BILL NUMBER: AB 888 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 3, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bloom
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to add Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section 42360) to Part
3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, relating to waste
management.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 888, as amended, Bloom. Waste management: plastic microbeads.
The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986
(Proposition 65) prohibits any person, in the course of doing
business, from knowingly and intentionally exposing any individual to
a chemical known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive
toxicity without giving a specified warning, or from discharging or
releasing such a chemical into any source of drinking water, except
as specified. Existing law prohibits the sale of expanded polystyrene
packaging material by a wholesaler or manufacturer. Existing law
prohibits a person from selling a plastic product in this state that
is labeled with the term "compostable," "home compostable," or
"marine degradable" unless, at the time of sale, the plastic product
meets the applicable ASTM International standard specification.
This bill would prohibit, on and after January 1, 2020, a person,
as defined, from selling or offering for promotional purposes in this
state a personal care product containing plastic microbeads that are
used to exfoliate or cleanse in a rinse-off product, as specified.
The bill would exempt from those prohibitions the sale or promotional
offer of a product containing less than 1 part per million (ppm) by
weight of plastic microbeads, as provided. The bill would
authorize the Department of Toxic Substances Control to additionally
exempt plastic microbeads contained in a personal care product,
alternatives to plastic microbeads contained in a personal care
product, and a personal care product containing plastic microbeads
following a specified alternative analysis process, if a certain
finding is made. The bill would require the manufacturer submitting
an alternative analysis to reimburse the department for reasonable
costs incurred implementing these alternative analysis provisions.
microbeads.
The bill would make a violator liable for a civil penalty not to
exceed $2,500 per day for each violation. The bill would authorize
the penalty to be assessed and recovered in a civil action brought in
any court of competent jurisdiction by the Attorney General or local
officials. The bill would require the civil penalties collected in
an action brought pursuant to the act to be retained by the office
that brought the action.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 5.9 (commencing with Section 42360) is added to
Part 3 of Division 30 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 5.9. PLASTIC MICROBEADS NUISANCE PREVENTION LAW
42360. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Plastic does not biodegrade into elements or compounds
commonly found in nature like other organic materials, but, instead,
upon exposure to the elements photodegrades into smaller pieces of
plastic causing land and water pollution that is virtually impossible
to remediate.
(b) Plastic pollution is the dominant type of anthropogenic debris
found throughout the marine environment.
(c) Plastic pollution is an environmental and human health hazard
and a public nuisance.
(d) Microplastics that are five millimeters or less in diameter
become bioavailable as soon as they enter the marine environment and
are ingested by marine organisms.
(e) Microplastics are persistent organic compounds that attract
other pollutants commonly present in the environment, many of which
are recognized to have serious deleterious impacts on human health or
the environment, including DDT, DDE, PCBs, and flame retardants.
(f) PAHs, PCBs, and PBDEs from plastic transfer to fish tissue
when ingested and bioaccumulate.
(g) Fish that humans consume have been found to ingest
microplastics, which are then ingested by the humans who consume
these fish.
(h) Consumer personal care products such as facial scrubs, soaps,
and toothpaste increasingly contain thousands of microplastics in the
form of plastic microbeads that are flushed down drains or make
their way into the environment by other means as part of their
intended use.
(i) Plastic microbeads in personal care products are generally not
recoverable through ordinary wastewater treatment and can be
released into the environment.
(j) Plastic microbeads have been found in surface waters within
the United States, as well as in fish, marine mammals, reptiles,
mussels, and worms.
(k) There are economically feasible alternatives to plastic
microbeads used in personal care products, as evidenced by the
current use of biodegradable, natural, abrasive materials in personal
care products such as beeswax, shells, nuts, seeds, and sand.
42361. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "Department" means Department of Toxic Substances Control.
(b) "Natural exfoliant" means a substance occurring in and
generated by the natural environment and includes, but is not limited
to, the following substances: walnut shells, apricot hulls, sand,
clay, or beeswax.
(c)
(a) "Person" means an individual, business, or other
entity.
(d)
(b) (1) "Personal care product" means an article
intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled, or sprayed on, introduced
to, or otherwise applied to, the human body or any part thereof for
cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the
appearance, and an article intended for use as a component of that
type of article.
(2) "Personal care product" does not include a prescription drug,
as defined in Section 110010.2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(e)
(c) "Plastic microbead" means an intentionally added
solid plastic particle measuring five millimeters or less in every
dimension.
42362. On and after January 1, 2020, a person shall not sell or
offer for promotional purposes in this state any personal care
products containing plastic microbeads that are used to exfoliate or
cleanse in a rinse-off product, including, but not limited to,
toothpaste.
42363. Section 42362 shall not apply to any of the
following: a person that sells or offers for
promotional purposes a personal care product containing plastic
microbeads in an amount less than 1 part per million (ppm)
by weight.
(a) A person that sells or offers for promotional purposes a
personal care product containing plastic microbeads in less than 1
part per million (ppm) by weight.
