BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1173
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Senator S. Joseph Simitian, Chairman
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1173
AUTHOR: Huffman
AMENDED: June 29, 2009
FISCAL: Yes HEARING DATE: July 6, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Caroll
Mortensen
SUBJECT : RECYCLING FLUORESCENT LAMPS
SUMMARY :
Existing law , under the California Lighting Efficiency and
Toxics Reduction Act (Health and Safety Code 25210.9 and
Public Resources Code 25402.5.4. et seq):
1)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.).
2)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.
3)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.
4)Requires, on or before December 31, 2008, the California
Energy Commission (CEC) to adopt minimum energy efficiency
standards for all general purpose lights. Required the
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regulations, along with other programs, to reduce, by 2018,
from 2007 levels for indoor residential lighting and by not
less than 25% from 2007 levels for indoor commercial and
outdoor lighting.
5)Authorizes the CEC to establish programs to encourage the
sale of general purpose lights that meet or exceed energy
efficiency standards.
6)Establishes a Public Goods Charge (PGC) that consumers pay
on electricity consumption for cost-effective energy
efficiency, renewable technologies, and public interest
research.
7)Establishes the Mercury Thermostat Collection Act of 2008
that sets forth a program for manufacturers of
mercury-containing thermostats to manage the waste
thermostats. (Health and Safety Code 25214.8.10 et seq.).
This bill :
1)Defines terms for the purposes of this chapter, including:
a) "Consumer" means a purchaser or owner of residential
fluorescent lamps, excluding a business, corporation,
limited partnership, nonprofit organization, or
governmental entity.
b) "Distributor" means a person that has a contractual
relationship with one or more manufacturers to market and
sell fluorescent lamps to retailers.
c) "Manufacturer" means any person who, on or after the
effective date of this act, and regardless of the selling
technique used, including by means of remote sale as
described.
d) "Residential fluorescent lamps" means compact
fluorescent lamps and any other fluorescent lamp intended
for household use.
e) "Retailer" means a person that sells fluorescent lamps
in the state to a consumer. A sale includes, but is not
limited to, transactions conducted through sales outlets,
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catalogs, or the Internet or any other similar electronic
means.
f) "Program" means a system for the collection,
transportation, processing, and disposal of fluorescent
lamps that is financed, as well as managed or provided,
by a manufacturer or collectively with other
manufacturers.
2)Prohibits funds generated from usage-based charges on
electricity distribution, including, but not limited to,
energy efficiency investment funds, that are provided by
California's retail sellers of electricity, as defined in
subdivision (g) of Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities
Code, from being distributed to any entity for the purchase
and distribution of compact fluorescent lamps, unless all of
the following conditions exist:
a) All compact fluorescent lamps purchased are qualified
as the most recent ENERGY STAR version listed on the
ENERGY STAR Internet Web site, except that if the
California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA)
establishes standards on mercury levels, energy
efficiency, and lamp life that are more stringent than
ENERGY STAR for compact fluorescent lamps, the compact
fluorescent lamps purchased are required to meet the Cal
EPA standards.
b) One of the following requirements are met:
i) The manufacturer, individually or collectively
with other manufacturers, is implementing a
board-approved comprehensive residential fluorescent
lamp recycling program to manage end-of-life
residential fluorescent lamps in an environmentally
sound fashion, including collection, transportation,
processing, and disposal.
ii) A manufacturer or distributor not covered by a
program implemented pursuant to subparagraph (A) is
paying an amount established pursuant to Section 42424,
for each residential fluorescent lamp sold in this
state for which funding is received into the
Residential Fluorescent Lamp Recycling Fund established
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pursuant to Section 42424.
c) Packaging for the subsidized compact fluorescent lamps
sold in this state shall have a label, approved by the
board, informing consumers that disposing of fluorescent
lamps in the solid waste stream is prohibited and
providing access to information on opportunities for
proper recycling.
3)Prohibits funds generated from usage-based charges on
electricity distribution, including, but not limited to,
energy efficiency investment funds, that are provided by
California's retail sellers of electricity, as defined in
subdivision (g) of Section 399.12 of the Public Utilities
Code, from being distributed to a retailer for a residential
fluorescent lamp program, unless the retailer has agreed to
provide the public with a convenient in-store collection
opportunity for the recycling of residential fluorescent
lamps.
4)Requires the IWMB to work with manufacturers, distributors,
retailers, and other stakeholders to develop a uniform label
that can be affixed or displayed on subsidized compact
fluorescent lamps sold in this state to meet the
requirements of #2, (c) above.
