BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  SB 270
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          Date of Hearing:   May 14, 2014

                       ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES
                                Wesley Chesbro, Chair
                    SB 270 (Padilla) - As Amended:  March 27, 2014

           SENATE VOTE  :   N/A
           
          SUBJECT  :   Solid waste:  single-use carryout bags 

           SUMMARY  :   Prohibits stores, as defined, from distributing  
          lightweight, single-use plastic bags after specified dates.   
          Establishes requirements for reusable bags and prohibits stores  
          from distributing reusable bags for less than 10 cents per bag.   
           

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Establishes the At-Store Recycling Program, which: 

             a)   Requires operators of stores, defined as supermarkets  
               and stores over 10,000 square feet that includes a  
               pharmacy, to establish an at-store recycling program.   
               Under the program: 

               i)     Plastic bags provided by the store must include a  
                 label encouraging customers to return the bag to the  
                 store for recycling.

               ii)    Stores must provide clearly labeled and easily  
                 accessible recycling bins for plastic bags.

               iii)   All plastic bags collected must be recycled in a  
                 manner consistent with the local jurisdiction's recycling  
                 plan.

               iv)    The store must maintain records relating to the  
                 program for at least three years and must make the  
                 records available to the local jurisdiction or the  
                 Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery  
                 (CalRecycle) upon request.

               v)     The operator of the store must make reusable bags  
                 available to customers.









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             a)   Requires plastic carryout bag manufacturers to develop  
               educational materials to encourage reducing and recycling  
               of plastic carryout bags and make those materials available  
               to stores. 

             b)   Authorizes a city, county, or the state to levy fines  
               for stores in violation of this law.  

             c)   Sunsets the above provisions on January 1, 2020.

          1)Establishes the Toxics in Packaging Prevention Act, which: 

             a)   Prohibits a person from offering for sale or for  
               promotional purposes in this state a product in a package  
               that includes a regulated metal in the package itself or in  
               a packaging component if the regulated metal has been  
               intentionally introduced into the package or packaging  
               component during manufacturing or distribution.

             b)   Defines "regulated metal" as lead, mercury, cadmium, or  
               hexavalent chromium.

             c)   Defines "package" as any container, produced either  
               domestically or in a foreign country that provides a means  
               of marketing, protecting, or handling a product from its  
               point of manufacture to its sale or transfer to a consumer,  
               including a unity package, an intermediate package, or a  
               shipping container.  "Package" also includes unsealed  
               receptacles, including carrying cases, crates, cups, pails,  
               rigid foil and other trays, wrappers and wrapping films,  
               bags (including single-use carryout bags), and tubs.

             d)   Excludes reusable bags from the definition of "package."

          2)Establishes the Recycling Market Development Revolving Loan  
            Program to provide low-interest loans to businesses within one  
            of the state's Recycled Market Development Zones (RMDZ) for  
            the purchase of equipment and other relevant business costs.    

           
          THIS BILL  :  
           
          1)Defines terms in the bill, including:

             a)   "Postconsumer recycled material" as material that would  








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               otherwise be destined for solid waste disposal.

             b)   "Recycled paper bag" as a paper carryout bag provided by  
               a store to a customer at the point of sale and contains a  
               minimum of 40 percent postconsumer recycled materials.  For  
               a bag with the capacity to hold eight pounds or less, the  
               bag must contain at least 20 percent postconsumer recycled  
               materials.  A recycled paper bag must be accepted for  
               recycling in a majority of households in curbside recycling  
               programs in the state, as well as have specified  
               information printed on the bag.

             c)   "Reusable grocery bag" as, on and after July 1, 2016, a  
               bag that meets requirements specified in (2) below.

             d)   "Single-use carryout bag" as a bag made of plastic,  
               paper, or other material, that is provided by a store to a  
               customer at the point of sale with specified exceptions  
               including a bag provided by a pharmacy for a prescription  
               purchase, a nonhandled bag used to protect an item from  
               damaging or contaminating other items when placed in a  
               recycled paper bag or reusable grocery bag, and a  
               dry-cleaning or garment bag.

             e)   "Store" as a full-line self-service retail store with  
               gross annual sales of at least $2 million and sells a line  
               of dry grocery, canned goods, or nonfood items and some  
               perishables (a typical grocery store); has at least 10,000  
               square feet of retail space and a pharmacy; or, a  
               convenience food store or foodmart.  Includes in the  
               definition of store a retail establishment that voluntarily  
               agrees to comply with the requirements of the bill.  

          2)Beginning July 1, 2016, requires that a reusable grocery bag  
            be able to be used a minimum of 125 times, as specified; can  
            be cleaned; have specified information visible on the bag;  
            cannot contain lead, cadmium, or any other heavy metal in  
            toxic amounts; and, must be consistent with federal  
            regulations related to recyclable claims if the bag producer  
            claims the bag is recyclable.

