BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
231 (Lowenthal)
Hearing Date: 5/11/2009 Amended: 4/20/2009
Consultant: Brendan McCarthy Policy Vote: EQ, 5-2
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 231 requires each generator of hazardous waste
in the state to pay an unspecified fee per ton of waste
generated. The bill would replace an existing, more complicated
fee structure.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Fee revenues Unknown increases or decreases Special
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* Hazardous Waste Control Account
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to
the Suspense file.
Under current law, generators of hazardous wastes in the state
pay a fee to the Board of Equalization based on the waste they
generated in the previous calendar year. The fee rate paid
depends on the volume of waste generated, based on a tiered fee
schedule. Concerns have been raised that the current fee
structure is complicated to use (for both the state and
generators) and that the tiered formula may encourage generators
to game the system.
Hazardous waste fees are deposited in the Hazardous Waste
Control Account and are used by the Department of Toxic
Substances Control to fund the state's hazardous waste
regulatory program and to fund the state's superfund program.
This bill would repeal the existing tiered fee structure, and
instead require parties that generate more than five tons of
hazardous waste per year to pay an unspecified fee per ton.