BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        SB 423|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520    Fax: (916)      |                              |
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                                UNFINISHED BUSINESS 


          Bill No:  SB 423
          Author:   Bates (R) 
          Amended:  8/15/16  
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE:  7-0, 7/15/15
           AYES:  Wieckowski, Gaines, Bates, Hill, Jackson, Leno, Pavley

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  7-0, 8/27/15
           AYES:  Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen

           SENATE FLOOR:  40-0, 9/1/15
           AYES:  Allen, Anderson, Bates, Beall, Berryhill, Block,  
            Cannella, De León, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Glazer, Hall,  
            Hancock, Hernandez, Hertzberg, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson,  
            Lara, Leno, Leyva, Liu, McGuire, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,  
            Moorlach, Morrell, Nguyen, Nielsen, Pan, Pavley, Roth, Runner,  
            Stone, Vidak, Wieckowski, Wolk

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  77-1, 8/18/16 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Surplus household consumer product waste:   
                     management


          SOURCE:    Author

          DIGEST:   This bill requires the California Department of Toxic  
          Substances Control (DTSC) to convene a Retail Waste Working  
          Group to identify regulatory and policy directives that need  
          clarification for managing consumer products, and adopt  
          consensus recommendations for waste reduction opportunities.  


          Assembly Amendments struck provisions exempting non-prescription  








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          pharmaceutical products from the Medical Waste Management Act  
          (MWMA).


          ANALYSIS: 


          Existing federal law:


          1)Authorizes, under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the Food  
            and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of food,  
            drugs, and cosmetics.


          2)Regulates, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act  
            (RCRA) of 1976, the management of solid and hazardous wastes.   
            In the context of pharmaceuticals, RCRA imposes strict  
            protocols for the collection of controlled substances.


          Existing state law:  


          1) Regulates, under the Medical Waste Management Act (MWMA)  
             which is administered by the State Department of Public  
             Health (DPH), the management, handling, and disposal of  
             medical waste, as defined, including pharmaceutical waste.


          2) Regulates, under the Hazardous Waste Control Act which is  
             administered by the Department of Toxic Substances Control,  
             the management, handling and disposal of hazardous waste, as  
             defined.


          This bill requires DTSC to convene a Retail Waste Working Group  
          to identify regulatory and policy directives that need  
          clarification for managing consumer products, and adopt  
          consensus recommendations for waste reduction opportunities.   
          Specifically, this bill:  









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          1)Requires DTSC to convene a Retail Waste Working Group  
            comprised of representatives of large retailers, small  
            retailers, district attorneys, certified unified program  
            agencies, nongovernment organizations, local governments,  
            other relevant state agencies as determined by DTSC,  
            manufacturers, reverse distributors, and other stakeholders to  
            consider and make findings and recommendations on the  
            following:


             a)   Regulatory and statutory requirements that may be  
               considered confusing or may need clarification or  
               specification when applied to the overall management by  
               manufacturer, distributor, supplier, vendor, retail, and  
               reverse logistics facilities of surplus household products  
               that are wastes, including those that can be considered  
               hazardous waste or medical waste when the waste  
               determination is made; and, 


             b)   Consensus statutory or regulatory recommendations to  
               facilitate and increase the liquidation, and sale of  
               surplus household consumer products and waste reduction  
               opportunities for those products and to clarify waste  
               management requirements to encourage the management of  
               surplus household products by manufacturer, distributor,  
               supplier, vendor, retail, and reverse logistics facilities  
               in a manner that is protective of public health and the  
               environment.


          2)Defines "surplus household consumer product" as a household  
            consumer product that cannot or will not be sold to a consumer  
            through that product's primary market.


          3)Requires, by June 1, 2017, the Retail Waste Working Group to  
            report the findings and recommendations on the aforementioned  
            policy issues to the Legislature.










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          Comments


          Need for the bill.  According to the author, when  
          pharmaceuticals, other health care products, and household  
          consumer products are not sold at an initial point of sale, the  
          products are often processed at a reverse distribution center  
          where the center performs various activities such as  
          consolidation, repackaging, donation, and disposal upon  
          completion of any of these management activities.  The author  
          states that jurisdiction over these products at the point they  
          are considered discarded or recycled under current law,  
          including when they are considered stored or accumulated for  
          discard or recycling, can fall under either the MWMA or  
          hazardous and solid waste provisions of the California Health  
          and Safety Code.  The author asserts that this dual jurisdiction  
          has led to confusion in the regulated community.


          The author states that multiple stakeholder discussions have  
          taken place on the issues of retail waste, including  
          over-the-counter pharmaceutical waste in California.  This bill  
          provides goals for the Retail Waste Workgroup to work towards  
          developing consensus policy recommendations on these outstanding  
          waste management issues in California.  This will ensure both  
          the regulators and the regulated community have a defined  
          timeline by which agreement on these issues is to be attained.


          Regulatory confusion. DTSC has authority over the management of  
          hazardous wastes and universal wastes.  The California  
          Department of Public Health (CDPH) has authority over cosmetics,  
          pharmaceuticals and medical waste.  The Department of Resources  
          Recycling and Recovery has authority over solid wastes. 


          Retail establishments argue that the various statutory and  
          regulatory requirements of when a product becomes a waste and  
          how it must be handled make it difficult for their employees to  
          determine the appropriate handling of a product.  Retailers  
          argue that because of the complexity of the current regulatory  
          scheme, they are not separating products that may be able to be  








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          donated or liquidated from those that are deemed waste if there  
          is any question that they may be risking violation of various  
          statutory waste handling requirements.  The retailers assert  
          that the result is a far greater than necessary rate of disposal  
          or destruction of items that could have been retained for their  
          useful life.


          Retail Waste Workgroup.  Retailers that operate stores in  
          California and those that sell goods in California through the  
          Internet, mail-order catalogs, door-to-door sales and other  
          outlets are all subject to California's medical waste and/or  
          hazardous waste laws and regulations.  In an effort to clarify  
          California's hazardous waste regulatory requirements, DTSC is  
          gathering information and developing an understanding of  
          hazardous waste management practices at various types of  
          retailers.


          In 2015, DTSC created a Retail Waste Workgroup to identify  
          regulatory requirements that need clarification and to provide  
          that clarification.  The Retail Waste Workgroup consists of  
          large and small retailers, district attorneys from multiple  
          counties, certified unified program agency representatives,  
          consultants, non-government organizations, CDPH and DTSC.  This  
          bill is proposing to turn the fruits of those discussions into  
          policy recommendations for broader consumer product management  
          by codifying the Retail Waste Working Group and establishing a  
          date-certain for consensus policy recommendations to be made to  
          the Legislature. 


          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No         Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, enactment of  
          this bill would result in minor, absorbable costs to DTSC. 


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/19/16)









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          American Cleaning Institute
          American Coatings Association
          California Chamber of Commerce
          California Manufacturers and Technology Association 
          California Paint Council
          California Retailers Association
          Consumer Specialty Products Association
          Grocery Manufacturers Association
          Industrial Environmental Association
          National Federation of Independent Business
          Solid Waste Association of North America


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/19/16)


          None received

          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  77-1, 8/18/16
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,  
            Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,  
            Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,  
            Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Frazier, Beth Gaines,  
            Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,  
            Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Holden,  
            Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez,  
            Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez,  
            Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson,  
            Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth,  
            Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk,  
            Williams, Wood, Rendon
          NOES:  Eggman
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Roger Hernández, Kim


          Prepared by:Rachel Machi Wagoner / E.Q. / (916) 651-4108
          8/19/16 19:25:12


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