          3)Provides additional requirements of a reusable grocery bag if  
            made from plastic.

          4)Establishes certification requirements for producers of  








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            reusable bags and suppliers of postconsumer recycled content.   


          5)Requires CalRecycle to: 

             a)   Establish a schedule and procedures for reusable bag  
               producers and suppliers of postconsumer recycled content to  
               provide the required certifications.  

             b)   Establish a certification fee that will generate  
               sufficient revenues to cover, but not exceed, CalRecycle's  
               "reasonable costs to implement and enforce the  
               certification provisions of the bill."  

             c)   Publish a list of approved reusable bag producers and  
               suppliers of postconsumer recycled content, including the  
               types of bags and contact information, and a list of the  
               third-party certification entities approved by CalRecycle  
               on its website.  

          6)Authorizes CalRecycle to: 

             a)   Test any reusable bag manufactured by a reusable bag  
               producer.

             b)   Inspect and audit a certified reusable bag producer.

             c)   Enter into an agreement with other state entities to  
               conduct inspections and provide necessary enforcement.  

          7)Prohibits stores from making single-use carryout bags  
            available at the point of sale on the following timeline:   

             a)   On and after January 1, 2015, at either a grocery store  
               or retailer with at least 10,000 square feet of retail  
               space and a pharmacy.

             b)   On and after July 1, 2016, at a convenience food store  
               and foodmart.

          8)Authorizes a store to make available a reusable grocery bag at  
            the point of sale.  Requires that reusable bags may not be  
            sold to a consumer for less than 10 cents per bag.  

          9)Authorizes a store to make available a recycled paper bag for  








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            purchase at the point of sale for not less than 10 cents per  
            bag.

          10)Requires a store to provide a customer participating in the  
            California's Special Supplemental Food Program for Women,  
            Infants, and Children with a reusable grocery bag or recycled  
            paper bag at no cost.

          11)Authorizes a store to make a compostable bag (i.e., meeting  
            certain compostable and other requirements) available for  
            purchase for not less than 10 cents per bag.  

          12)Authorizes stores that are not included in the bill to  
            voluntarily participate in the bill's requirements.  

          13)Authorizes a city, county, city and county, or the state to  
            impose civil liability of $500 for the first violation of the  
            proposed law, $1,000 for the second violation, and $2,000 for  
            each subsequent violation.  Collected penalties must be paid  
            to whichever agency brought the action.  

          14)Preempts local ordinances adopted on or after September 1,  
            2014 relating to reusable grocery bags, single-use carryout  
            bags, or recycled paper bags.  

          15)Appropriates $2 million from the Recycled Market Development  
            Revolving Loan Subaccount for loans and grants for the  
            creation and retention of jobs and economic activity in the  
            state for the manufacture and recycling of plastic reusable  
            grocery bags that use recycled content.  Requires recipients  
            of a grant to retain and retrain existing employees for the  
            manufacturing of reusable grocery bags that meet the  
            requirements of the bill.  
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :   Unknown 

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Purpose of bill  .  The author states, "California uses an  
            estimated 14 billion single-use plastic bags a year.   
            According to CalRecycle, less than five percent of single-use  
            plastic bags are recycled.  Plastic bags cause litter, slow  
            sorting and jam machinery at recycling centers costing  
            California more than an estimated $25 million each year to  
            collect and bury the plastic bag waste.  By banning plastic  








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            bags on a statewide level, the amount of litter and plastic  
            marine debris caused by plastic bags can be significantly  
            reduced."

           2)Background  .  Plastic bags and plastic film together represent  
            just over two percent of the waste stream, and every year  
            California taxpayers spend $25 million disposing of the 14  
            billion plastic bags used annually.  Although plastic  
            represents a relatively small fraction of the overall waste  
            stream in California, plastic waste is the predominate form of  
            marine debris.  Plastics are estimated to comprise 60-80  
            percent of all marine debris and 90 percent of all floating  
            debris.  According to the California Coastal Commission, the  
            primary source of marine debris is urban runoff, of which  
            lightweight plastic bags and plastic film are particularly  
            susceptible.  Due to the interplay of ocean currents, marine  
            debris preferentially accumulates in certain areas throughout  
            the ocean.  The North Pacific Central Gyre is the ultimate  
            destination for much of the marine debris originating from the  
            California coast.  A study by the Algalita Marine Research  
            Foundation found an average of more than 300,000 plastic  
            pieces per square mile of the Gyre and that the mass of  
            plastic was six times greater than zooplankton floating on the  
            water's surface. 

