BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 405|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 405
Author: Padilla (D), et al.
Amended: 5/24/13
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-3, 4/17/13
AYES: Hill, Corbett, Hancock, Jackson, Leno
NOES: Gaines, Calderon, Fuller
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 4-3, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Hill, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines, Lara
SUBJECT : Solid waste: single-use carryout bags
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill prohibits grocery stores and large
retailers from providing single-use bags to customers beginning
January 1, 2015. The ban on single-use bags expands to
convenience food stores, foodmarts, and certain other specified
stores, on July 1, 2016.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, under the At-Store Recycling Program
(part of the California Integrated Waste Management Act of
1989):
1. Requires operators of stores, defined as supermarkets and
stores over 10,000 square feet that includes a pharmacy, to
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establish an at-store recycling program, as specified.
2. 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.
3. Allows cities and counties to adopt, implement, and enforce
local laws related to local curbside or drop-off recycling
programs.
4. Authorizes a city, county, or the state to levy fines for
stores in violation of this law.
5. Defines "reusable bag" as a bag with handles and made of
either cloth or durable plastic. Requires a reusable bag
made of plastic to be at least 2.25 mils thick and
specifically designed for multiple uses.
6. Sunsets the above provisions on January 1, 2020.
This bill:
1. Requires the following of a reusable grocery bag on and after
July 1, 2016: (a) able to be used a minimum of 125 times as
specified; (b) can be cleaned; (c) have specified information
visibly on the bag or tag; (d) cannot contain lead, cadmium,
or any other heavy metal in toxic amounts; and, (e) must be
consistent with federal regulations related to recyclable
claims if the bag producer claims the bag is recyclable.
2. Provides additional requirements of a reusable grocery bag if
made from plastic.
3. Authorizes the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery
(CalRecycle) to do the following: (a) inspect and audit a
reusable bag producer and requires the producer to pay for
costs associated with the audit; (b) test a reusable bag for
compliance with the provisions of this bill; (c) enter into
an agreement with other state agencies to conduct inspections
necessary for enforcement; and, (d) assess administrative
civil penalties for violations of provisions of this bill.
4. Requires penalties to be deposited into the Reusable Bag
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Account for purposes of implementing this bill upon
appropriation by the Legislature.
5. Prohibits a single-use carryout bag (i.e. paper, plastic, or
other material) from being available at the point of sale to
a customer, as specified.
6. Requires a store, on and after July 1, 2016, to make
available a reusable grocery bag at the point of sale.
7. Authorizes a store to make available a recycled paper bag for
purchase at the point of sale.
8. 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.
9. Authorizes a store to make a compostable bag (i.e., meeting
certain compostable and other requirements) available for
purchase.
10.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. Provides that these
remedies are not exclusive, but are in addition to remedies
available under the state's Unfair Competition Law.
12.Preempts local agencies from adopting a new ordinances
relating to reusable, single-use, or recycled paper bags
after January 1, 2014.
13.Contains definitions for various terms for the purpose of
this bill.
Background
Plastic bags and plastic film together represent 2.2% of the
waste stream, and every year California taxpayers spend $25
million disposing of the 19 billion plastic bags used annually.
Although plastic represents a relatively small fraction of the
overall waste stream in California, plastic waste is the
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predominate form of marine debris. Plastics are estimated to
compose 60-80% of all marine debris and 90% 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.
Local bag ordinances . Approximately 70 local governments
throughout California have adopted ordinances banning plastic
bags including San Francisco, San Jose, Long Beach, Los Angeles
County, Santa Clara County, Alameda County and others. Most of
these cities and counties 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.
No corresponding litter and pollution program funded by fees .
Although, this bill authorizes a store to make a recycled paper
bag available for purchase at the point of sale, this bill does
not provide a funding mechanism to deal with litter and
pollution, as well as stormwater, sewer and water treatment
facility problems associated with bag debris. Some previous
legislation included fees to be placed on bags to directly
address those problems.
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
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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.
Reusable bags are not perfect . Concern has been raised that
reusable grocery bags may have public health implications. For
example, reusable bags can harbor bacteria such as coliform
bacteria, but washing the reusable bags can eliminate 99.9% of
bacteria. However, a 2011 study examining reusable bags in
California and Arizona showed that 97% of people reported that
they never wash their bags.
In addition, a 2012 study, by Jonathan Klick and Joshua Wright,
from University of Pennsylvania and George Mason University,
respectively, on the public health impact of plastic bag bans
showed that emergency-room admissions related to E. coli
infections increased in San Francisco after the ban compared to
nearby counties that did not show the increase. The San
Francisco ban was also associated with increases in salmonella
and other bacterial infections. Similar effects were found in
other California local jurisdictions that adopted similar
ordinances.
