BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1173
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON UTILITIES AND COMMERCE
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1173 (Huffman) - As Introduced: February 27, 2009
SUBJECT : Recycling: compact florescent lamps.
SUMMARY : Prohibits retail sellers of electricity from using
funds intended to promote energy efficiency efforts for compact
florescent lights that do not meet specified standards.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Under the California Lighting Efficiency and Toxics Reduction
Act (Health and Safety Code 25210.9 and Public Resources Code
25402.5.4. et seq):
a) Prohibits the manufacture, on or after January 1, 2010,
of general purpose lights, as defined, for sale that
contain levels of hazardous substances prohibited in the
European Union (EU) pursuant to the RoHS Directive
("Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in
Electrical and Electronic Equipment" or Directive
2002/95/EC.)
b) Prohibits the sale of general purpose lights, on or
after January 1, 2010, under the following circumstances:
the lights would be prohibited in the EU pursuant to the
RoHS Directive; the manufacturer has not provided specified
information about the lights to the Department of Toxic
Substances Control (DTSC); and the lights are not certified
as being free of levels of hazardous substances that would
prohibit their sale in California.
c) Requires DTSC, in coordination with the California
Integrated Waste Management Board (IWMB), to convene a task
force to consider and make recommendations, on or before
September 1, 2008, on the proper collection and recycling
of end-of-life general purpose lights.
d) Requires, on or before December 31, 2008, the California
Energy Commission (CEC) to adopt minimum energy efficiency
standards for all general purpose lights. Requires the
regulations, along with other programs, to reduce, by 2018,
AB 1173
Page 2
average statewide electrical energy consumption by not less
than 50 percent from 2007 levels for indoor residential
lighting and by not less than 25 percent from 2007 levels
for indoor commercial and outdoor lighting.
e) Authorizes the CEC to establish programs to encourage
the sale of general purpose lights that meet or exceed
energy efficiency standards.
1)Establishes a Public Goods Charge (PGC) that consumers pay on
electricity consumption for cost-effective energy efficiency,
renewable technologies, and public interest energy research.
THIS BILL :
1)Makes legislative findings, including declaring the intent of
the legislature to establish a system that is free and
convenient for end users, for the recycling of
residentially-generated fluorescent lamps.
2)Prohibits money from energy efficiency investment funds, or
any other funds generated from usage-based charges on
electricity distribution, that are provide to retail sellers
of electricity from being distributed to any entity for
compact fluorescent lamps, unless all of the following
conditions exist:
a) All compact fluorescent lamps purchased are Energy Star
version 4.0 qualified, or the most recent version listed on
the Energy Star Internet Web site, including, but not
limited to, maximum allowable mercury content and a rated
lifetime requirement for compact fluorescent lamps.
b) The manufacturer or distributor of the compact
fluorescent lamps has done either of the following:
i) Implemented a comprehensive recycling program
for compact fluorescent lamps; or,
ii) Agreed to pay an unspecified amount for every
lamp for which funding is received into a compact
fluorescent lamp recycling fund.
3)Prohibits money from energy efficiency investment funds or any
other funds generated from usage-based charges on electricity
AB 1173
Page 3
distribution that are provided to retail sellers of
electricity from being distributed to a retailer, unless the
retailer has agreed to provide the public with a convenient
in-store collection opportunity for the recycling of compact
fluorescent lamps.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS : According to the author, AB 1173 is aimed at
substantially reducing mercury emmisions from residential
florescent lighting through market-based source reduction and
recycling incentives. While the environmental benefits of using
fluorescent lighting over incandecent lighting is clear, the
current generation of fluorescent lighting contains mercury. AB
1173 will directly motivate manufacturers to reduce mercury in
CFLs, while helping to establish a free and convenient program
for consumers to properly dispose of fluorescent lighting.
1) Energy efficiency programs . Under the requirements of AB
1890, (Brulte) Chapter 854, Statutes of 1996, and reconfirmed in
subsequent legislation, the Legislature provided for a PGC on
each electric and natural gas customer's bill within each
Investor Owned Utility's (IOUs) service territory to fund energy
efficency programs. In 2005, the California Public Utilities
Comission (PUC) expanded these programs and required the IOUs to
continute to collect the PGCs but to also spend a portion of the
revenue they collect for generation expenses on energy
efficiency as well. Between 2006 and 2008 the IOUs spent $2.7
billion on energy efficiency programs. The Publicly Owned
Utilities (POUs) are also required to collect a PGC for energy
efficiency programs.
2) CFLs and energy efficiency programs . CFLs use about 75
percent less energy than incandescent bulbs and replacing
incandescent lighting with CFLs is currently the most cost
effective energy measure the IOUs pursue. Since 1999, PG&E,
SDG& E and SCE have funded lighting incentive programs to
provide 'pre-bates' to CFL manufacturers and distributors in
order to buy down the purchase price of CFLs sold at retail.
