BILL NUMBER: AB 2553 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 4, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hertzberg
FEBRUARY 24, 2000
An act to add Section 42623 to the Public Resources Code, relating
to recycling education , and making an appropriation therefor
.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2553, as amended, Hertzberg. Recycling: education grants.
Existing law requires the California Integrated Waste Management
Board, in cooperation with the State Department of Education, to
develop and implement an integrated waste management educational
program to teach the concepts of source reduction, recycling,
composting, and integrated waste management in schools. Existing law
requires the board to develop and implement a source reduction and
recycling program for school districts that is required to include,
among other things, the development of a model waste reduction and
recycling program. Existing law requires the State Department of
Education, in cooperation with the board, to develop and implement a
teacher training and implementation plan and to include, in the
science framework, specified language regarding integrated waste
management.
This bill would require the board State
Department of Education , in consultation with the board
and the State Department of Education
Conservation, to establish a program to award grants and
provide incentives to public elementary and secondary
schools school districts and county offices of
education to implement source reduction and recycling programs.
The bill would require the board to establish criteria and
procedures for the purpose of applying for, evaluating, and awarding
these grants.
The bill would require the board State
Department of Education , in consultation with the board
and the State Department of Education
Conservation , to submit a report by March 15, 2002, and March
15, 2004, to the appropriate committees of the Legislature regarding
the grant program.
The bill would provide that its implementation is
contingent upon the enactment of an appropriation for its purposes
appropriate $3,000,000 from the General Fund to the
State Department of Education for allocation, without regard to
fiscal year, on a one-time basis to school districts and county
offices of education, for purposes of the bill. The funds
appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding
requirements for school districts and community college districts
imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution
.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no yes
. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) The Conservation Education Service Unit of the State
Department of Education currently assists districts in preparing
teachers to present concepts of conservation, resource efficiency,
and the effects of environmental impacts such as air and water
pollution, waste disposal, and energy consumption on ecological
systems, develops educational curriculum and opportunities for
students relating to conservation of resources, and evaluates new
environmental education teaching materials and techniques.
(2) Through its environmental education grant program, in
consultation with other state agencies, the State Department of
Education established the California Regional Environmental Education
Community (CREEC) Network to connect educators with environmental
education programs, materials, and community partners to enhance the
quality of environmental education for California's students.
(3) The California Integrated Waste Management Board provides
technical assistance to school districts in establishing recycling
and waste diversion programs, and develops and implements, in
cooperation with the State Department of Education, an integrated
waste management educational program to teach the concepts of source
reduction, recycling, composting, and integrated waste management in
California schools.
(4) The Department of Conservation provides funds for counties and
cities, as specified, to implement statewide public education
programs and information campaigns that promote beverage container
recycling.
(5) California schools generate approximately 2 percent of the
state's waste stream. The most recent California Integrated Waste
Management Board survey of school districts revealed that nearly
one-half of all school districts did not have a recycling program,
roughly 40 percent had a paper recycling program, less than 20
percent had a waste prevention plan, and less than 10 percent had a
purchasing policy for recycled content products.
(6) The survey further revealed that school districts that
implement districtwide waste diversion programs experienced waste
reduction levels ranging from 40 percent to 90 percent, and disposal
cost savings ranging from eighty thousand dollars ($80,000) to three
hundred fifty thousand dollars ($350,000).
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that every school district
and school in this state implement a waste diversion program in
order to do all of the following:
(1) Reduce waste and conserve resources.
(2) Provide students with "hands-on" learning experiences that
link curriculum instruction on resource conservation and integrated
waste management with onsite programs.
(3) Minimize the costs of solid waste collection and disposal.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that every school district
and school cooperate with counties and cities in developing plans
and programs to meet and exceed the state's 50 percent waste
reduction and recycling mandate.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that, to the extent
feasible, every school district and school utilize products and
supplies made from recycled-content materials.
SEC. 2. Section 42623 is added to the Public Resources Code, to
read:
42623. (a) The board, in consultation with the State Department
of Education
42623. (a) The State Department of Education, in consultation
with the board and the Department of Conservation, shall
establish a program to award grants and provide incentives to
public elementary and secondary schools to
school districts and county offices of education to implement
source reduction and recycling programs pursuant to this chapter.
The board State Department of Education
may consult with other interested parties including, but not
necessarily limited to, federal, state, and local governments,
environmental organizations, and community and nonprofit groups to
coordinate and implement this chapter.
(b) For purposes of implementing the grant program pursuant to
this section, the board State Department of
Education shall do all of the following:
(1) Establish criteria and procedures for school districts or
individual public elementary and secondary schools
county offices of education to apply for grants, and
establish procedures for the board State
Department of Education to evaluate and award the grants.
(2) Consult with interested parties to coordinate the grant
program with the teacher training and implementation plans developed
and implemented pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 42603.
(3) Establish and implement a source reduction and recycling award
program for public elementary and secondary schools
school districts and county offices of education
that develop, adopt, and implement innovative and effective source
reduction and recycling programs in compliance with this chapter.
(c) On or before March 15, 2002, and on or before March 15, 2004,
the board, in consultation with the State
Department of Education, in consultation with the board and the
State Department of Education Conservation
, shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of the
Legislature a report on the grant program including, but not
necessarily limited to, the status of source reduction and
recycling programs in public elementary and secondary
schools school districts and county offices of
education , the number of grants awarded, and the amount of
waste diverted as a result of this grant program.
(d) The implementation of this section is contingent upon the
enactment of an appropriation for its purposes.
SEC. 3. (a) The sum of three million dollars ($3,000,000) is
hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of
Education for allocation, without regard to fiscal year, on a
one-time basis as grants to school districts and county offices of
education, to promote recycling and waste diversion programs in the
public schools pursuant to Section 42623 of the Public Resources
Code. The State Department of Education may use up to 5 percent of
the funds appropriated in this section for the costs of administering
the program established by this act.
(b) For the purpose of making the computations required by Section
8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation
made pursuant to this section shall be deemed to be "General Fund
revenues appropriated to school districts" as defined in subdivision
(e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code for the 1999-2000 fiscal
year and included within the "total allocations to school districts
and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes
appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B," of the California
Constitution as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the
Education Code for the fiscal year in which they are expended.