5)Requires a manufacturer of residential fluorescent lamps
sold in California to, individually or collectively with
other manufacturers, submit a residential fluorescent lamp
recycling plan to the IWMB within 90 days of receiving funds
generated from usage-based charges on electricity
distribution. The plan shall:
a) Demonstrate sufficient funding for the residential
fluorescent lamp recycling program and be free and
convenient to all consumers.
b) Address the coordination of the residential
fluorescent lamp recycling program with local household
hazardous waste programs, including contracting for the
costs for residential fluorescent lamps collected by the
household hazardous waste programs, where practical.
c) Include consumer and retail education and outreach
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efforts to promote the source reduction and recycling of
residential fluorescent lamps.
6)Requires the IWMB to review and approve the residential
fluorescent lamp recycling plan within 90 days of receipt.
7)Requires that two months after a plan is approved by the
IWMB, a manufacturer to implement the residential
fluorescent lamp recycling program described in the plan.
8)Requires, within one year of implementing a plan, and each
year thereafter, a manufacturer shall, individually or
collectively with other manufacturers, submit a report to
the IWMB describing its residential fluorescent lamp
recovery efforts.
9)Requires the IWMB to review the annual report and within 90
days of receipt shall adopt a finding of compliance or
noncompliance with the provisions of this act.
10)Requires the IWMB to enforce this chapter.
11)Requires the IWMB to establish administrative fees to be
paid by manufacturers to cover the cost of reviewing and
approving plans and the cost of oversight and enforcement of
the chapter.
12)Requires the initial amount to be collected from a
manufacturer and distributor of residential fluorescent
lamps, who are not submitting a plan, shall be five million
dollars ($5,000,000) divided by the total number of
fluorescent lamps for which energy efficiency investment
funds were paid in 2008, paid in equal shares.
13)Requires on and after January 1, 2011, the amount to be
collected from a manufacturer or distributor of residential
fluorescent lamps who is not submitting a plan, shall be the
total amount of funds projected to be needed to make the
payments pursuant to collectors and recyclers of lamps and
the amount needed to cover the costs of implementing a
residential fluorescent lamp recycling program, divided by
the total number of fluorescent lamps for which energy
efficiency investment funds were paid in the previous year,
paid in equal shares. The total amount collected shall not
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exceed 10 million dollars ($10,000,000).
14)Requires any amount collected from a manufacturer or
distributor of residential fluorescent lamps, who is not
submitting a plan, shall be deposited into the Residential
Fluorescent Lamp Recycling Fund which is created in the
State Treasury and makes the funds continuously appropriated
to the IWMB for the purposes of carrying out this chapter.
15)Requires moneys in the fund to be used to make payments to
retailer-based collectors, local governments, and other
approved collectors and recyclers of residential fluorescent
lamps generated by households in this state.
16)Requires the amount of payments established pursuant to
this section be at a level sufficient to cover the average
cost of collecting and properly recycling residentially
generated fluorescent lamps and to encourage public,
private, and nonprofit entities to establish convenient
locations for that collection.
17)Requires the IWMB to designate persons to establish a
non-profit public benefit corporation. The corporation
shall be solely responsible for managing a cost-efficient
and environmentally sound collection, transportation,
processing, and disposal system for residential fluorescent
lamps.
18)Requires the corporation to be funded by the IWMB using
moneys from the Residential Fluorescent Lamp Recycling Fund.
19)Tasks the corporation with specific responsibilities
including, but not limited to:
a) Organizing, administering, and ensuring that
residential fluorescent lamp collection opportunities are
available and provided in a manner that is free and
convenient to all consumers.
b) Encouraging the use of existing collection and
consolidation infrastructures for handling residential
fluorescent lamps to the extent that the infrastructure
is accessible on a regular and ongoing basis, is cost
effective, and meets environmentally sound management
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requirements.
c) Providing compensation for the collection and
recycling of residential fluorescent lamps, by approved
collectors and recyclers whether by local government,
for-profit corporations, nonprofit corporations,
retailers, manufacturers, or any other party, for the
reasonable costs associated with these activities.
d) Conducting consumer and retailer education and
outreach efforts to promote the source reduction and
recycling of residential fluorescent lamps.
e) Submitting a report to the IWMB annually on the
implementation of the system during the previous calendar
year. The report shall be posted on the corporation's
Internet Web site and shall include information on
program operations.
