BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1998
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1998 (Brownley)
As Amended May 28, 2010
Majority vote
NATURAL RESOURCES 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Chesbro, Brownley, De |Ayes:|Fuentes, Ammiano, |
| |Leon, Hill, Huffman, | |Bradford, |
| |Skinner | |Coto, Davis, Monning, |
| | | |Ruskin, Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Gilmore, Knight, Logue |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Prohibits stores, as defined, from providing
single-use carryout bags to customers. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines terms used in the bill, including:
a) "Recycled paper bag" as a paper carryout bag that
contains a minimum of 40% post-consumer recycled content;
is accepted for recycling in curbside programs in a
majority of households that have access to curbside
recycling programs; is compostable; and, has printed on the
bag the name of the manufacturer, the location where
manufactured, and the percentage of post-consumer content;
b) Until a standard is adopted by the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery (DRRR), "reusable bag" as
a bag that is designed and manufactured for at least 100
uses and is made of a washable material that "does not
contain lead or any toxic metal in a toxic amount, as
determined by the Department." By January 1, 2013,
requires DRRR to establish standards for reusable bags, as
specified;
c) "Single-use carryout bag" as a bag made of plastic,
paper, or other material that is provided by a store to a
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customer at the point of sale and that is not a reusable
bag. Single-use carryout bag does not include a bag
provided at a pharmacy to a customer purchasing
prescription medication or a nonhandled bag used to protect
a p[purchased item from damaging or contamination other
purchased items when placed in a recycled paper bag or
reusable bag; and,
d) "Store" as supermarkets; stores over 10,000 square feet
that include a pharmacy; and, a convenience food store or
foodmart engaged in retailing a limited line of goods that
generally includes milk, bread, soda, and snacks.
2)Prohibits, on and after January 1, 2012, a store from
providing single-use carryout bags to customers at the point
of sale. Requires stores to make reusable bags available for
purchase and authorizes stores to provide reusable bags at no
cost.
3)Requires, on and after July 1, 2013, that a store only provide
reusable bags to consumers.
4)Authorizes stores to provide customers participating in the
California Special Supplemental Food Program for Women,
Infants, and Children with reusable bags or recycled paper
bags at no cost.
5)Requires stores to make available for sale to consumers at the
point of sale a recycled paper bag at a reasonable cost, but
not less than five cents.
6)Requires, on and after January 1, 2013, and every two-years
thereafter, producers of reusable gags to submit a
certification to DRRR that each bag meets the requirements
specified in the bill and any standards developed by DRRR.
Requires that producers also submit a fee for each
certification, not to exceed $10,000 per producer for the
initial certification and between $2,000 and $3,000 every
two-years thereafter. Specifies that the fees collected be
used by DRRR to administer the requirements of the bill.
7)Authorizes DRRR to conduct inspections to enforce this
chapter.
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8)Establishes, for stores that do not comply with the bag
distribution requirements above, administrative civil
penalties up to $500 for the first violation, and an
additional $500 for subsequent violations, up to a total of
$5,000.
9)Establishes, for violations of the reusable bag certification
requirements, or any submission of false information,
administrative civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation,
not to exceed an annual total of $150,000.
10)Pre-empts local governments from enforcing or adopting any
new or existing law, ordinance, resolution, regulation, or
rule on any store, as defined, relating to reusable bags,
single-use carryout bags, recycled paper bags, or any other
bag referred to in the bill.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires operators of stores (defined as supermarkets and
stores over 10,000 square feet that include a pharmacy) to
establish an in-store plastic carryout bag recycling program.
The program must include:
a) Plastic bags provided by the store to include a label
encouraging customers to return the bag to the store for
recycling;
b) Easily accessible recycling bins for plastic bags;
c) All plastic bags collected must be recycled in a manner
consistent with the local jurisdiction's recycling plan;
d) The store must maintain records relating to the program
for at least three years and must make the records
available to the local jurisdiction or California
Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) upon request;
and,
e) The operator of the store must make reusable bags
available to customers.
