BILL NUMBER: AB 191 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Harper
JANUARY 27, 2015
An act to amend Sections 42283 and 42283.7 of the Public Resources
Code, relating to solid waste, and declaring the urgency thereof, to
take effect immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 191, as introduced, Harper. Solid waste: single-use carryout
bags.
Existing law, inoperative due to a pending referendum petition,
would, as of July 1, 2015, prohibit stores that have a specified
amount of sales in dollars or retail floor space from providing a
single-use carryout bag to a customer and prohibit those stores from
selling or distributing a recycled paper bag at the point of sale
unless the store makes that bag available for purchase for not less
than $0.10. This same law would, on and after July 1, 2016, impose
these prohibitions and requirements on convenience food stores,
foodmarts, and other specified entities.
This bill would repeal the requirement that a store that
distributes recycled paper bags make those bags available for
purchase for not less than $0.10.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 42283 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
42283. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (e), on and after
July 1, 2015, a store, as defined in paragraph (1) or (2) of
subdivision (g) of Section 42280, shall not provide a single-use
carryout bag to a customer at the point of sale.
(b) (1) On and after July 1, 2015, a store, as defined in
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 42280, shall not
sell or distribute a reusable grocery bag at the point of sale except
as provided in this subdivision.
(2) On and after July 1, 2015, a store, as defined in paragraph
(1) or (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 42280, may make available
for purchase at the point of sale a reusable grocery bag that meets
the requirements of Section 42281.
(3) On and after July 1, 2015, a store, as defined in paragraph
(1) or (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 42280, that makes reusable
grocery bags available for purchase pursuant to paragraph (2) shall
not sell the reusable grocery bag for less than ten cents ($0.10) in
order to ensure that the cost of providing a reusable grocery bag is
not subsidized by a customer who does not require that bag.
(c) (1) On and after July 1, 2015, a store, as defined in
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 42280, shall not
sell or distribute a recycled paper bag except as provided in this
subdivision.
(2) A store, as defined in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (g)
of Section 42280, may make available for purchase a recycled paper
bag. On and after July 1, 2015, the store shall not sell a recycled
paper bag for less than ten cents ($0.10) in order to ensure that the
cost of providing a recycled paper bag is not subsidized by a
consumer who does not require that bag.
(d)
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, on and after July 1,
2015, a store, as defined in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (g)
of Section 42280, that makes reusable grocery bags or
recycled paper bags available for purchase at the point of
sale or that makes recycled paper bags available at the point of
sale shall provide a reusable grocery bag or a recycled paper
bag at no cost at the point of sale to a customer using a payment
card or voucher issued by the California Special Supplemental Food
Program for Women, Infants, and Children pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 123275) of Chapter 1 of Part 2 of Division
106 of the Health and Safety Code or an electronic benefit transfer
card issued pursuant to Section 10072 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
(e)
(d) On and after July 1, 2015, a store, as defined in
paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 42280, may
distribute a compostable bag at the point of sale, if the compostable
bag is provided to the consumer at the cost specified pursuant to
paragraph (2), the compostable bag, at a minimum, meets the
American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) ASTM
International Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics
D6400, as updated, and in the jurisdiction where the compostable bag
is sold and in the jurisdiction where the store is located, both of
the following requirements are met:
(1) A majority of the residential households in the jurisdiction
have access to curbside collection of foodwaste for composting.
(2) The governing authority for the jurisdiction has voted to
allow stores in the jurisdiction to sell to consumers at the point of
sale a compostable bag at a cost not less than the actual cost of
the bag, which the Legislature hereby finds to be not less than ten
cents ($0.10) per bag.
(f)
(e) A store, as defined in paragraph (1) or (2) of
subdivision (g) of Section 42280, shall not require a customer to
use, purchase, or accept a single-use carryout bag, recycled paper
bag, compostable bag, or reusable grocery bag as a condition of sale
of any product.
SEC. 2. Section 42283.7 of the Public Resources Code is amended to
read:
42283.7. All moneys collected pursuant to this article shall be
retained by the store and may be used only for the following
purposes:
(a) Costs associated with complying with the requirements of this
article.
(b) Actual costs of providing recycled paper bags or
reusable grocery bags.
(c) Costs associated with a store's educational materials or
educational campaign encouraging the use of reusable grocery bags.
SEC. 3. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to prevent this unfair and unjustified charge from taking
effect and harming consumers and businesses, it is necessary that
this act take effect immediately.