          Most plastic marine debris exists as small plastic particles due  
            to excessive UV radiation exposure and subsequent  
            photo-degradation.  These plastic pieces are ingested by  
            aquatic organisms and have already negatively affected over  
            250 animal species worldwide.  In addition, hydrophobic  
            chemicals present in the ocean in trace amounts (e.g., from  
            contaminated runoff and oil and chemical spills) have an  
            affinity for, and can bind to, plastic particles and may also  
            enter and accumulate in the food chain through the same  
            mechanism. 

           3)Local bag responses  .  Over 77 cities and counties throughout  
            California have adopted ordinances banning plastic bags,  
            including San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach, Los Angeles  
            County, Santa Clara County, and Alameda County.  Many of these  
            local governments also require stores to charge a fee for a  
            paper carryout bag, and a few have banned both single-use  
            plastic and paper carryout bags.  This bill does not pre-empt  
            existing ordinances; however, it does provide uniformity  
            moving forward by pre-empting any local ordinance adopted  








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            after September 1, 2014.   

           4)No corresponding litter and pollution program funded by fees.    
            SB 270 requires stores to charge not less than 10 cents for  
            both paper bags and reusable bags.  Some of the previous bills  
            on this issue directed fee revenues to be used for litter and  
            pollution prevention, as well as stormwater, sewer and water  
            treatment facility problems associated with bag debris. 

            On the other hand, some local governments place requirements  
            on how stores may expend the money collected from bag  
            purchases.  For example, Los Angeles County allows the money  
            generated by bag purchases and retained by stores to be used  
            only for the stores' costs of compliance, actual costs of  
            providing recyclable paper carryout bags, or costs for  
            educational materials/campaigns encouraging the use of  
            reusable bags.

            This bill is silent with regard to any funds generated by the  
            charge.  Presumably, any funds collected would be kept by the  
            store.  

           5)Related and past legislation  .  A significant number of bills  
            related to single-use bags have been introduced.  

             a)   AB 2058 (Levine) of 2007 would have prohibited the free  
               dispensing of carryout plastic bags by a store to its  
               customers, unless the store can demonstrate to the  
               California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) that  
               70% of the plastic bags it dispensed had been diverted from  
               the waste stream.  AB 2058 was held in Senate  
               Appropriations Committee.

             b)   SB 531 (DeSaulnier) of 2009 would have required  
               manufacturers of plastic carryout bags to consult with  
               various entities, including the CIWMB, when developing  
               specified educational materials to encourage the reduced  
               use or recycling of those bags, and authorized the CIWMB to  
               modify those materials.  SB 531 was held in Assembly  
               Natural Resources Committee without further action.

             c)   AB 68 (Brownley) of 2009 and AB 87 (Davis) of 2009 both  
               would have required a 25 cent fee on the distribution of  
               single-use carryout bags.  Both bills were held in the  
               Assembly Appropriations Committee. 








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             d)   AB 2138 (Chesbro) of 2010 would have established  
               recycling and composting requirements for take-out food  
               packaging, including bags.  AB 2138 was held on the  
               Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file.

             e)   AB 1998 (Brownley) of 2010 would have repealed the  
               at-store recycling program and instead prohibited stores  
               from providing a single-use plastic carryout bag to a  
               customer and required stores to provide reusable bags for  
               purchase or recycled paper bags for a fee.  AB 1998 was  
               held on the Senate Floor.

             f)   SB 915 (Calderon) of 2011 would have established plastic  
               bag reduction and recycled content goals.  A hearing in the  
               Senate Environmental Quality Committee was canceled at the  
               request of the author.

             g)   AB 1834 (Brownley) of 2012 would have defined reusable  
               bags.  This bill was held on the Senate Floor. 

             h)   SB 1106 (Strickland) of 2012 would have prohibited the  
               manufacture, distribution, and sale of reusable bags  
               without a warning label that both specifies the need for  
               reusable bags to be cleaned and disinfected between uses  
               and outlines the health risks associated with not cleaning  
               or disinfecting reusable bags between uses.  SB 1106 was  
               held in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.  

             i)   AB 298 (Brownley) of 2011would have prohibited a  
               reusable bag manufacturer from selling or distributing a  
               reusable bag in the state unless it meets specified  
               requirements.  AB 298 was held in the Senate Appropriations  
               Committee.  

             j)   SB 1219 (Wolk), Chapter 384, Statutes of 2012, extended  
               the sunset of the At-Store Recycling Program requirements  
               from January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2020 and repealed the  
               provisions preempting local regulatory action related to  
               the at-store recycling program requirements.

             aa)  AB 158 (Levine) in the current Session is substantially  
               similar to SB 270.  Generally, this bill prohibits grocery  
               stores from providing single-use plastic bags to customers  
               and requires stores to make reusable bags available for  