Last year, the IOUs spent approximately $60 million collectively
to buy down the price of an estimated 30 million lamps. The
IOUs have proposed spending about $45 million annually to
subsidize fluorescent lamp purchases for the next 3 years.
AB 1173
Page 4
The sponsor of this bill, Californians Against Waste (CAW)
asserts that the main criteria used by the IOUs when they
determine which CFL manufactures to offer subsidy money is the
price of the CFL. This results in the programs promoting
low-priced lamps that tend to have higher levels of mercury and
do not last as long as other, higher qulity, CFLs. Mercury is
an essential part of CFLs because it allows the bulb to be an
efficient light source.
Due to the trace amount of mercury in CFLs, the lamps are
classified as a hazardous waste and it is illegal for California
households to dispose of them in the trash. Currently, there is
no convenient and cost-effective infrastructure in place for
California residents to recycle their lamps. There are only 210
permanent and recycle-only household hazardous waste facilities
in California. Most of these facilities have limited hours and
few locations, which makes it inconvenient for residents to
recycle CFLs.
3) What this bill does : Past efforts to create comprohinsive
programs to reduce murcury in CFLs and to create disposal
programs have been unsuccessful due in part to an inablity to
idendify funding sources. This bill does not create a program
that applies to all CFLs, but instead provides that when public
or ratepayer funds are used for CFLs the CFLs should meet the
highest standands. Specificly, ratepayer funds cannot be used to
subsidize CFLs with high murcury content. Additionally,
companies accepting ratepayer subsidies must contribute to a
newly created fund to help create a recyling program for CFLs.
4) AB 1109 task force : The California Lighting Efficiency and
Toxics Reduction Act (AB 1109, Huffman, Chapter 534, Statutes of
2007) requires DTSC, in coordination with CIWMB, to convene a
task force to consider and make recommendations, on or before
September 1, 2008, on methods of collection, recycling,
education, outreach, labeling, and designations for end of life
residential fluorescent lamps, which are considered hazardous
waste upon disposal. Task force recommendations are
incorporated into AB 1173.
5) Opposition : Stop Hidden Taxes Coalition and the California
Tax Payers' Association argue that, while they applaud the
effort to restrict the use of fee revenue to the recycling of
compact florescent lamps, they oppose the bill because,
especially in an ailing economy, taxpayers are already
AB 1173
Page 5
overburdened. They also argue that the Legislature should not
authorize a fee unless it knows the amount necessary to cover
the costs of the program it wishes to fund and it specifies the
amount of the fee in the bill. This bill, however, does not
authorize a new fee and instead restricts how current funds can
be expended.
6) Who does this bill apply to : The bill applies to funds that
are collected by "retail sellers of electricity" but does not
define "retail sellers of electricity." In some sections of
code, retail sellers of electricity include both IOUs and POUs
and some sections of code the term excludes POUs. Both IOUs and
POUs are required to make significant investements in energy
efficiency programs. The author and the committee may wish to
amend the bill to clarify if the requirements apply to funds
collected by IOUs, POUs or both .
7) Environmental Safety and Toxics Committee Amendments : This
bill was heard in The Environmental Safety and Toxics Committee
on April 21, 2009. In that committee the author agreed to the
following amendments, but delayed adoption of them until the
bill was heard in this committee:
1)Clarify, in Section 42420(a), that the prohibition on the use
of energy efficiency investment funds is limited to the
purchase and distribution of CFLs.
2)Clarify, in Section 42420(a) (1), that covered CFLs must meet
the most recently established version of Energy Star
guidelines for CFLs. Clarify that covered CFLs must not
exceed the maximum allowable levels of mercury and must meet
the rated lifetime requirement as required by the most
recently established Energy Star guidelines.
3)Clarify, in Section 42420(a) (2) (A), that the recycling
program must be approved by an entity, such as DTSC.
4)Clarify, in Section 42420(a) (2)(B), that the per lamp payment
amount that manufacturers make to the CFL recycling fund shall
be established by an entity, such as DTSC, at a level
sufficient to cover the cost of a fluorescent light recycling
program.
5)Establish a CFL recycling fund in the State Treasury for the
AB 1173
Page 6
deposit of payments made pursuant to Section 42420(a) (2)(B).
6)Clarify that Section 42420(b) is limited to energy efficiency
investment funds paid to retailers for compact fluorescent
lighting programs.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Californians Against Waste (sponsor)
The Utility Reform Network (TURN)
Opposition
California's Taxpayers' Association
Stop Hidden Taxes Coalition
Analysis Prepared by : Edward Randolph / U. & C. / (916)
319-2083