BILL NUMBER: AB 655 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Quirk
FEBRUARY 24, 2015
An act to amend Section Sections 19227,
19312, and 19315 of, and to add Section 19300.1 to, the Food
and Agricultural Code, relating to rendering, and making an
appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 655, as amended, Quirk. Rendering: inedible kitchen grease:
registration fee: additional fee.
fees.
Existing
(1) Existing law regulates
rendering, which is defined as the recycling, processing, and
conversion of, among other things, inedible kitchen grease.
Existing law requires transporters of inedible kitchen grease to be
registered and to pay a specified registration fee.
Existing law, operative until July 1, 2020, authorizes the
Department of Food and Agriculture, in addition to the
license fee, to charge each licensed renderer and collection center
an additional fee to cover the reasonable costs of administering
provisions regulating renderers, collection centers, and transporters
of inedible kitchen grease, and requires that the additional fees
may not exceed $3,000 per year.
This bill would increase the maximum amount of these additional
fees to $10,000 per year.
(2) Existing law requires transporters
of inedible kitchen grease to be registered and to pay a $100
registration fee. Existing law, operative until July 1, 2020,
authorizes the Department of Food and Agriculture
department, except as specified, to charge an additional
fee not to exceed $300 per year per vehicle that is operated to
transport kitchen grease for purposes of administering the provisions
regulating these transporters. Existing law exempts from
75% of the additional fee a registered transporter who transports
inedible kitchen grease for his or her own personal, noncommercial
use as an alternative fuel, subject to specified requirements.
Existing transporters, up to a maximum of $3,000 per
year per registered transporter.
This bill would increase the registration fee for transporters of
inedible kitchen grease to not to exceed $250. The bill would also
increase the additional fee to not to exceed $500 per year per
vehicle that is operated to transport kitchen grease and the maximum
to not exceed $10,000 per year per registered transporter.
(3) This bill would also authorize the Secretary of Food and
Agriculture, based upon the findings and recommendation of the
Rendering Industry Advisory Board, to determine the additional fee
amounts, as described above under (1) and (2), necessary to provide
the revenue needed to carry out these provisions. The bill would
require the secretary and the board to not exceed the maximum amount
for additional fees authorized pursuant to these provisions. The bill
would provide that the secretary shall only have the authority to
raise an additional fee upon recommendation of the board. The bill
would exempt the setting of these additional fees from the
requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act.
(4) Existing law requires fees
collected pursuant to these provisions to be deposited into the
Department of Food and Agriculture Fund and continuously appropriates
the collected funds for the purposes described above.
By increasing these additional fees and the registration fee for
transporters of inedible kitchen grease, which are deposited into a
continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
This bill increase the additional fee to not to exceed $350 per
year per vehicle that is operated to transport kitchen grease. By
increasing this additional fee, which is deposited into a
continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.
The
(5) This bill would also make
related findings and declarations regarding the rendering industry
and the process of rendering. rendering and
would require, to the maximum extent feasible, the Department of Food
and Agriculture, the State Department of Public Health, the State
Air Resources Board, and CalRecycle to consider the "highest and best
use" of food material and animal and agricultural byproducts when
developing regulations and policies governing the handling and
recycling of organic food waste and animal byproducts regulated by
the Department of Food and Agriculture.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 19300.1 is added to the Food and Agricultural
Code, to read:
19300.1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: The
(1) The rendering industry is a
critical health and safety infrastructure for California. Rendering
is an effective tool to eliminate many human and animal disease
pathogens, protect our groundwater and air resources, and greatly
reduce greenhouse gas emissions compared to other alternative
disposal options.
(b)
(2) Rendering is the process of recycling waste animal
tissue into stable, value-added materials. Each year rendering
recycles approximately 59 billion pounds of perishable material
generated by the meat and poultry processing, food processing,
supermarket, and restaurant industries. The rendering industry turns
this material into valuable ingredients such as biofuels, various
soaps, paints and varnishes, cosmetics, explosives, toothpaste,
pharmaceuticals, leather, textiles, and lubricants used daily in most
households.
(3) Organic and food waste recycling is an important activity that
if implemented properly can increase carbon capture and reduce
carbon emissions, increase food safety, maintain the animal health
system, and provide valuable recycled byproducts in an economically
and environmentally sustainable manner. Food material and animal and
agricultural byproducts have specific values and risks requiring
special handling that other organic materials may not.
(b) Therefore, to the maximum extent feasible, the department, the
State Department of Public Health, the State Air Resources Board,
and CalRecycle shall consider the "highest and best use" of these
materials when developing regulations and policies governing the
handling and recycling of organic food waste and animal byproducts
regulated by the department pursuant to this chapter.
SEC. 2. Section 19227 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
19227. (a) In addition to the license fee required pursuant to
Section 19225, the department may charge each licensed renderer and
collection center an additional fee necessary to cover the reasonable
costs of administering Article 6 (commencing with Section 19300) and
Article 6.5 (commencing with Section 19310). The additional fees
authorized to be imposed by this section may not exceed
three thousand dollars ($3,000) ten thousand dollars
($10,000) per year per each licensed rendering plant or
collection center.
(b) The secretary may, based upon the findings and recommendation
of the Rendering Industry Advisory Board, determine the additional
fee amounts necessary to provide the revenue needed to carry out the
provisions of this chapter specified in subdivision (a). The
secretary and the Rendering Industry Advisory Board shall not exceed
the maximum amount for additional fees authorized pursuant to
subdivision (a). Setting the additional fee or fees shall not be
subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of
Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The secretary shall
only have the authority to raise an additional fee pursuant to this
section upon recommendation of the Rendering Industry Advisory Board.