2)Pre-empts local governments from requiring stores that meet
these provisions to implement separate recycling programs or
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from imposing a fee on plastic bags.
3)Sunsets the above provisions on January 1, 2013.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time costs during 2011-12 and 2012-13, possibly as much as
$1.5 million, equivalent to 21 positions, to prepare
regulations, assist regulated stores, characterize reusable
bags, and develop a program-specific database [Integrated
Waste Management Account (IWMA)].
2)Ongoing cost, possibly as much as $1 million annually,
equivalent to 15 positions, beginning in 2013-14, to provide
ongoing assistance to regulated stores, conduct site
inspections and audits, characterize reusable bags, and
maintain database [Integrated Waste Management Account
(IWMA)].
3)This bill has one time costs of approximately $150,000 in
2013-14 to develop report to Legislature (IWMA).
4)All costs are likely to be covered by revenue from the fees
and penalties established by the bill.
COMMENTS : Plastic bags are a significant contributor to litter
and marine debris. Their light weight and expansive nature
makes them especially prone to blowing into waterways. Even
when disposed of in the waste stream, these bags pose litter
problems as they blow off of trucks and out of solid waste
handling operations. According to the US EPA, marine debris has
become a serious problem along shorelines, coastal waters,
estuaries, and oceans throughout the world. It is estimated
that 60-80% of all marine debris, and 90% of floating debris, is
plastic. Marine debris can be life threatening to marine
organisms and can wreak havoc on coastal communities and the
fishing industry. Recent studies by the Algalita Marine
Research Foundation and the Southern California Coastal Water
Research Project have found that the average mass of plastics in
the seawater off the coast of Long Beach is two and a half times
greater than the average mass of plankton. After storms with
excessive runoff, the mass of plastics is even greater. A
similar study over seawater 1,000 miles west of San Francisco
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found the mass of plastics was six times the mass of plankton in
drifts where marine animals congregate for feeding on plankton.
In February 2007, the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) adopted a
resolution to reduce marine debris, which included specific
actions on single-use plastics. In November 2008, OPC adopted
its final implementation strategy for the resolution. The
strategy includes three "priority actions for measurable
success:" 1) Implement a take-back program for convenience food
packaging; 2) Prohibit single-use products that pose
significant ocean littler impacts where a feasible alternative
is available; and, 3) Assess fees on commonly littered items.
Plastic single-use bags are included in action 2; OPC proposes
that a fee be added for all single use paper and plastic bags to
incentivize people to switch to reusable bags. OPC goes on to
suggest that if a fee does not dramatically reduce the use of
bags, a ban should be considered.
Reusable bags are the most environmentally benign alternative to
plastic bags. Paper, the most likely replacement for plastic,
also has drawbacks, including being more costly for stores and
using more energy to produce and recycle. However, these do
degrade when littered and do not pose the threats to marine life
that plastic bags do. Additionally, compostable or degradable
plastic bags are not recyclable and contaminate recycling
equipment if they are mixed in with conventional plastic bags.
Moreover, most degradable bags do not break down in a marine
environment.
AB 2449 (Levine), Chapter 845, Statutes of 2006 requires all
stores to establish a plastic bag recycling program. The stated
goal of this legislation was to increase recycling, and to
create the infrastructure necessary to collect and recycle
plastic bags. That bill also pre-empted local governments from
enacting a per-bag fee on plastic bags. Local governments have
indicated concerns with the pre-emption created by AB 2449,
arguing that the fee could be used to discourage bag
distribution and fund anti-litter or recycling programs.
According to the author, Californians use over 19 billion
plastic bags annually (approximately 552 per person), creating
over 147,000 tons of waste. CIWMB staff estimates that only
5-6% of plastic materials are recycled in California. The
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author also states that paper bags also have negative
environmental impacts, including deforestation, air pollution,
and excessive energy consumption. The author states that
California currently spends approximately $25 million annually
to clean up plastic bag waste, and municipalities collectively
spend $300 million annually.
Analysis Prepared by : Elizabeth MacMillan / NAT. RES. / (916)
319-2092
FN: 0004704