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               purchase by customers.  This bill was moved to the Assembly  
               inactive file by the author.  

             bb)  SB 405 (Padilla) in the current Session is substantially  
               similar to SB 270.  Generally, this bill prohibits grocery  
               stores from providing single-use plastic bags to consumers  
               and requires stores to make reusable bags available for  
               purchase by customers.  This bill was moved to the Senate  
               inactive file by the author.    

             cc)  SB 700 (Wolk) in the current Session would have required  
               retail establishments, as defined, to collect a fee of 5  
               cents for every single-use carryout bag provided to a  
               customer.  The bill requires that the fees be available for  
               grants to cities and counties for local parks and local  
               programs that reduce and cleanup litter.  This bill was  
               held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.   

           6)Suggested amendments  .   The committee may wish to make a  
            number of technical, clarifying, and other amendments to  
            ensure that the bill is enforceable, protective of public  
            health, consistent with other state programs, and make related  
            technical and clarifying changes.  

             a)   The bill allows non-regulated stores to "voluntarily"  
               participate in the program.   The committee may wish to  
               amend the bill  to clarify that this provision is  
               enforceable by CalRecycle.  

             b)   This bill specifies that reusable bags be free from  
               heavy metals "in toxic amounts."   The committee may wish to  
               amend the bill  to specify that reusable bags do not contain  
               toxic materials that may pose a threat to public health,  
               which may be demonstrated by obtaining a letter of  
               non-objection from the federal Food and Drug  
               Administration.  This method of demonstration is commonly  
               used for other types of plastic packaging.   

             c)   The certification provisions in this bill are complex  
               and in some places duplicative.   The committee may wish to  
               amend the bill  to consolidate, streamline, and make  
               technical changes to the certification requirements.  

             d)   Currently the bill pre-empts all local ordinances  
               adopted after September 1, 2014, which may affect local  








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               governments that are currently in the process of adopting  
               an ordinance.   The committee may wish to amend the bill  to  
               permit ordinances that have already "passed a first  
               reading" prior to that date and that are adopted before  
               January 1, 2015.  

             e)   This bill appropriates $2 million from the Recycled  
               Market Development Revolving Loan Program for "loans and  
               grants."  In order to ensure that the bill is consistent  
               with the purposes of the program,  the committee may wish to  
               amend the bill  to preserve the existing loan program.  


           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

          Support 
           
          All One Ocean
          Black Surfers Collective
          California Association of Environmental Health Administrators 
          California Coastal Coalition 
          California Coastkeeper
          California League of Conservation Voters
          California Retailers Association 
          Californians Against Waste
          ChicoEco, Inc.  
          City of Clayton
          City of Concord
          City of Los Angeles
          City of Palm Desert
          City of Sacramento 
          City of San Jose
          City of San Rafael
          Clean Oceans Competition 
          Clean Water Action 
          Command Packaging 
          Contra Costa Clean Water Program 
          Costa Mesa Sanitary District
          County of San Mateo
          County of Santa Barbara
          County of Santa Clara
          Don't Waste LA 
          Environment California 
          Five Gyres Institute
          Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives 








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          Global Green USA
          Green Cities California 
          Green Vets Los Angeles
          Green Waste Recovery 
          Heal The Bay 
          Hidden Resources
          Latino Coalition for a California Bag Ban
          Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
          Napa Recycling and Waste Services
          Napa Valley CanDo
          Natural Resources Defense Council 
          Ocean Project
          Pacoima Beautiful 
          Planning and Conservation League
          Plastic Free Seas
          Plastic Pollution Coalition 
          Plastic Soup Foundation 
          Plasticbaglaws.org
          Republic Services
          Reusable Bag Association 
          Sachamama
          Santa Barbara Channelkeeper
          Seventh Generation Advisors
          Sierra Club California
          Silicon Valley Leadership Group
          Suja Lowenthal, Councilmember, City of Long Beach 
          Surfrider Foundation 
          Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii 
          Target
          Wildcoast 
          World Society for the Protection of Animals 
          Zero Waste San Diego
          11,345 individuals (petition) 
           
            Opposition 
           
          Advance Polybag, Inc. 
          American Forest and Paper Association 
          American Progressive Bag Association 
          California Recycling Market Development Zones Association 
                                                                                    California Manufacturers and Technology Association 
          Crown Poly
          Elkay Plastics Co., Inc. 
          Hilex Poly
          National Black Chamber of Commerce








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          National Federation of Independent Businesses
          SPI:  The Plastics Industry Trade Association 
          Third Baptist Church of San Francisco
          US Black Chamber, Inc. 
          542 individuals

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)  
          319-2092