Prior/Related legislation
SB 700 (Wolk) requires grocery stores and restaurants to collect
a charge of $0.05 for each single-use carryout bag provided to a
customer and requires the funds collected to be allocated to
reducing and cleaning up litter in local parks and programs.
The bill bans single-use plastic bags in grocery stores but
authorizes paper bags to be sold and allows the store to retain
the fee. SB 700 (Wolk) requires a fee on both plastic and paper
single-use bags in grocery stores and restaurants, and requires
the revenue to be used for local public purposes.
AB 158 (Levine) is similar to this bill and prohibits grocery
stores from providing single-use plastic bags to customers, and
requires stores to make reusable grocery bags available for
purchase by customers.
SB 1219 (Wolk, Chapter 384, Statutes of 2012) extended the
sunset of the At-Store Recycling Program requirements from
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January 1, 2013 to January 1, 2020 and repealed the provisions
preempting local regulatory action related to the at-store
recycling program requirements.
SB 1106 (Strickland of 2012) prohibited the manufacture,
distribution, and sale of reusable bags without a warning label
that both specified 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. The bill failed in the Senate Environmental
Quality Committee.
AB 298 (Brownley of 2012), prohibited stores from providing
single-use plastic bags to customers, required stores to make
reusable grocery bags, as defined, available for purchase by
customers, and created standards for reusable bags. The bill
was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.
AB 1834 (Brownley of 2012) defined "reusable bag" for purposes
of the At-Store Recycling Program Law and would have specified
that on and after July 1, 2013, the definition of what is a
reusable bag under this bill will become operative. Between
January 1, 2013 until June 30, 2013, the current At-Store
Recycling Program Law would have remained operative. The bill
would have become operative only if SB 1219 (Wolk) became law.
The bill was placed on the Senate inactive file and died on the
Senate floor.
AB 1998 (Brownley of 2010) 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. The bill died on the Senate Floor.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
One-time costs of about $150,000 from the Integrated Waste
Management Fund (special fund) to develop regulations
pertaining to oversight of reusable bag standards.
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Ongoing costs of approximately $100,000 from the Integrated
Waste Management Fund for enforcement of reusable bag
standards.
One-time costs of $500,000 from the Integrated Waste
Management Fund for reporting requirements.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/13)
Azul
BagIt
California Coastal Coalition
California Coastkeeper Alliance
California State Association of Counties
Californians Against Waste
Central Contra Costa County Solid Waste Authority
City and County of San Francisco
Cities of El Cerrito, Palo Alto, Sacramento, and Sunnyvale
Clean Water Action
Contra Costa Clean Water Program
Ecology Action
Environment California
Green Chamber of Commerce
Green Sangha
Green Vets Los Angeles
Heal The Bay
Humboldt Waste Management Authority
La Mode Verte Productions
Los Angeles County Integrated Waste Management Task Force
Marin County Hazardous & Solid Waste Mgmt JPA
Napa Valley CanDo Environment Group
Natural Resources Defense Council
Northern California Recycling Association
Ocean Conservation Society
Pacifica's Environmental Family
Planning and Conservation League
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Plasticbaglaws.org
Santa Clara County Recycling & Waste Reduction Commission
Santa Monica High School
Save Our Shores
Seventh Generation Advisors
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Sierra Club California
Surfrider Foundation
Team Marine - Santa Monica High School
The 5 Gyres Institute
Turtle Island Restoration Network
United Food & Commercial Workers Western States
Wildcoast
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/24/13)
99[ Outlet
Achasi's Mini Market
Advance Polybag, Inc.
American Forest and Paper Association
Angela's Drive In Dairy
Arctic Hot Spot
Azusa Council Member Angel Carrillo
Bell Gardens Chamber of Commerce
Bell Gardens Mayor Sergio Infanzon
Brianna's Miss Store
Cities Restaurant
Clear Skies Enterprises
Congress of Racial Equality of California
Crown Poly, Inc.
Drive In Rancho Market
Eagle Portables
EDD
Elkay Plastics Co., Inc.
ETS
First Store 989
Fiscal Credit Union
GDS Institute
Hilex Poly Co.
Hollywood Work Source Center
La Alicia Meat Market
La Favorita Bakery
La Princesita Market
Linnie's Pet Pampering
Maledzing Shoppe
Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority
Noble Affair
Oldtimers Foundation
Orange County Adult Achievement Center
Pasteleria Tres Leches
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Pico Rivera Mayor Gustavo Camacho
Pink
Planet Aid
REAA
So Cal Burgers
South Gate Chamber of Commerce
St. Louis Drug Co.
Superbag Operating, Ltd.
Telacu
Teresita's
Terminix
The Cantero Group
The Voice Media
Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, Inc.
U.S. Black Chamber, Inc.
Ugly Cherry Cream Nut Pie
Unique Dollar
West Angeles Church of God in Christ
RM:d 5/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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