BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
Senator Cathleen Galgiani, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 655 Hearing Date: 6/21/16
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|Author: |Quirk |
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|Version: |6/15/16 Amended |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Anne Megaro |
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Subject: Rendering: inedible kitchen grease: registration fee:
additional fees
SUMMARY :
This bill would add findings and declarations to the Food and
Agricultural Code in regards to the rendering industry and the
value of recycling waste animal tissue and inedible kitchen
grease. This bill would increase the registration fee and other
fees charged by the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to cover administrative costs associated with
rendering and the transportation of inedible kitchen grease and
would authorize CDFA to raise specified fees only upon
recommendation of the Rendering Industry Advisory Board.
BACKGROUND AND EXISTING
LAW :
Inedible kitchen grease (IKG) is a byproduct of commercial
cooking that can be rendered into a valuable product and used
for biofuel or as an ingredient in animal feed. Typically,
restaurants will store IKG behind buildings and in alleyways
awaiting pickup and transportation to rendering facilities. Due
to the increasing value of biofuels, IKG theft has proven to be
a relatively easy and profitable target for thieves, and has
risen over the past several years.
Existing law:
1) Creates the CDFA Inedible Kitchen Grease Program,
established in 1995, to regulate and enforce IKG laws and
AB 655 (Quirk) Page 2 of ?
work closely with local law enforcement to conduct
investigations and prevent IKG theft (Food and Agricultural
Code §19300 et seq.).
2) Requires all renderers and collection centers to apply
for and obtain a license from CDFA and requires all IKG
transporters to be registered.
3) Authorizes CDFA to charge additional fees necessary to
cover the cost of administering this program, not to exceed
$300 per year per vehicle and $3,000 per year per
registered IKG transporter.
4) Exempts an individual from 75% of the additional
administrative fee if the individual is transporting IKG
for their own personal, noncommercial use as an alternative
fuel, provided specific requirements are met.
5) Authorizes CDFA to revoke, suspend, or refuse to issue a
renderer or collection center license or transporter
registration under specified circumstances, including
previous violations of IKG transportation laws or
regulations.
6) Requires licensed renderers, collection center
operators, and registered transporters to retain specified
records reflecting sales and transportation of IKG for two
years.
7) Prohibits anyone from accepting IKG from any
unregistered transporter and from possessing any IKG that
is knowingly stolen and provides for fines and/or
imprisonment for violations of these provisions.
8) Creates the Rendering Industry Advisory Board to provide
recommendations to the secretary of CDFA regarding
rendering and IKG enforcement, fees, annual budget, and
regulations (Food and Agricultural Code §19218).
PROPOSED
LAW :
This bill:
AB 655 (Quirk) Page 3 of ?
1) Adds findings and declarations to the Food and
Agricultural Code regarding the rendering industry and the
consideration of the "highest and best use" of waste animal
tissue and inedible kitchen grease when handling and
recycling these materials.
2) Increases from $3,000 to $10,000 the maximum annual fee
charged to each licensed renderer and collection center.
3) Increases from $100 to $250 the maximum registration fee
for transporters of IKG.
4) Increases from $300 to $500 per vehicle and from $3,000
to $10,000 per registered transporter the maximum fees
charged by CDFA to cover administrative costs associated
with transportation of IKG.
5) Authorizes the secretary, upon recommendation of the
Rendering Industry Advisory Board, to determine the
additional fee amounts necessary to provide the revenue
needed to administer provisions regarding the rendering,
collecting, and transporting of IKG.
6) Makes technical and conforming changes.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to the author, "The rendering industry is critical to
the health and safety of California. Rendering is an effective
tool in eliminating many human and animal disease pathogens,
protecting our groundwater and air resources, and greatly
reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to other alternative
disposal options. [?] More funds are needed to maintain an
effective enforcement system for [the IKG] program."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:
Republic Services Inc. and others stated below are in opposition
"because the 'highest and best use' standard for organic food
waste stated in this bill extends beyond the animal byproducts
that pose a significant threat to public health and safety. As
such, the bill purports to establish that standard over the
'handling and recycling' of all types of organic food waste.
Such a hierarchy already exists in the Public Resources Code.
We, therefore, believe that inserting a new standard in the Food
AB 655 (Quirk) Page 4 of ?
and Agricultural Code will be duplicative and most likely result
in further conflict and confusion."
COMMENTS :
Need for this bill. The Rendering Industry Advisory Board
discussed at their meeting on December 4, 2014, the need to
"select a sustainable mechanism to help support the Rendering
Enforcement Program and establish strategic priorities for
future program activities." A motion passed unanimously in
support of raising fees to support the program.