(b)
(c) The secretary shall fix the annual fee
additional fee amounts established pursuant to
this section and may fix different fees for renderers and collection
centers. The secretary shall also fix the date the fee is
due and the method of collecting the fee. If an additional
fee is imposed on licensed renderers pursuant to subdivision (a) and
an additional fee is imposed on registered transporters pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 19315, only one additional fee may be
imposed on a person or firm that is both licensed as a renderer
pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 19300) and registered
as a transporter of inedible kitchen grease pursuant to Article 6.5
(commencing with Section 19310), which fee shall be the higher of the
two fees.
(c)
(d) If the additional fee established
pursuant to this section is not paid within one calendar month of the
date it is due, a penalty shall be imposed in the amount of 10
percent per annum on the amount of the unpaid fee.
(d)
(e) This section shall become inoperative on July 1,
2020, and, as of January 1, 2021, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, statute that becomes
operative on or before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends the dates
on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 3. Section 19312 of the Food and
Agricultural Code is amended to read:
19312. (a) Registration shall be made with the department and
shall include all of the following:
(1) The applicant's name and address.
(2) A description of the operations to be performed by the
applicant.
(3) The vehicles to be used in the transportation.
(4) A registration fee of one hundred dollars ($100).
not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
(5) A list of the names of the drivers employed by the transporter
who transport inedible kitchen grease subject to this article and
their drivers' license numbers.
(6) Any other information that may be required by the department.
(b) Any renderer or collection center that registers pursuant to
this article is not required to pay the fee prescribed in this
section.
(c) The department may refuse to issue an original or renewal
registration certificate to an applicant for either of the following
reasons:
(1) The existence of the grounds specified in subdivisions (a) to
(e), inclusive, of Section 19314.
(2) A failure to pay, in full by the established due date, any
penalty levied by the department for a previous violation of this
article or Article 6 (commencing with Section 19300).
(d) (1) The applicant may appeal the decision of the department to
refuse to register the applicant.
(2) The department shall establish procedures for the appeals
process, to include a noticed hearing.
(3) The department may reverse a decision to refuse to register
the applicant, upon a finding of good cause to do so.
(e) The department shall adopt regulations that specify the
maximum time period for which a refusal of registrations may be
imposed, based on the severity or the number of violations that are
the basis of the department's action. The time period for the refusal
of registration shall not exceed three years from the date the
refusal of registration is imposed.
SEC. 2. SEC. 4. Section 19315 of the
Food and Agricultural Code is amended to read:
19315. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b),
(c), in addition to the registration fee
required by Section 19312, the department may charge a fee necessary
to cover the costs of administering this article. Any additional fee
charged pursuant to this section shall not exceed three
hundred fifty dollars ($350) five hundred dollars
($500) per year per vehicle that is operated to transport
kitchen grease, and shall not exceed three thousand dollars
($3,000) ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per year
per registered transporter.
(b) The secretary may, based upon the findings and recommendation
of the Rendering Industry Advisory Board, determine the specific fee
per vehicle necessary to provide the revenue needed to carry out the
provisions of this article. The secretary and the Rendering Industry
Advisory Board shall not exceed the maximum fee amounts established
by this section. Setting the fee amounts authorized pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall not be subject to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code. The secretary shall only have the authority to raise an
additional fee pursuant to this section upon recommendation of the
Rendering Industry Advisory Board.
(b)
(c) An individual registered pursuant to this article
who transports inedible kitchen grease for his or her own personal,
noncommercial use as an alternative fuel is exempt from 75 percent of
the fee charged pursuant to subdivision (a), and shall meet all of
the following requirements:
(1) The individual shall meet all other requirements of this
article.
(2) The individual shall not transport more than 55 gallons of
inedible kitchen grease per load for that purpose, and shall have no
more than 165 gallons of inedible kitchen grease in his or her
possession or control at any time.
(3) The individual shall not take any inedible kitchen grease from
a container owned by another registered transporter of inedible
kitchen grease or from an inedible kitchen grease provider under
contract with a registered transporter of inedible kitchen grease or
from a container owned by a renderer or collection center.
(4) The individual shall have a document in his or her possession
while transporting inedible kitchen grease signed by the responsible
party providing the inedible kitchen grease to the individual at the
source of the inedible kitchen grease that provides permission for
the inedible kitchen grease to be removed from that site.
(5) The individual shall specify where the inedible kitchen grease
is stored and processed as an alternative fuel, if that address is
different from the address included on the registration form for that
individual pursuant to Section 19312.
(6) The individual shall not sell, barter, or trade any inedible
kitchen grease.
(c)
(d) The secretary shall fix the annual fee
additional fees established pursuant to this
section and may fix different fees for transporters of inedible
kitchen grease and collection centers, and for transporters of
interceptor grease. The secretary shall also fix the date
the fee is due and the method of collecting the fee. If an
additional fee is imposed on licensed renderers pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 19227 and an additional fee is imposed on
registered transporters pursuant to subdivision (a),
(a) of this section, only one additional fee may
be imposed on a person or firm that is both licensed as a renderer
pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 19300) and registered
as a transporter of inedible kitchen grease pursuant to this article,
which fee shall be the higher of the two fees.
(d)
(e) If the additional fee established
pursuant to this section is not paid within one calendar month of the
date it is due, a penalty shall be imposed in the amount of 10
percent per annum on the amount of the unpaid fee.
(e)
(f) For purposes of this section, "interceptor grease"
means inedible kitchen grease that is principally derived from food
preparation, processing, or waste, and that is removed from a grease
trap or grease interceptor.
(f)
(g) This section shall become inoperative on July 1,
2020, and, as of January 1, 2021, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, which becomes effective on or before January 1, 2021,
deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is
repealed.