BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2379|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2379
Author: Feuer (D)
Amended: 4/7/10 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/14/10
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal,
Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pavley
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/29/10 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Environmental protection: hazardous waste
source reduction
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill expands the number of priority
categories of hazardous waste generators that the
Department of Toxic Substances Control must select for
participation in the departments cooperative source
reduction technical assistance and outreach program.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, under the Hazardous Waste Source
Reduction and Management Review Act of 1989, requires
specified generators of hazardous waste to maintain certain
plans, reports, and summaries with regard to hazardous
CONTINUED
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waste reduction practices. The act also requires the
Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to establish
a technical assistance and outreach program to promote
implementation of model source reduction measures in
priority industry categories. The Act requires DTSC to
select at least two priority categories of generators for
participation in DTSC's cooperative source reduction
technical assistance and outreach program every two years.
This bill expands the number of priority categories of
hazardous waste generators that DTSC must select for
participation in DTSC's cooperative source reduction
technical assistance and outreach program to:
1. Expand, from two to four, the number of priority
categories of hazardous waste generators DTSC must
select for participation in DTSC's cooperative source
reduction technical assistance and outreach program.
2. Require that at least one selected category of
generators primarily consist of businesses affected by
action taken by DTSC pursuant to the Green Chemistry
program.
Background
Pollution Prevention . DTSC developed its pollution
prevention program (P2), pursuant to SB 1916 (Sher),
Chapter 881, Statutes of 1998, to provide technical
assistance and outreach to businesses and industries to
reduce their generation of hazardous waste. However, the
paradigm of focusing chemical management on the end of a
production pipeline is currently shifting toward a more
lifecycle-focused principle consistent with implementation
of the Green Chemistry Initiative.
Green Chemistry . AB 1879 (Feuer), Chapter 559, Statutes of
2008, and
SB 509 (Simitian), Chapter 560, Statutes of 2008, implement
together two key pieces of a green chemistry initiative for
California (1) requiring DTSC to adopt regulations for the
identification, prioritization, and evaluation of chemicals
or chemical ingredients in products that may be considered
a "chemical of concern" and their potential alternatives,
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and (2) requiring DTSC and the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment to establish a Toxics Information
Clearinghouse for the collection, maintenance, and
distribution of specific chemical hazard traits and
environmental and toxicological end-point data, and to
evaluate and specify the hazard traits and environmental
and toxicological end-points and any other relevant data
that are to be included in the Clearinghouse.
DTSC recently released an outline of the regulations that
DTSC is currently working to develop.
According to DTSC, the projected release date of the
proposed regulations is late spring/early summer of 2010
and DTSC projects completing and adopting the final
regulations by the end of 2010.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/28/10)
Breast Cancer Fund
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
this bill expands and enhances the scope of DTSC's
pollution prevention program in order to provide assistance
to businesses as they transition to safer consumer
products. Under California's Green Chemistry framework,
users and manufacturers of consumer products containing
chemicals of concern will begin to move towards less toxic
alternatives under a regulatory process established by AB
1879 (Feuer) Chapter 559, Statutes of 2008, and SB 509
(Simitian) Chapter 560, Statutes of 2008. AB 2379 will
allow DTSC to help businesses most affected by these
changes with technical and other assistance.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
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DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Ma,
Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin,
Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Caballero, Jones, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Torrico, Vacancy
TSM:mw 6/28/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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