Amended in Senate January 6, 2014

Amended in Senate April 1, 2013

Senate Bill No. 245

Introduced by Senator Correa

(Principal coauthor: Senator Calderon)

February 12, 2013

An act to begin delete add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 48800) to Part 7 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to recycling end delete begin insert amend Section 1632 of the Civil Code, relating to consumer affairs end insert .

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 245, as amended, Correa. begin delete Recycling: mattresses. end delete begin insert Contracts. end insert

begin insert

Existing law states findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to consumer information and protections afforded to the state’s diverse population in which the number of Californians who speak languages other than English as their primary language at home has increased.

end insert begin insert

This bill would revise information contained in those findings and declarations relating to the languages most widely spoken in households with limited English proficiency and the percentage of Californians who speak a language other than English in their homes, based upon more recent census data.

end insert begin delete

Existing law requires a retailer of various specified products, such as rechargeable batteries and cell phones, sold in the state to have in place a system for the acceptance and collection of those products for reuse, recycling, or proper disposal.

end delete begin delete

This bill would enact the “Used Mattress Recycling Act” and would define terms for purposes of the act.

end delete begin delete

The bill would require a qualified industry association, or a successor organization, to establish a mattress recycling organization by November 1, 2014, and would require each manufacturer and retailer to register with the mattress recycling organization by February 1, 2015. The bill would prohibit a manufacturer or a retailer from taking specified actions with regard to selling or distributing a mattress in the state after that date, unless the manufacturer or retailer is in compliance with the act, as specified.

end delete begin delete

The bill would require the organization, by July 1, 2015, to develop a state plan for recycling used mattresses that includes specified goals and elements and to submit the plan to the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. The bill would require the department to review the plan for consistency and to notify the organization of any inconsistences within 90 days after submittal of the plan. The bill would provide that if the department does not find any inconsistencies, the plan would be deemed approved by the department. The bill would require the organization to implement the approved plan by November 1, 2015.

end delete begin delete

The bill would require the organization to annually prepare and approve a proposed plan budget for the next calendar year and to submit the approved budget to the department. The department would be required to review the budget, as specified.

end delete begin delete

The department would be required to notify the organization of the department’s direct costs in implementing the act and the organization would be required to reimburse the department for those costs. The bill would require the department to deposit these amounts submitted by the organization into the Used Mattress Recycling Account, which the bill would establish in the Integrated Waste Management Fund. The bill would require the department to expend the moneys in the account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to administer and enforce the act.

end delete begin delete

The bill would require the organization to annually set the amount of a state mattress recycling charge that would be added to the purchase price of a mattress, and would require a manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, distributor, or other party that sells a mattress to add the charge to the purchase price for the mattress. This bill would constitute a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIII A of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 2⁄3 of the membership of each house of the Legislature.

end delete begin delete

The bill would specify procedures for the collection and disbursement of the charge by the organization. The bill would require the organization to be subject to an annual audit and to annually publish, and make publically available on its Internet Web site, a report regarding the implementation of the plan. The organization would be required to submit the annual report to the department, for review, as specified.

end delete begin delete

The bill would require the organization to post information regarding compliance with the act on its Internet Web site and would require a retailer that distributes or sells a mattress to monitor the organization’s Internet Web site.

end delete begin delete

The department would be authorized to impose an administrative civil penalty on a manufacturer or retailer who sells a mattress in violation of the act. The department would be required to deposit these penalties into the Mattress Recovery and Recycling Penalty Account, which the bill would create in the Integrated Waste Management Fund. The department would be authorized to expend the moneys in that account, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to implement the act.

end delete begin delete

The department would be required to annually review the organization’s compliance with the act and notify the organization, as specified. The department would also be required to periodically, but not less than once every 3 months, determine whether a federal statute has been enacted that requires a national used mattress recycling plan. If the department determines that this federal statute has been enacted, the department would be required to post this information on its Internet Web site and submit a notice to the Secretary of State and the Office of the Legislative Counsel and the act would become inoperative 30 days after the date that the department issues that notice.

end delete

Vote:  begin delete ²⁄₃ end delete begin insert majority end insert . Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 1632 of the end insert begin insert Civil Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

1632.  

(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:

(1) This section was enacted in 1976 to increase consumer
information and protections for the state’s sizeable and growing
Spanish-speaking population.

