BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 655
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
655 (Quirk)
As Amended August 1, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-1 |(April 27, |SENATE: |36-1 |(August 17, |
| | |2015) | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: AGRI.
SUMMARY: Increases fees for licensed rendering plants,
collection centers and registered transporters of inedible
kitchen grease (IKG) and provides how additional fees may be
increased. Specifically, this bill:
1)Increases the cap for additional fees per licensed rendering
plant and collection centers from $3,000 to $10,000 per year.
2)Increases the registration fee for registered IKG transporters
from $100 to $250 per vehicle; raises the additional fees for
registered transporters from $300 to $500 per vehicle per
year; and, raises the cap on total fees per registered
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transporter from $3,000 to $10,000 per year.
3)Permits the Secretary of the California Department of Food and
Agriculture (CDFA) to increase these fees, in order to carry
out the provisions of the IKG Program (Program), based upon
the recommendation of the Rendering Industry Advisory Board
(Board).
4)Makes technical non-substantive changes.
The Senate amendments delete Legislative findings, raise the cap
for additional fees from $3,000 to $10,000 per licensed
rendering plant and collection centers; raise the additional
fees for IKG transporters from $300 to $500 per vehicle per
year; raise the total fee cap from $3,000 to $10,000 per
registered transporter; and, require any additional fee
increases to be based upon the recommendation of the Board.
EXISTING LAW: Regulates rendering, which is defined as the
recycling, processing, and conversion of, among other things,
IKG; requires rendering plants, collection centers and
transporters of IKG to be licensed/registered and to pay a
specified fees; permits CDFA to charge additional fees, not to
exceed a specified amount, for purposes of administering the
provisions related to carrying out the provisions of the
Program; and, establishes the Board to provide recommendations
to CDFA regarding rendering and IKG enforcement, fees, an annual
budget, and regulations.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, this bill would result in annual revenue gains,
likely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, offset by
anticipated increased costs for enforcement activities.
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COMMENTS: According to the author, the IKG program needs
additional funds for enforcement purposes. The hauling of IKG
takes little capital investment to enter into, making it an easy
potential operation for fly by night operators. The theft of
IKG or the unlawful dumping of IKG or interceptor grease occurs
depending on the price of the product - the higher the price the
more theft and the lower the price the more dumping. The proper
disposal of some of these products may require the operator to
incur the cost of tipping fees, so when product prices are low,
some operators improperly dispose of the product in various
illicit methods, such as, dumping into sewer lines, open fields,
water bodies or even into other commercial food holding tanks,
passing the cost onto the public or other operators. When
prices are high, more theft occurs and legitimate operators lose
revenues.
These increases in fees are intended to assist CDFA in
increasing their enforcement actions to stop the theft or
illegal disposal of these products. This has been an ongoing
problem that the Legislature, with the industry's support and
assistance, has tried to correct through increased fines and
larger industry fees to pay for enforcement.
Lack of sufficient and effective enforcement has been a
continuing issue for preventing this illegal activity. By
increasing the registration fee, the industry and CDFA hope to
more effectively provide enforcement on IKG transporters by
providing more inspections of them and their records.
Analysis Prepared by:
Jim Collin / AGRI. / (916) 319-2084 FN: 0004510
AB 655
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