COMMENTS :
1) Purpose of Bill . According to the author, due to the
presence of mercury in compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs),
the lamps are classified as hazardous waste when discarded
and their disposal in the trash is prohibited.
2) Background . Mercury is an essential part of fluorescent
lamps because it allows the bulb to be an efficient light
source. Unfortunately, mercury is also a neurotoxin,
affecting the brain and nervous system. It accumulates up
the food chain and humans are exposed to mercury mainly
through eating fish and shellfish. 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 (HHW) facilities in California. Most of these
facilities have limited hours and few locations, which
makes it inconvenient for residents to recycle fluorescent
lamps. Californians likely generated about 10 million
'end-of-life' CFLs in 2008. That number is expected to
grow over the next several years: 15 million in 2009, 30
million in 2012 and up to 45 million by 2015 and beyond.
Due to insufficient awareness and opportunity, the current
recycling rate for CFL's appears to be less than 10
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percent. End-of-life lamps have virtually no value, so the
collection, recycling and mercury recovery of these lamps
represent a cost. With little economy of scale or
efficiency, that cost is in the range of 35 cent to as much
as $1 dollar per lamp recycled.
3) Energy Funding . The California Public Utilities
Commission's (PUC) energy efficiency programs are funded by
charges applied to each bill within each utility's service
territory. These surcharges, commonly knows as public
goods charges (PGC), provide a total of approximately $540
million to fund public purpose programs.
4) Product Stewardship / Extended Producer Responsibility .
According to the IWMB, product stewardship or extended
producer responsibility (EPR) are terms used to describe
strategies to place a shared responsibility for end-of-life
product management on the producers, and all entities
involved in the product chain, instead of the general
public; while encouraging product design changes that
minimize a negative impact on human health and the
environment at every stage of the product's lifecycle.
This allows the costs of treatment and disposal to be
incorporated into the total cost of a product. It places
primary responsibility on the producer, or brand owner, who
makes design and marketing decisions. It also creates a
setting for markets to emerge that truly reflect the
environmental impacts of a product, and to which producers
and consumers respond. At its January 2008 board meeting,
IWMB adopted a revised "Overall Framework for an EPR System
in California," which called for establishing an EPR system
through statute and subsequent regulations. IWMB's EPR
Framework was developed and adopted after two years of
public workshops and meetings with local governments,
legislative members, retailers, and producers. Similarly,
the League of California Cities, California State
Association of Counties, and the Regional Council of Rural
Counties each have all adopted EPR policy supporting the
IWMB's general framework approach.
5) AB 1109 Task Force . The California Lighting Efficiency and
Toxics Reduction Act required DTSC, in coordination with
the IWMB to convene a task force to consider and make
recommendations, on or before September 1, 2008, on methods
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of collection, recycling, education, outreach, labeling,
and designations for end-of-life residential fluorescent
lamps, which are considered hazardous waste upon disposal.
AB 1173 does not include all of the task force
recommendations. It does not share responsibility among
all lamp manufacturers and does rely heavily on government
oversight. Also, more actions to further reduce mercury
releases could be undertaken.
6) Policy Issues . This bill proposes an ambitious program to
collect waste lamps and reducing the amount of mercury used
in lamps while increasing energy efficiency. This bill
conditions the receipt of PGC funds for the purchase and
distribution of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) on meeting
requirements to provide a structure to manage waste lamps
for consumers. It also requires that CFL's purchased be
compliant with the ENERGY STAR requirements.
The bill only focuses on a part of the market as not all light
manufacturers participate in the PCG programs, thus some
manufacturers of lamps are not subject to the requirements
of the bill. This is not consistent with a true EPR
approach that would have all market participants
participate. It also differs from the recommendations from
the Task Force Report. Nevertheless, the premise of
requiring those who benefit from those funds to provide
some level of service has merit.
7) Suggested Amendments . The bill could benefit from a more
streamlined approach that focuses on the key goals. The
author may wish to consider options to accomplish that by
deleting the complicated "third party organization" and
related funding mechanism concepts for this program. If
the universe of lamp manufacturers subject to the bill is
limited to those participating in the PCG programs, the
development of a third party organization is probably not
necessary. Also, the author may wish to examine other
methods to reduce mercury releases including examining the
exemptions allowed in The California Lighting Efficiency
and Toxics Reduction Act for lamps.
SOURCE : Californians Against Waste
SUPPORT : California Retailers Association
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OPPOSITION : California Taxpayers' Association
City and County of San Francisco
Natural Resources Defense Council
Stop Hidden Taxes Coalition