BILL NUMBER: AB 901 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gordon
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Section 41821.5 of, to amend and renumber Section
41821.6 of, and to add Sections 41821.6, 41821.7, and 41821.8 to, the
Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 901, as introduced, Gordon. Solid waste: reporting
requirements: enforcement.
The California Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989,
administered by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery,
generally regulates the disposal, management, and recycling of solid
waste. Existing law requires disposal facility operators to submit
information to counties from periodic tracking surveys on the
disposal tonnages that are disposed of at the disposal facility by
jurisdiction or region of origin. Existing law requires solid waste
handlers and transfer station operators to provide information to the
disposal facility on the origin of the solid waste they deliver to
the disposal facility. Existing law requires recycling and composting
facilities to submit periodic information to counties on the types
and quantities of materials that are disposed of, sold to end users,
or sold to exporters or transporters for sale outside of the state,
by county of origin. Existing law requires counties to submit
periodic reports to the cities within the county, to any regional
agency of which the county is a member, and to the Department of
Resources, Recycling and Recovery on the amounts of solid waste
disposed of by jurisdiction or region of origin, and on the
categories and amounts of solid waste diverted to recycling and
composting facilities within the county or region. Existing law
authorizes the department to adopt regulations in this regard.
This bill would revise these provisions by, among other things,
requiring recycling and composting operations and facilities to
submit specified information directly to the department, rather than
to counties, and would delete the requirement for counties to submit
that information to cities, regional agencies, and the department.
The bill would delete references to periodic tracking surveys. The
bill would make other related changes to the various reporting
requirements. The bill would provide for imposition of civil
penalties on any person who refuses or fails to submit information
required by the governing regulations, and on any person who
knowingly or willfully files a false report, refuses to permit the
department to inspect or examine associated records, or alters,
cancels, or obliterates entries in the records, as specified. The
bill would provide that the civil penalties may be imposed either in
a civil action or administratively pursuant to process specified in
the bill. The bill would provide for local agencies, on request, to
be designated by the department to exercise the enforcement
authority. The bill would require recovered civil penalties to be
deposited in the Integrated Waste Management Account if recovered by
action of the department, or to be retained by the local agency
taking the enforcement action, as applicable. The bill would require
moneys retained by a local agency pursuant to these provisions to be
expended on specified solid waste activities.
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. Section 41821.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended
to read:
41821.5. (a) Disposal facility operators shall submit to counties
information from periodic tracking surveys on the
disposal tonnages by jurisdiction or region of origin that are
disposed of at each disposal facility. To enable disposal facility
operators to provide that information, solid waste handlers and
transfer station operators shall provide information to disposal
facility operators on the origin of the solid waste that they deliver
to the disposal facility.
(b) Recycling and composting operations and facilities
shall submit periodic information to counties
the department on the types and quantities of materials that
are disposed of, sold or transferred to other recycling or
composting facilities, sold to end users inside of the
state or outside of the state , or that are sold to exporters
, brokers, or transporters for sale outside of the state
, by county of origin . When materials
are sold or transferred by one recycling or composting facility to
another, for other than an end use of the material or for export, the
seller or transferor of the material shall inform the buyer or
transferee of the county of origin of the materials. The reporting
requirements of this subdivision do not apply to entities that sell
the byproducts of a manufacturing process. The
department may provide this information to jurisdictions upon
request.
(c) Each county shall submit periodic reports
to the cities within the county, to any regional agency of which it
is a member agency, and to the board
department , on the amounts of solid waste disposed by
jurisdiction or region of origin, as specified in subdivision (a)
, and on the categories and amounts of solid waste diverted
to recycling and composting facilities within the county or region,
as specified in subdivision (b) .
(d) The board department may adopt
regulations pursuant to this section requiring practices and
procedures that are reasonable and necessary to perform the
periodic tracking surveys required by implement
this section, and that provide a representative accounting of solid
wastes and recyclable materials that are handled,
processed, or disposed. Those regulations or periodic
tracking surveys approved by the board
department shall not impose an unreasonable burden on
waste and recycling handling, processing, or disposal
operations or otherwise interfere with the safe handling, processing,
and disposal of solid waste and recyclables .
(e) Any person who refuses or fails to submit information required
by regulations adopted pursuant to this section is liable for a
civil penalty of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not
more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation of a
separate provision or, for continuing violations, for each day that
the violation continues.