(2) Since 1976, the state’s population has become increasingly
diverse and the number of Californians who speak languages other
than English as their primary language at home has increased
dramatically.

begin delete

(3) According to data from the United States Census of 2000,
of the more than 12 million Californians who speak a language
other than English in the home, approximately 4.3 million speak
an Asian dialect or another language other than Spanish. The top
five languages other than English most widely spoken by
Californians in their homes are Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog,
Vietnamese, and Korean. Together, these languages are spoken
by approximately 83 percent of all Californians who speak a
language other than English in their homes.

end delete begin insert

(3) According to data from the American Community Survey,
which has replaced the decennial census for detailed
socioeconomic information about United States residents, the top
five languages other than English, that are most widely spoken in
households with limited English proficiency, are Spanish, Chinese,
Filipino/Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Korean, based on data from
combined years 2009 through 2011. Limited English proficiency
includes survey participants who do not speak English well or do
not speak English at all. Among the 3.8 million households in
California with limited English proficiency, approximately 3.5
million people speak either Spanish, Chinese, Filipino/Tagalog,
Vietnamese, or Korean at home. This compares to approximately
19.6 million people, who speak only English at home.

end insert

(b) Any person engaged in a trade or business who negotiates
primarily in Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, or Korean,
orally or in writing, in the course of entering into any of the
following, shall deliver to the other party to the contract or
agreement and prior to the execution thereof, a translation of the
contract or agreement in the language in which the contract or
agreement was negotiated, begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert includes a translation of
every term and condition in that contract or agreement:

(1) A contract or agreement subject to the provisions of Title 2
(commencing with Section 1801) of, and Chapter 2b (commencing
with Section 2981) and Chapter 2d (commencing with Section
2985.7) of Title 14 of, Part 4 of Division 3.

(2) A loan or extension of credit secured other than by real
property, or unsecured, for use primarily for personal, family or
household purposes.

(3) A lease, sublease, rental contract or agreement, or other term
of tenancy contract or agreement, for a period of longer than one
month, covering a dwelling, an apartment, or mobilehome, or other
dwelling unit normally occupied as a residence.

(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a loan or extension of credit
for use primarily for personal, family or household purposes begin delete where end delete
begin insert in which end insert the loan or extension of credit is subject to the provisions
of Article 7 (commencing with Section 10240) of Chapter 3 of
Part 1 of Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code, or
Division 7 (commencing with Section 18000), or Division 9
(commencing with Section 22000) of the Financial Code.

(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), a reverse mortgage as
described in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 1923) of Title
4 of Part 4 of Division 3.

(6) A contract or agreement, containing a statement of fees or
charges, entered into for the purpose of obtaining legal services,
when the person who is engaged in business is currently licensed
to practice law pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section
6000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.

(7) A foreclosure consulting contract subject to Article 1.5
(commencing with Section 2945) of Chapter 2 of Title 14 of Part
4 of Division 3.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), for a loan subject to this
part and to Article 7 (commencing with Section 10240) of Chapter
3 of Part 1 of Division 4 of the Business and Professions Code,
the delivery of a translation of the statement to the borrower
required by Section 10240 of the Business and Professions Code
in any of the languages specified in subdivision (b) in which the
contract or agreement was negotiated, is in compliance with
subdivision (b).

(d) At the time and place where a lease, sublease, or rental
contract or agreement described in subdivision (b) is executed,
notice in any of the languages specified in subdivision (b) in which
the contract or agreement was negotiated shall be provided to the
lessee or tenant.

(e) Provision by a supervised financial organization of a
translation of the disclosures required by Regulation M or
Regulation Z, and, if applicable, Division 7 (commencing with
Section 18000) or Division 9 (commencing with Section 22000)
of the Financial Code in any of the languages specified in
subdivision (b) in which the contract or agreement was negotiated,
prior to the execution of the contract or agreement, shall also be
deemed in compliance with the requirements of subdivision (b)
with regard to the original contract or agreement.

(1) “Regulation M” and “Regulation Z” mean any rule,
regulation, or interpretation promulgated by the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System and any interpretation
or approval issued by an official or employee duly authorized by
the board to issue interpretations or approvals dealing with,
respectively, consumer leasing or consumer lending, pursuant to
the Federal Truth in Lending Act, as amended (15 U.S.C. Sec.
1601 et seq.).

