recycling, and proper disposal of paint. The structure of the program was developed thorough a seven-year, multi-stakeholder, national Paint Product Stewardship Initiative. California became one of the first states in the nation to implement such a program. PaintCare Inc., a non-profit organization established by the American Coatings Association to implement AB 1343 and other states' paint stewardship programs, has set up nearly 600 drop-off sites for postconsumer paint at paint retailers, hardware stores, and other facilities throughout California. According to PaintCare, as it continues its efforts to increase the number of drop-off sites, it has encountered many smaller paint stores and facilities that have declined participation in the program because participation would trigger HMBP requirements to which they are not otherwise subject. Many of these sites are in rural or otherwise underserved areas, making their participation even more important to the success of the paint stewardship program. Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Galehouse / APPR. / (916) 319-2081