(f) Any person who knowingly or willfully files a false report, or
any person who refuses to permit the department or any of its
representatives to make inspection or examination of records, or who
fails to keep any records for the inspection of the department, or
who alters, cancels, or obliterates entries in the records for the
purpose of falsifying the records as required by regulations adopted
pursuant to this section, is liable for a civil penalty of not less
than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) for each violation of a separate provision or, for
continuing violations, for each day that the violation continues.
(g) Liability under this section may be imposed in a civil action,
or liability may be imposed administratively pursuant to this
article.
(h) Upon request of a city, county, or city and county, that city,
county, or city and county may be designated, in writing, by the
department, to exercise the enforcement authority granted to the
department under this article. Any city, county, or city and county
so designated shall follow the same procedures set forth for the
department under this article. This designation shall not limit the
authority of the department to take action it deems necessary or
proper to ensure enforcement of this article.
(i) Notwithstanding Title 5 (commencing with Section 3426) of Part
1 of Division 4 of the Civil Code and Article 11 (commencing with
Section 1060) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, all
records required to be kept pursuant to this section and implementing
regulations shall be subject to inspection and copying by the
department or by a governmental entity designated by the department.
(j) Notwithstanding the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Title
2.5 (commencing with Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division 3 of the
Civil Code), reports required by this section shall be submitted
electronically, using an electronic reporting format system
established by the department.
SEC. 2. Section 41821.6 of the Public Resources Code is amended
and renumbered to read:
41821.6. 41821.9. To assist market
development efforts by the board, local agencies, and the private
sector, the board shall use existing data resources
collected from recycling, composting, and disposal facilities, or
from other sources, to provide periodic information on the recovery
and availability of recycled materials .
SEC. 3. Section 41821.6 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
41821.6. In order to ensure that records required pursuant to
this article are properly maintained, in addition to inspecting
records, the department or its designee may conduct audits, perform
site inspections, observe facility operations, and otherwise
investigate the recordkeeping and reporting of persons subject to the
requirements of this article.
SEC. 4. Section 41821.7 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
41821.7.
(a) The department may issue an administrative complaint to any
person on whom civil liability may be imposed pursuant to this
article. The complaint shall allege the acts or failures to act that
constitute the basis for liability and the amount of the proposed
civil liability. The complaint shall be served by personal service or
certified mail and shall inform the party so served that a hearing
shall be conducted within 60 days after the party has been served,
unless the party waives the right to a hearing.
(b) If the party waives the right to a hearing, the department
shall issue an order setting liability in the amount proposed in the
complaint unless the department and the party have entered into a
settlement agreement, in which case the department shall issue an
order setting liability in the amount specified in the settlement
agreement. If the party has waived the right to a hearing or if the
department and the party have entered into a settlement agreement,
the order shall not be subject to review by any court or agency.
(c) Any hearing required under this section shall be conducted by
an independent hearing officer according to the procedures specified
in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 11500) of Part 1 of Division 3
of Title 2 of the Government Code, except as otherwise specified in
this section.
SEC. 5. Section 41821.8 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
41821.8. (a) Orders setting civil liability issued under this
section shall become effective and final upon issuance thereof, and
payment shall be made within 30 days of issuance. Copies of these
orders shall be served by personal service or by certified mail upon
the party served with the complaint and upon other persons who
appeared at the hearing and requested a copy.
(b) Within 30 days after service of a copy of a decision, any
person so served may file with the superior court a petition for writ
of mandate for review of the decision. Any person who fails to file
the petition within the 30-day period may not challenge the
reasonableness or validity of a decision or order of the hearing
officer in any judicial proceedings brought to enforce the decision
or order or for other remedies.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in this section, Section 1094.5
of the Code of Civil Procedure governs any proceedings conducted
pursuant to this subdivision. In all proceedings pursuant to this
subdivision, the court shall uphold the decision, if the decision is
based upon substantial evidence in the whole record.
(d) This section does not prohibit the court from granting any
appropriate relief within its jurisdiction.
(e) All penalties collected under this article shall be deposited
in the Integrated Waste Management Account created pursuant to
Section 48001 if the attorney who brought the action represented the
department, or shall be retained by a city, county, or city and
county designated pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 41821.5, if
the attorney who brought the action represents the city, county, or
city and county. The moneys retained by the city, county, or city and
county shall be expended on duties required under this article and
implementing regulations.