(2) As used in this section, “supervised financial organization”
means a bank, savings association as defined in Section 5102 of
the Financial Code, credit union, or holding company, affiliate, or
subsidiary thereof, or any person subject to Article 7 (commencing
with Section 10240) of Chapter 3 of Part 1 of Division 4 of the
Business and Professions Code, or Division 7 (commencing with
Section 18000) or Division 9 (commencing with Section 22000)
of the Financial Code.

(f) At the time and place where a contract or agreement
described in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (b) is executed, a
notice in any of the languages specified in subdivision (b) in which
the contract or agreement was negotiated shall be conspicuously
displayed to the effect that the person described in subdivision (b)
is required to provide a contract or agreement in the language in
which the contract or agreement was negotiated, or a translation
of the disclosures required by law in the language in which the
contract or agreement was negotiated, as the case may be. If a
person described in subdivision (b) does business at more than one
location or branch, the requirements of this section shall apply
only with respect to the location or branch at which the language
in which the contract or agreement was negotiated is used.

(g) The term “contract” or “agreement,” as used in this section,
means the document creating the rights and obligations of the
parties and includes any subsequent document making substantial
changes in the rights and obligations of the parties. The term
“contract” or “agreement” does not include any subsequent
documents authorized or contemplated by the original document
such as periodic statements, sales slips or invoices representing
purchases made pursuant to a credit card agreement, a retail
installment contract or account or other revolving sales or loan
account, memoranda of purchases in an add-on sale, or refinancing
of a purchase as provided by, or pursuant to, the original document.

The term “contract” or “agreement” does not include a home
improvement contract as defined in Sections 7151.2 and 7159 of
the Business and Professions Code, nor does it include plans,
specifications, description of work to be done and materials to be
used, or collateral security taken or to be taken for the retail buyer’s
obligation contained in a contract for the installation of goods by
a contractor licensed pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with
Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code,
if the home improvement contract or installation contract is
otherwise a part of a contract described in subdivision (b).

Matters ordinarily incorporated by reference in contracts or
agreements as described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b),
including, but not limited to, rules and regulations governing a
tenancy and inventories of furnishings to be provided by the person
described in subdivision (b), are not included in the term “contract”
or “agreement.”

(h) This section does not apply to any person engaged in a trade
or business who negotiates primarily in a language other than
English, as described by subdivision (b), if the party with whom
he or she is negotiating is a buyer of goods or services, or receives
a loan or extension of credit, or enters an agreement obligating
himself or herself as a tenant, lessee, or sublessee, or similarly
obligates himself or herself by contract or lease, and the party
negotiates the terms of the contract, lease, or other obligation
through his or her own interpreter.

As used in this subdivision, “his or her own interpreter” means
a person, not a minor, able to speak fluently and read with full
understanding both the English language and any of the languages
specified in subdivision (b) in which the contract or agreement
was negotiated, and who is not employed by, or whose service is
made available through, the person engaged in the trade or
business.

(i) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), a translation may retain the
following elements of the executed English-language contract or
agreement without translation: names and titles of individuals and
other persons, addresses, brand names, trade names, trademarks,
registered service marks, full or abbreviated designations of the
make and model of goods or services, alphanumeric codes,
numerals, dollar amounts expressed in numerals, dates, and
individual words or expressions having no generally accepted
non-English translation. It is permissible, but not required, that
this translation be signed.

(j) The terms of the contract or agreement begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert is executed
in the English language shall determine the rights and obligations
of the parties. However, the translation of the contract or the
disclosures required by subdivision (e) in any of the languages
specified in subdivision (b) in which the contract or agreement
was negotiated shall be admissible in evidence only to show that
no contract was entered into because of a substantial difference in
the material terms and conditions of the contract and the translation.

(k) Upon a failure to comply with the provisions of this section,
the person aggrieved may rescind the contract or agreement in the
manner provided by this chapter. begin delete When end delete begin insert If end insert the contract for a
consumer credit sale or consumer lease begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert has been sold
and assigned to a financial institution is rescinded pursuant to this
subdivision, the consumer shall make restitution to and have
restitution made by the person with whom he or she made the
contract, and shall give notice of rescission to the assignee.
Notwithstanding that the contract was assigned without recourse,
the assignment shall be deemed rescinded and the assignor shall
promptly repurchase the contract from the assignee.

All matter omitted in this version of the bill appears in the bill as amended in the Senate, April 1, 2013. (JR11)