BILL NUMBER: AB 901 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 746
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 10, 2015
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 10, 2015
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 16, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gordon
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Williams)
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Section 41821.5 of, to amend, renumber, and add
Section 41821.6 of, and to add Sections 41821.7 and 41821.8 to, the
Public Resources Code, relating to solid waste.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 901, 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,
(1) requiring recycling and composting operations and facilities to
submit specified information directly to the department, rather than
to counties, (2) requiring disposal facility operators to submit
tonnage information to the department, and to counties only on
request, and (3) deleting 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 require exporters, brokers, and transporters of recyclables or
compost to submit periodic information to the department on the
types, quantities, and destinations of materials that are disposed
of, sold, or transferred inside or outside of the state, and would
authorize the department to provide this information, on an
aggregated basis, to jurisdictions, as specified. The bill would make
the aggregated information, other than that aggregated by company,
public information. 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 procedures specified
in the bill. The bill would specify the types of waste disposal
records that are subject to inspection and copying by the department,
and also by an employee of a government entity, as defined, with
respect to tonnage received at a disposal facility on or after July
1, 2015, that originates within the government entity's geographic
jurisdiction. The bill, with respect to those records, would prohibit
a government entity from disclosing the name of a waste hauler using
a specific landfill unless necessary as part of an administrative or
judicial proceeding, as specified. The bill would also authorize a
government entity to petition the superior court for injunctive or
declaratory relief to enforce these provisions. The bill would
require recovered civil penalties to be deposited in the Integrated
Waste Management Account.
The California Public Records Act provides that public records are
open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the state
or local agency that retains those records, and that every person
has a right to inspect any public record, but exempts certain records
from those requirements. Existing law, upon the request of any
person furnishing any report, notice, application, plan, or other
document required by the California Integrated Waste Management Act
of 1989, provides that neither the department nor an enforcement
agency shall make available for inspection by the public any portion
of the report, notice, application, plan, or other document that
contains a trade secret, as specified.
This bill would exempt certain waste disposal records subject to
inspection and copying by the department or a government entity from
disclosure under certain California Public Records Act provisions.
The bill would also make certain waste disposal records subject to
nondisclosure under the trade secrets provisions.
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 information
on the disposal tonnages by jurisdiction or region of origin that
are disposed of at each disposal facility to the department, and to
counties that request the information, in a form prescribed by the
department. 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) (1) Recycling and composting operations and facilities shall
submit periodic information to the department on the types and
quantities of materials that are disposed of, sold, or transferred to
other recycling or composting facilities, end users inside of the
state or outside of the state, or exporters, brokers, or transporters
for sale inside of the state or outside of the state.
(2) Exporters, brokers, and transporters of recyclables or compost
shall submit periodic information to the department on the types,
quantities, and destinations of materials that are disposed of, sold,
or transferred.
(3) The information in the reports submitted pursuant to this
subdivision may be provided to the department on an aggregated
facility-wide basis and may exclude financial data, such as contract
terms and conditions (including information on pricing, credit terms,
volume discounts and other proprietary business terms), the
jurisdiction of the origin of the materials, or information on the
entities from which the materials are received. The department may
provide this information to jurisdictions, aggregated by company,
upon request. The aggregated information, other than that aggregated
by company, is public information.
(c) The department shall adopt regulations pursuant to this
section requiring practices and procedures that are reasonable and
necessary to implement this section, and that provide a
representative accounting of solid wastes and recyclable materials
that are handled, processed, or disposed. Those regulations approved
by the 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. The department shall include in those
regulations both of the following:
(1) Procedures to ensure that an opportunity to comply is provided
prior to initiation of enforcement authorized by Section 41821.7.
(2) Factors to be considered in determining penalty amounts that
are similar to those provided in Section 45016.
(d) 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.
(e) 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.
(f) Liability under this section may be imposed in a civil action,
or liability may be imposed administratively pursuant to this
article.
(g) (1) 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 that the facility or operator is reasonably required to
keep to allow the department to verify information in, or
verification of, the reports required pursuant to subdivisions (a)
and (b) and implementing regulations shall be subject to inspection
and copying by the department, but shall be confidential and shall
not be subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1
of the Government Code).
(2) 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, an
employee of a government entity may, at the disposal facility,
inspect and copy records related to tonnage received at the facility
on or after July 1, 2015, and originating within the government
entity's geographic jurisdiction. Those records shall be limited to
weight tags that identify the hauler, vehicle, quantity, date, type,
and origin of waste received at a disposal facility. Those records
shall be available to those government entities for the purposes of
subdivision (a) and as necessary to enforce the collection of local
fees, but those records shall be confidential and shall not be
subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1
of the Government Code). Names of haulers using specific landfills
shall not be disclosed by a government entity unless necessary as
part of an administrative or judicial enforcement proceeding to fund
local programs or enforce local franchises.
(3) A government entity may petition the superior court for
injunctive or declaratory relief to enforce its authority under
paragraph (2). The times for responsive pleadings and hearings in
these proceedings shall be set by the judge of the court with the
object of securing a decision as to these matters at the earliest
possible time.
(4) For purposes of this section, a government entity is an entity
identified in Section 40145 or an entity formed pursuant to Section
40976.
(5) For purposes of this subdivision, "disposal" and "disposal
facility" have the same meanings as prescribed by Sections 40120.1
and 40121, respectively.
(6) Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to limit or
expand the authority of a government entity that may have been
provided by this section and implementing regulations as they read on
December 31, 2015.
(7) The records subject to inspection and copying by the
department pursuant to paragraph (1) or by an employee of a
government entity pursuant to paragraph (2) may be redacted by the
operator before inspection to exclude confidential pricing
information contained in the records, such as contract terms and
conditions (including information on pricing, credit terms, volume
discounts, and other proprietary business terms), if the redacted
information is not information that is otherwise required to be
reported to the department.
(h) 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.
(i) All records provided in accordance with this section shall be
subject to Section 40062.
SEC. 2. Section 41821.6 of the Public Resources Code is amended
and renumbered to read:
41821.9. To assist market development efforts by the department,
local agencies, and the private sector, the department shall use
existing data resources.
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 all
relevant records, the department 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. Any records, reports, notes, studies,
drawings, schematics, photographs, or trade secrets, as defined in
Section 3426.1 of the Civil Code, obtained, produced, or created by
the department in connection with or arising from such audits,
inspections, or observations are confidential and shall not be
subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act
(Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1
of the Government Code).
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
article 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.
(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.