(b) A product containing natural exfoliants that does not contain
plastic microbeads.
(c) A personal care product containing plastic microbeads, or a
potential alternative to plastic microbeads, that has been exempted
by the department pursuant to Section 42363.5.
(d) Plastic microbeads and alternatives to plastic microbeads that
are contained in a personal care product and that have been exempted
by the department pursuant to Section 42363.5.
42363.5. (a) The department shall make available the two-stage
alternative analysis process established in regulations adopted
pursuant to Section 25253 of the Health and Safety Code for the
purpose of evaluating plastic microbeads and alternatives to plastic
microbeads to the following entities for voluntary submissions
pursuant to subdivision (b):
(1) A manufacturer of a personal care product containing plastic
microbeads, or a potential alternative to plastic microbeads.
(2) A manufacturer of a plastic microbead that is contained in a
personal care product.
(3) A manufacturer of an alternative to a plastic microbead that
is contained in a personal care product.
(b) The department, in accordance with that two-stage alternative
analysis process, and consistent with subdivision (c), shall evaluate
the alternative analysis to determine if the plastic microbead,
proposed alternative, or personal care product containing plastic
microbeads or an alternative poses a hazard to public health or the
environment and how to limit or to reduce the level of hazard posed
by the plastic microbead or the alternative. Following evaluation,
the department may exempt the plastic microbead, its alternative, or
the personal care product from the requirements of Section 42362
under either of the following circumstances:
(1) The department finds that a regulatory response, as described
in Article 6 (commencing with Section 69506) of Chapter 55 of
Division 4.5 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, for
the plastic microbead, its alternative, or the personal care product
is necessary to protect public health, the environment, or both, and
the department requires implementation of one or more of the
regulatory responses as a condition of exempting the plastic
microbead, its alternative or the personal care product from Section
42362.
(2) The department finds that a regulatory response for the
plastic microbead, its alternative, or the personal care product is
not necessary to protect public health, the environment, or both.
(c) For purposes of an alternative analysis under this section,
all of the following apply:
(1) Evaluation of the alternative analysis and selection of any
regulatory responses shall be in consultation with the State Water
Resources Control Board and the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(2) An alternative analysis shall consider natural exfoliant
alternatives.
(3) The department shall only accept complete alternative analyses
for evaluation. An abridged alternative analysis shall not be
accepted for purposes of evaluation under this section.
(4) For alternative analyses submitted before January 1, 2017, the
department shall complete the evaluation and notify the manufacturer
of its decision before January 1, 2018, including whether the
product is exempt or if a regulatory response is necessary. The
department shall establish a schedule to implement this paragraph. It
is the intent of the Legislature, in enacting this paragraph, to
provide product manufacturers with a minimum of two years following
the department's decision to develop acceptable alternatives to
plastic microbeads.
(d) (1) A manufacturer that submits an alternative analysis
pursuant to this section shall reimburse, within 60 days of receiving
an invoice, the department for the reasonable costs incurred by the
department in implementing this section. If there is a dispute over
costs, the manufacturer shall pay any undisputed costs and shall meet
and confer with the department to resolve the disputed items.
(2) A manufacturer may resubmit an alternative analysis, which
shall be considered a new review.
(3) The department shall strive to limit the costs of each review
conducted pursuant to this section to no more than two hundred fifty
thousand dollars ($250,000). If the department estimates that costs
of a review may exceed two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000),
the department shall seek approval of the manufacturer submitting
the alternative analysis before incurring costs in excess of two
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000). A manufacturer submitting
an alternative analysis shall have the right to withdraw the analysis
before incurring costs in excess of two hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($250,000).
42364. (a) A person who violates or threatens to violate Section
42362 may be enjoined in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(b) (1) A person who has violated Section 42362 is liable for a
civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500) per day for each violation in addition to any other penalty
established by law. That civil penalty may be assessed and recovered
in a civil action brought in any court of competent jurisdiction.
(2) In assessing the amount of a civil penalty for a violation of
this chapter, the court shall consider all of the following:
(A) The nature and extent of the violation.
(B) The number of, and severity of, the violations.
(C) The economic effect of the penalty on the violator.
(D) Whether the violator took good faith measures to comply with
this chapter and when these measures were taken.
(E) The deterrent effect that the imposition of the penalty would
have on both the violator and the regulated community as a whole.
(F) Any other factor that justice may require.
(c) Actions pursuant to this section may be brought by the
Attorney General in the name of the people of the state, by a
district attorney, by a city attorney, or by a city prosecutor in a
city or city and county having a full-time city prosecutor.
(d) Civil penalties collected pursuant to this section shall be
paid to the office of the city attorney, city prosecutor, district
attorney, or Attorney General, whichever office brought the action.
42366. This chapter does not alter or diminish any legal
obligation otherwise required in common law or by statute or
regulation, and this chapter does not create or enlarge any defense
in any action to enforce the legal obligation. Penalties and
sanctions imposed pursuant to this chapter shall be in addition to
any penalties or sanctions otherwise prescribed by law.