Secretary authority. This bill would authorize the secretary to
raise specified fees only upon recommendation of the Rendering
Industry Advisory Board. In current law, the secretary's
authority to raise fees is not restricted.
Liquid gold. IKG has become a valuable commodity in the last
decade, especially in light of rising gasoline prices and
corresponding growth in the biodiesel fuel industry. Recycling
an otherwise 'grimy waste product' into a valuable feed or
biofuel resource is attractive and profitable. According to a
recent article, IKG is traded in commodity markets, and its
value has skyrocketed from $0.66 per gallon in April 2001 to
$3.68 per gallon in April 2011 ("Grease is gold; thieves get
bold." News & Observer, NC. June 1, 2011). A more recent
article published in The New Yorker states that a thief driving
down a strip-mall alleyway can collect $4,000 worth of IKG in
half an hour ("Hot Grease." The New Yorker. November 18,
2013.)
IKG theft program. According to the CDFA IKG Theft Program,
legitimate companies and restaurants are losing millions of
dollars to theft and container damage by IKG thieves. Thieves
break into storage containers and pump out the contents into a
truck, where a truckload could bring in as much as $600 at a
grease recycling center.
Environmental impact. In addition to theft concerns, the
process of rendering IKG creates harmful waste byproducts that
must be handled and disposed of properly so as not to damage or
contaminate waterways or the environment. It is unlikely that
black market IKG thieves are equipped to handle these chemicals.
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Highest and best use. The Public Resources Code § 40051
prioritizes waste management practices as follows: 1) source
reduction; 2) recycling and composting; and 3) environmentally
safe transformation and environmentally safe land disposal.
CalRecycle further suggests that food waste management should be
prioritized as follows: 1) prevent food waste; 2) feed people;
3) convert to animal feed and/or rendering; and 4) compost.
( http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/SWFacilities/Compostables/WasteMeat
.pdf ).
The US EPA further divides these categories specifically for
food waste into a "food recovery hierarchy" as follows: 1)
source reduction, 2) feed hungry people, 3) feed animals, 4)
industrial uses (waste oils for rendering and fuel conversion
and food scraps for digestion to recover energy), 5) composting,
and 6) landfill. This bill would require CDFA to consider the
regional "highest and best" use of unprocessed mammalian,
poultry, fish material, and IKG from inspected establishments,
retail stores, custom slaughterers, and custom processors when
developing regulations and policies governing the handling and
recycling of these regulated materials and establishments.
RELATED
LEGISLATION :
AB 1826 (Chesbro), Chapter 727, Statutes of 2014. Among other
provisions, requires businesses to recycle their organic waste
and requires local jurisdictions to implement organic waste
recycling programs.
AB 1566 (Holden), Chapter 595, Statutes of 2014. Expands the
authorization of CDFA and California Highway Patrol employees to
enforce inedible kitchen grease laws and regulations. Extends
the sunset date for the collection of annual fees charged by
CDFA; authorizes CDFA to deny, suspend, or revoke licenses and
registrations; increases violation penalties; and makes
conforming and technical changes.
AB 2378 (Huber), Chapter 303, Statutes of 2012. Increases
maximum fines for specified crimes related to IKG theft.
Requires transporters, renderers, and collection centers to
maintain records on IKG for two years.
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SB 513 (Cannella), Chapter 393, Statutes of 2011. Creates the
Rendering Industry Advisory Board, including membership and
duties, and reauthorizes the licensing of renderers and the
collection of fees, to sunset January 1, 2016.
AB 2612 (Agriculture), Chapter 393, Statutes of 2010. This
omnibus bill, among other provisions, expands rendering
definitions of a "collection center," changes collection
centers' licensure expiration dates, and exempts collection
centers from specified fees.
AB 1249 (Galgiani), Chapter 280, Statutes of 2009. Authorizes
the transportation of dead animals to alternative facilities
during a state of emergency and extends the sunset date to
January 1, 2016, for the CDFA administration fee for the
Inedible Kitchen Grease Program.
PRIOR
ACTIONS :
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|Assembly Floor: |75 - 1 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |17 - 0 |
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|Assembly Agriculture Committee: |10 - 0 |
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SUPPORT :
California Grain and Feed Association (Co-sponsor)
Pacific Coast Rendering Association (Co-sponsor)
California Department of Food and Agriculture
OPPOSITION :
California Refuse Recycling Council
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Republic Services, Inc. (Oppose unless amended)
Waste Connections, Inc. (Oppose unless amended)
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