BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           147 (Saldana)
          
          Hearing Date:  08/17/2009           Amended: 08/17/2009
          Consultant:  Brendan McCarthy   Policy Vote: EQ 5-2
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: This bill authorizes the Department of Toxic  
          Substances Control to request information from the manufacturers  
          of specified electronic devices demonstrating that existing law  
          does not prohibit the sale of the device in the state.
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2009-10      2010-11       2011-12     Fund
           
          Review of technical    Up to $100 per year              Special  
          *
             documentation                                        

          * Electronic Waste Recovery and Recycling Account.
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: 
          
          Current law defines a "covered electronic device" as a video  
          display device containing a screen larger than four inches, with  
          certain exceptions. Current law requires manufacturers of  
          covered devices to submit annual reports to the Integrated Waste  
          Management Board that include a variety of information on the  
          number of devices sold and the constituent components of those  
          devices. Also under current law, the Department of Toxic  
          Substances Control is required to adopt regulations prohibiting  
          the sale of an electronic device in the state if such a device  
          is banned from sale in the European Union under the Reduction of  
          Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) due to the presence of  
          specified toxic materials. The law also prohibits the Department  
          from adopting a regulation that is different from European Union  
          regulations under RoHS.

          This bill authorizes, but does not require, the Department to  
          request information from covered electronic device  










          manufacturers. The Department may request that manufacturers  
          provide technical documentation on their products to demonstrate  
          that the specified device is not prohibited from sale in the  
          state under existing law, as well as other pertinent information  
          on potentially hazardous characteristics of the device.

          The extent to which the Department will request the information  
          authorized in the bill is unknown. Should the Department request  
          information from one or more manufacturers pursuant to the bill,  
          it may incur costs up to $100,000 per year for reviewing those  
          documents.